POST-REVOLUTION ROMANIA, 1990: Establishment of Romanian Intelligence Service

On 26 March 1990 the Romanian Intelligence Service was established through Decree no. 181, the main specialized institution of Romania in terms of intelligence-gathering for national security. On 29 July 1991, the Law no. 51 was issued regarding Romania's national security, by which the menaces to Romania's national security are set. According to this law, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) is established to be a state body with attributions in the national security field. At the same time, Romania's Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) coordinates the institutional approaches for national security, according to www.sri.ro. The adoption of Law no. 14, on 24 February 1992, aimed the organisation and functioning of the SRI, and the main tasks and attributions of the core intelligence body of Romania were legally established. The Supreme Council of National Defence adopted in November 2001, a new Operating Regulations of the Romanian Intelligence Service. In March 2008, the decision on the approval of the Structure and Operating Regulations of the SRI is made in a CSAT meeting, the official portal of the institution informs (www.sri.ro). On 25 March 2008, a new organization plan of the SRI comes into force, after being adopted by the CSAT. The institutional change process at the service's level continued in December 2010 through the approval of a new Operating Regulation of the SRI and a new organization chart based on which the main intelligence service of Romania is still currently operating. For the consistent adaptation to the new spectrum of threats and transmission of information against the background of the fulminating development of the online environment, the SRI has adopted a new strategic outlook - ''SRI in the information age' for the 2011-2015 period. On 10 December 2015, the CSAT endorsed the Intelligence Strategy 2015-2019, establishing at programmatic level the principles underpinning the SRI's activity and identifying at the same time, the priority directions of action in full conformity with the National Defence Strategy, according to www.sri.ro. The role of the Romanian Intelligence Service is to protect the democratic values of Romania, the citizens' safety, the economic security and the state secrets. The SRI has a core role in preventing and combatting the espionage actions, terrorism and cross-border organized crime affecting national security, says the portal www.sri.ro. According to Law no. 14 of 24 February 1992, Art. 2, 'The Romanian Intelligence Service organizes and executes activities to collect, verify and exploit the information necessary to know, prevent and counteract any actions that constitute, according to the law, threats to the National Security of Romania'. Moreover, according to Art. 3 of Law no. 14 of 24 February 1992, the Romanian Intelligence Service 'ensures the defence of state secret and the prevention of the leakage of information which, according to the law, cannot be disclosed". The activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service is under Parliament control according to Art. 1 of Law no. 14 of 24 February 1992. Control is exercised through the Parliamentary Committee for the Control of the SRI's Activity. SRI collaborates with homologue institutions of the Member States of the North Atlantic Alliance for the consolidation of the security of the Euro-Atlantic space, being an important expertise contributor for both the NATO partners and the European Union. It is the core institution in the fight against terrorism, both through its specific structure, the Anti-terrorist Brigade, and through the specialized personnel within the Service's departments. Through its officers and specialized personnel, the SRI participates constantly in exercises and specific forms of training at international level for the improvement of its capacity to fight against the terrorist phenomenon. It is the most important component of the National System for Preventing and Countering Terrorism that has been established legally by Law no. 535/2004. In order to increase the Euro-Atlantic interoperability level and for the continuous development in terms of specialised training, the Service carries out joint exercises with NATO similar bodies and from the outside of the Euro-Atlantic space, and its specialists participate in specific training programmes organized by similar institutions abroad. The SRI is one of the most formidable intelligence services of NATO's Eastern Flank, contributing decisively to Romania's role as security supplier in the region within NATO and within the European Union.AGERPRES(Research Desk - Liviu Tatu, editor: Mariana Zbora-Ciurel; EN - author: Maria Voican, editor: Simona Iacob)