Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian Intelligence Service

  • Supreme Defence Council Decisions

    Supreme Defence Council Decisions

    The region’s security and Romania’s ability to cope with security challenges were the main topics discussed on Tuesday at a meeting of the Supreme Defence Council, the first since president Klaus Iohannis took office in December. The Council looked mainly at the conflict in the neighbouring Ukraine and its consequences for the region and reiterated Romania’s commitments as part of its strategic partnerships. The progress made by the states in the Western Balkans with regard to their European Union aspirations was also noted.



    One conclusion was that this region should be included in a general strategy on South-Eastern Europe that would strengthen Romania’s strategic role in the area. The Supreme Defence Council also agreed that the increase in the defence budget to reach 2% of the GDP by 2017 would give a new boost to some major programmes on the equipping of the army and provide a clear opportunity for the defence industry. Another decision taken by the Council refers to the participation of four F16 planes and 150 army troops and civilian staff from the Portuguese army in NATO air-policing missions carried out in Romania in May and June.



    In another development, the FBI director James Comey travelled to Bucharest to discuss the collaboration between the Romanian Intelligence Service and the FBI, whose main priorities are the fight against corruption and cyber security. The existing partnership between the two institutions has resulted in recent years in training exchanges for experts, as well as joint operations. The director of the Romanian Intelligence Service Eduard Hellvig said the consolidation of the rule of law was all the more important given the crises in the region. He added that it was equally important to combat activities that weaken the state from the inside, corruption in particular.



    Eduard Hellvig: “The cyber space is becoming more and more important as far as security is concerned, whether it’s online crime, cyber terrorism or cyber espionage. To be able to cope with the fast progress of communications technologies we will have to make sure we have the human, technological and last but not least, legal resources needed to carry out our mission.”



    The fight against the existing threats can no longer be conducted solely from within a given country, but has to take on an international dimension, FBI head James Comey said. He said the FBI is making efforts alongside its Romanian colleagues to identify and indict the known cyber criminals, guilty of hoaxing thousands of people all around the world. An important aspect of the cooperation between the FBI and the Romanian Intelligence Service according to Comey is the constant exchange of useful information on counterespionage, combating corruption and transnational organised crime.



    Since 2013, the FBI has been providing Romanian officers with training on crisis management, law enforcement, the diffusion of improvised explosive devices and the prevention of illegal traffic of nuclear and radioactive materials.

  • A New Intelligence Chief

    A New Intelligence Chief

    Parliament on Monday green-lighted the appointment of Liberal MEP Eduard Hellvig as the new head of the Romanian Intelligence Service. 498 MPs voted in favour of Hellvig, who was nominated by president Klaus Iohannis, while only 15 MPs voted against.



    According to political pundits, the result of the vote, which could not be conceived when Hellvig was originally nominated, can underlie an agreement between the Power and the Opposition, under which the Social-Democratic Party in the ruling coalition is due to appoint the new head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. Whether or not that is a compromise, the appointment has piled up pressure on Hellvig, whom some politicians, such as Senate President Calin Popescu Tariceanu, have criticized for his lack of experience in the field and thus inapt to cope with the difficulties and responsibility that come with the job.



    Attending Parliament’s vote, Hellvig presented the priorities of his term in office, among which combating corruption, developing the country’s defense capabilities and strengthening partnerships with European and NATO allies, especially with the United States. Against the growing public discontent, mostly linked with Parliament exerting too much influence over the Intelligence Service, Hellvig called for dialogue and transparency, two aspects he sees as deficient ever since the institution was founded in 1990. Eduard Hellvig:



    “I assure you of my full willingness to cooperate with and promote a dialogue between institutions, political parties and civil society, as transparent and effective as possible”.



    Many MPs spoke highly of Hellvig’s credentials. Here is the leader of the Social-Democrat Senators Ilie Sarbu:



    “He is an unbiased and even-minded man and I believe the Intelligence Service requires more thoughtfulness and less spur-of-the-moment decisions. Such qualities are due to greatly benefit the Service”.



    Liberal MP Cristina Pocora.



    “Eduard Hellvig has all the qualities recommending him as a civilian chief at the helm of the Intelligence Service. He has the training and the necessary human profile to run such an institution”.



    Taking the floor next was Verestoy Attila of the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania:



    “He is a civilian, from all points of view, and indeed he will be well-received by our partners in the European and Euro-Atlantic community”.


    It remains to be seen whether Hellvig’s activity will rise up to the praises voiced in Parliament on Monday.

  • March 3, 2015 UPDATE

    March 3, 2015 UPDATE

    The Romanian Intelligence Service and the FBI will continue to strengthen their dialogue and cooperation, particularly in cyber security, in fighting organised crime, terrorism and corruption as well as in countering espionage, the head of the Romanian Intelligence Service Eduard Hellvig said on Tuesday, after talks with the FBI head, James Comey. Hellvig pointed out that the first official visit of the FBI director to Romania took place against the backdrop of major challenges against regional and global geopolitical stability, which give special importance to fighting those actions that weaken the rule of law. Eduard Hellvig mentioned that Romanian intelligence officers benefited from training sessions with the best FBI experts, and the expertise gained as a result is a major contribution to the efficiency of the Romanian Intelligence Service. In turn, James Comey said the partnership with the Romanian Intelligence Service is one of the best that the FBI has in the world. The head of the US Federal Bureau of Investigations had meetings on Tuesday with the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis, with PM Victor Ponta, the chiefs of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate and of the Directorate Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism, and with the prosecutor general of Romania.



    The Higher Defence Council, convened on Tuesday in Bucharest, approved PM Victor Ponta’s proposals regarding the entry and stationing in Romania, in May – June 2015, of Portuguese military equipment and troops, namely four F-16 Falcon aircraft and their nearly 150-strong military and civilian personnel, in view of preparing and conducting NATO Air Police missions. On the other hand, the Council members said Romania’s consistent support for Ukraine, since the start of the crisis in the neighbouring country, marked an unprecedented openness of the authorities in Kiev towards bilateral cooperation with Romania. The Higher Defence Council also believes that the Western Balkans should be included in an overall approach to South-East Europe, which should strengthen Romania’s strategic role in the region. This was the first meeting of the Council under the new president, Klaus Iohannis.



    The Romanian carmaker Dacia presented on Tuesday, at the 85th Geneva International Motor Show, the anniversary, limited-edition versions of its models. The sales of Dacia, a company held by the French group Renault, went up 19% last year, to 511,000 vehicles, with France as the main market. The best selling model is Sandero, 80% of which have been sold in Western Europe. Second comes the Duster, with Romania, France and Spain as market leaders. The Geneva Motor Show is open to the public until March the 15th.



    Thousands of people paid tribute to the leading Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, whose funerals were held Tuesday in Moscow. One of the most vocal critics of the Putin regime, Nemtsov was shot dead a few days ago near Kremlin. According to the investigators, the attack had been carefully planned. They say they do not rule out any scenario: a political murder designed to destabilise the country; an Islamist attack or a murder related to the conflict in Ukraine, perpetrated by “radical elements”. The President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, said Boris Nemtsov was shot dead because he had intended to make public evidence on Moscow’s involvement in the secessionist conflict in Ukraine. The White House leader, Barack Obama, called for a thorough investigation into the murder of the Russian politician.



    The Iranian regime is a threat to Israel and to world peace, the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday before the US Congress. Israel opposes the current talks on Tehran’s nuclear programme, which according to Netanyahu, cannot prevent the Iranians from producing atomic weapons, and would lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. The US president, Barack Obama, says however that the Israeli Prime Minister’s concern is unjustified and that an agreement is more efficient than a military intervention.

  • Nomination for Intelligence Chief

    Nomination for Intelligence Chief

    In a rather infrequent occurrence, particularly in an uncertain regional context, Romania’s main intelligence agencies, the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service, are headed by interim chiefs. The former however seems to have found a new director, after President Klaus Iohannis nominated Eduard Hellvig to take over the post. Currently an MEP, with a political career free of major controversies and a notable member of the new generation of Romanian politicians, Hellvig seems an appropriate solution for the Intelligence Service. But what are the skills that prompted the head of state to make this nomination?



    Klaus Iohannis: “When I thought about someone to nominate as the new director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, I looked for somebody who is prepared for such a post, who knows the political actors, who has sufficient knowledge about what happens in this field.”



    The nomination is on the one hand intriguing, and on the other hand a confirmation of the direction set by former president Traian Basescu. It is intriguing because Hellvig, a vice-president of the National Liberal Party, is seen as one of the close aides of Klaus Iohannis, who led the party and ran for president in November 2014. As such, some commentators argue that the personal relationship weighed too much in the President’s decision. On the other hand, President Iohannis follows in the footsteps of Traian Basescu, the first who chose the chiefs of the main intelligence services from the Opposition.



    But, talks about the criteria behind his nomination aside, Hellvig will have a tough mission ahead, if he gets Parliament’s endorsement for this office. He would take over the Service at a time when its interim director, Florian Coldea, is subject to accusations made by an influential politician, the former minister for regional development and tourism, Elena Udrea, who is probed into for corruption. Udrea claimed Coldea is abusing his office, among other things, in order to destroy her political career. The allegations have not led to an inquiry, because the National Anti-Corruption Directorate found that the evidence would not hold in court. The parliamentary committee that oversees the Romanian Intelligence Service has heard Coldea and reached a similar conclusion.



    Although it has a good public image in the country and, alongside the Foreign Intelligence Service, it is appreciated by international partners, the Romanian Intelligence Service works with suspicious lack of transparency. The weak supervision of Parliament, the only institution entitled to check its activity, as well as the suspicion that the people and practices of the old Communist police, the Securitate, have not been fully left behind, raise major questions regarding the work of the Service. This is why, observers note, if Hellvig becomes the new head of the institution, the greatest challenge ahead of him will be to completely reorganize this agency.