activity report 2007.pdf

of information with allied and partner services 16 amounted to 4,429 documents, with a balance between the sent (2,161) and received materials (2,268). It is also worth mentioning a renewed cooperation with certain Western partners, increasing relations with partner services from neighboring countries and, last but not least, expanding cooperation projects in new areas of interest for national security. 17 CHAPTER IV MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN AND MATERIAL RESOURCES IV.1. Human resources In 2007 a new concept of human resources management was implemented; the project aims at establishing clear benchmarks for the intelligence officers’ career, improving the selection system and increasing attractiveness of the intelligence activity. This option was motivated not only by arguments related to the predictability of the intelligence officers’ career, but also as a supplementary instrument to compensate the difficulties in attracting and motivating S.R.I. personnel. Given the fierce competition in the labor market – especially in extremely specialized fields (such as finance and information technology) – the Service recorded a significant flow of young specialists’ departure and significant efforts to balance human resources were made. Thus, we managed to reach a positive trend for military personnel, with 620 hired versus 524 losses.  The situation of the hired personnel was as following: - 147 officers and 249 non-commissioned officers (NCO) came from direct hiring; - 5 officers were recalled; - 14 officers, 4 warrant officers and 5 officers were transferred from other military institutions; - 190 officers graduated master’s studies and 6 – The Technical Military Academy.  Losses of military personnel had the following trend: - 136 officers, 7 warrant officers and 88 NCOs became “unfit for military service;” - 77 officers, 9 warrant officers and 37 NCOs reached the age limit in rank; - 27 officers and 3 NCOs left the institution for reasons caused by the needs of the Romanian Intelligence Service; - 74 officers, 1 warrant officer and 44 NCOs resigned; - 2 officers requested to leave; - 1 officer and 1 warrant officer, following certain offences; - 11 officers, 2 warrant officers and 2 NCOs transferred to other institutions; - 1 officer and 1 NCO died. The resignations were at a relatively high level (22.7% out of the losses of military personnel), although the numbers decreased to 119 as compared to 162 in 2006. Out of the total amount of military personnel who left the institution in 2007, 49.8% (representing 171 officers, 12 warrant officers and 78 NCOs) was hired prior to 1990. An important role in shaping the personnel dynamics was played by the media campaigns advertising the university and post-graduate studies organised by S.R.I., which attracted a greater number of candidates as compared to previous years; 18 this represents an encouraging element in the process of selecting the necessary personnel. For university courses 817 candidates enrolled (131 in central units and 686 in territorial units), out of whom only 300 were selected to participate in the admission exams, and at the end only 40 people passed. For master’s studies 2,270 candidates enrolled (84 more than in 2006), out of whom only 595 were selected to sit the admission exams, and 150 people passed (120 boys and 30 girls). The rate of employment in the Service was - at the end of 2007: 81% (79% for officers, 85% for warrant officers, 88% for NCOs, 66% for civilians and 83% for soldiers/ NCO volunteers). With respect to the field of activity, the situation of the number of people employed in military positions was the following:  82% in the operative field (76% officers, 91% warrant officers and 92 NCOs. In central units the percentage grew to 84%, and in the territorial units to 81%);  81% in the technical-operative and specialised field (81% officers, 83% warrant officers and 82% NCOs. In central units the percentage was 78% and in territorial units 86%);  85% in the functional field (80% officers, 88% warrant officers and 89% NCOs. The percentage in the central units was 83%, and in territorial unit – 93%). The average age of S.R.I. employees is a very low one – 36 years and 4 months (36 years and 6 months for officers, 35 years and 9 months for NCOs and 42 years and 2 months for warrant officers), and the share of 71% men and 29% women is a balanced one for an institution of this kind. IV.2. Financial and logistic resources In the process of institutional transformation a new system for S.R.I.’s activity integrated planning was initiated, in a multi-annual projection form. It was designed to ensure the convergence of objectives with the allotted resources, taking into account priorities and strategic directions for action. A first result of this approach was to achieve at the end of the year a realistic projection of budgets, based on programs associated with the Service’s activity profiles; thus budget priorities could be established, related to the national security issues. Regarding the implementation of the budget for 2007:  The Service requested funds in amount of 1,943,000 Lei (from the state budget, external credits, internal loans and own revenues), based on the 19  Budget Law for 2007 nr. 486/2006; funds in amount of 1,101,297 Lei were initially approved (56.68% out of the estimate);  Through budget changes in 2007, the funds allotted to the Service were supplemented, the total sums rising to 1,203,095 Lei (which represents 61.92% out of the initial necessary funds) split into the following: - 1,187,009 Lei from the state budget; - 13,564 Lei from foreign loans; - 2,322 Lei from internal loans and 200,000 lei from our own revenues;  The allotted sums were used as intended: - personnel expenses – 567,648 Lei; - goods and services – 131,061 Lei; - transfers between units of the public administration – 21,226 Lei; - other transfers – 41,000 Lei; - social assistance – 213,447 Lei; - other expenses – 3,000 Lei; - non-financial assets – 209,956 Lei; - re-payment of loans – 43,358 Lei. 20 CHAPTER V COORDINATION AND CONTROL OF THE ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE V.1. Activity Strategic Coordination by the Country’s Supreme Defense Council As strategic coordinator of our activity, the Supreme Defense Council has addressed us 20 resolutions which set tasks for the Service. Among the complex analytical documents, which we sent to the Supreme Defense Council, there are:  assessments on how the information regarding security threats and risks was used  analysis to further enhance some of the Council’s critical decisions  assessments of the tactical mapping, and proposals in dealing with terrorism  the Activity Report, for the year 2007. V.2. Democratic control V.2.1 . Parliamentary oversight S.R.I. submitted, in a timely manner, to the Joint Committee of the Chamber of Deputies and for the Senate, in order to exercise parliamentary control over the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service, the elements needed to exercise democratic control. The Romanian Intelligence Service sent monthly reports to the Commission, on various topics of interest, such as: the legality of specific activities of our institution, the rights and constitutional liberties in the exercise of our legal duties, monitoring budget execution of SRI. There have also been made available to the Commission timely responses to specific requests, related to: the fulfilment by our institution of the legal responsibilities, answers to citizens' petitions and memoranda to the Commission or other state authorities, etc. V.2.2. Control of legality By reporting permanently to the Constitution and relevant legislation in matters of national security, we aimed for legality in our operative activity - and from this perspective - one of our major priorities, we were provided legal advice by the specialized department ensuring full legality and compliance with the legal procedures. The legal department of the Service actively participated in supporting steps undertaken to: formulate views of SRI to legislation relevant to its work at national or Community format, protection - including the courts – of the institution's economic interests, developing in conditions of legality and effectiveness of procurement processes, equipment and contracts services, drafting and / or approving draft legislation and internal regulations, internal control activities. In 2007, as the National Communications Interception Authority, we ensured the implementation of 10.272 authorization papers (warrants, authorizations and orders) from all the institutions of the national defense, 21 public order and national security, and the Public Ministry. On this basis, the interception of communications of 7,746 people, respectively 15.414 telephones was authorized. Of these, only 1,603 authorization papers, representing 15.61 % were attended by SRI, based on their being intercepted communications to 1,241 people, respectively, from a total of 4,805 phones. Of the 1,603 documents authorizing interception, only 573 are initial authorizations (warrants, authorizations and orders), the rest being extensions of existing authorization papers. In the previous year, the number of authorization documents issued for SRI decreased by 26.14 percent, and the number of telephone interception procedures decreased by 18.42 percent. V.2.3. Financial control Financial control activity was performed to ensure proper management of financial resources available to the Romanian Intelligence Service. The internal audit examined the operations and activities and economic implications, and - also - given the necessary support service units within the procurement process. Legality and compliance activities within the Service on this dimension were confirmed following audit and control by the Court of Auditors, which identified the risk of irregularity or specific workflows and procedures. 22 CHAPTER VI RELATIONSHIP WITH CIVIL SOCIETY Service’s activities in relation with civil society were subordinated to the objective of strengthening democratic values, promoting a security culture pertaining to European and Euro- Atlantic structures, in the spirit of human rights and civil liberties, transparency and political fairness. Meanwhile, S.R.I. was concerned about building a proper public image of the institution in the service of the nation and the citizen and under the qualified authorities, responding to the legitimate demands of the public information about its priorities for action and the fulfilment of legal responsibilities. VI.1 Public relations and media The Romanian Intelligence Service has applied specific criteria for transparent security services in relations with citizens, petitions submitted to our institution, and issues raised in the hearings being solved in time. In 2007, the number of petitions submitted by citizens to the Service, namely the heads of central and local units was: 26,091, declining by 18.66 % compared to 2006, of which: - 17 105 (compared to 23 427 in the previous year), individuals - and 8986 (compared to 8,652 in 2006) were submitted by public authorities and businesses, institutions, government organizations and NGOs. The issues raised by the petitioners were extremely varied, their most numerous requests regarding:  reporting of matters of interest to the Romanian Intelligence Service  issuing requests for opinions on classified information programs, frequency allocation and installation of radio and TV equipment, security and protection companies or licensing of technical documentation for the execution of construction works  issuance of certificates to prove labour rights  receiving in audience by representatives of our institution to address alleged disputes or providing information; Regarding abusive and / or illegal acts committed by various civil servants, magistrates and so on, our institution is required to take steps to stop their illegal activities; and also release copies of documents issued by the former State security. The number of complaints decreased from the previous year (from 533 in 2006 to 486 in 2007), only 111 of them (25 confirmed and 86 unconfirmed) having as object the institution's staff, the remaining 375 exceeding the legal powers of our institution. Requests to be received in audience registered in 2007 a slightly positive trend - 7,779 in 2007 comparing to 7,655 in 2006, which shows increasing confidence in the institution's ability to protect the rights and interests of citizens. The activities associated with providing access to public information (regulated by Law no. 544/2001) resulted in the settlement of 35 claims (42.63 % less than in 2006). At the same time, simplifying the request / response information maintained the high number of emails addressed to the Romanian Intelligence Service. The 1749 incoming messages on SRI website (www.sri.ro) referred to the selection criteria to be employed in our institution, 23 participation in courses organized by the National Intelligence Academy, complaints, offers of products and services, thanks to the leadership of SRI, etc. Networking with media aimed at promoting an undistorted image of the Romanian Intelligence Service’s activity and, subsequently, to ensure adequate public submissions for achieving national security activities. The volume of requests to our institution media remained high, indicating significant interest to the service and security activities. About half of the applications were submitted by journalists, spokesmen of institutions which have made statements, explanations and position papers, most taken in the news feeds of news agencies, as well as radio and TV. SRI website continued to be an effective tool for the dissemination of public information, the number of unique visitors reaching an average of 300 people daily. Beyond the overall progress, improving communication with the media and civil society remains an important goal, especially in terms of the capacity of presenting the reality - positive or negative – which the Service is confronted with, by a change of attitude of opinion makers, in order to adapt to the actual trends of the society. VI.2. Security education and relations with civil society Given the crucial role of public opinion to the success of achieving national security activities, in the reporting period there were public communication initiatives enhanced to promote safety culture. One of the main directions of action was the launching of the programs and projects aimed at optimizing communication in public space, in the field of national security. Thus, in 2007, the specialized Service organized 84 events (working meetings, roundtables, debates, conferences, seminars, symposia, etc.) - some having as co – organizer the Culture Information Centre Security (CICS), a significant amount of which promoting security culture. In 45 of the above-mentioned events there were discussed Service related concerns on the security education, and there were representatives of civil society and the media, public authorities and institutions of the national security, experts in security and defense and foreign affairs, diplomats, teachers, students, etc. VI.2. Security education and relations with civil society Following the positive results obtained in previous years, SRI participated in the series of discussions initiated by the Balkan Research Centres Strategic Issues, which includes Romania (represented by the Romanian Diplomatic Institute, Institute of Political Studies of Defense and Military History, CICS and EURISC) which held the presidency of the organization's annual conference held in Bucharest Network, to which occasion the priorities for 2008 to 2010 were set. S.R.I. continued to promote one of the most visible and appreciated public communication projects - "Terrorism ... next to us," already in the third stage. The Campaign was held - since May 2007 - in 6 counties (Brasov, Covasna, Giurgiu, Gorj, Iasi, Vrancea) and received support from the Ministry of Research, Education and Youth 24 and local authorities, and was conducted in partnership with EURISC, NATO and Romanian Institute for International Studies. By the end of 2007, the project was attended by approximately 1,500 students in 31 schools. The project representatives C.I.C.S. held a debate on "global terrorism" in the framework of the fifth edition of the International Student Festival, organized by the University Students' League "Constantin Brancusi" from Targu-Jiu, attended by students from 8 countries and 8 universities in Romania. In parallel with the direct relationship, the specialized structure of the service was involved in supporting other public diplomacy initiatives, such as updating the web page of the Service (for accurate and timely actions carried out under CICS), recovery optimization opportunities relations with non-governmental organizations, associations and foundations with security concerns at home and abroad, etc. A continued coll