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SRI report: Romania, one of few states not affected by terrorism
Romania remains one of few states not directly affected by terrorism, said Chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) Eduard Hellvig, on Tuesday, at the presentation of the institution's activity report for 2014 . He showed that, on the other hand, Romania has become interesting for “hostile cyber entities”.
“We paid special attention to supporting preventive measures which should allow maintaining a blue cautious level. Romania is one of the few countries which have not been affected directed by terrorism,” said Eduard Hellvig on Tuesday, following the report meeting for 2014, in which president Klaus Iohannis, deputy premier Gabriel Oprea and members of the Control Commission on SRI activity participated.
Referring to the Ukraine crisis, the SRI director said he had correctly anticipated and informed on risk evolutions at regional level, “a fact which has contributed correctly to substantiating important strategic decisions in the field of national security.”
At the same time Hellvig said that SRI granted special attention in 2014 to counter espionage, which had grown in intensity but “remains at a reduced impact level.”
SRI provided over 3,300 briefings or notifications to the law enforcement agencies in 2014
Eduard Hellvig on Tuesday informed also that the service provided over 3,300 briefings or notifications to the law enforcement agencies last year, by 12 per cent more than in 2013.
"We provided over 3,300 briefings/notifications to the law enforcement agencies, by 12 per cent more than in 2013 and we also provided a number of 783 notifications to the interinstitutional working group dealing with preventing and combating tax evasion,' said Hellvig.
He showed that his first report since taking over as chief of the Service comes at a special time, given that the institution is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
"Even if mistakes were also made, they were not of the kind to affect the national security. I have already referred to the challenges to security this morning, at the presentation of the activity report. The Service offered over 8,000 briefings/notifications and analyses to its beneficiaries, which were of help in the decision-making process. We exchanged tens of thousands of messages with our partners and we carried out countless actions together with them," said Hellvig.
He also specified that the Service never failed while submitting these briefings/notifications in observing its basic rules of neutrality and equidistance.
The SRI chief also spoke about the risk maps, and mainly about the situation in Ukraine, while showing that the SRI correctly anticipated and informed the decision-making factors about the possible developments in the region in terms of risks, which resulted in a series of important strategic decisions having been made in what concerns national security.
"Moreover, the Service paid a special attention to counter-espionage, which grew in intensity, but still remained at a low level of impact, due to the activity of the institution. In regard to the terrorist threats, we especially focused on implementing a series of combined measures of prevention and counterwork, so that we were able to maintain the blue level - meaning 'caution', including as a result of efforts made by the SRI. We remain among the few countries that have not been affected by this scourge yet," said Hellvig.
He showed that one of the priorities of the Service in 2015 will be to increase its efficiency.
"The Service will continue to work in 2015 to identify, anticipate and, in those fields where we have a right to interfere, to thwart risks to national security. We will be the trustful allies of the other institutions in charge with the national security," said Hellvig.
The SRI chief also said that he wanted to take the institution's openness to the civil society and the academic environment to a new level, with important resources following to be invested in analytical expertise.
"Moreover, the SRI will pay a special attention to the public opinion, to which we owe the maximum transparency that an intelligence service affords to provide. It is also necessary that we maintain a positive balance between the security binomial and the private life and promote a legislative package to reflect this balance of nature and to allow the SRI at the same time to accomplish its fundamental mission of defending the state and the citizens," the SRI director concluded.
Participating in the SRI 2014 activity report presentation was also the head of the state, Klaus Iohannis, and other members of the security structures in Romania.