BREAKING Eduard Hellvig resigns as Director of National Intelligence Service: „It’s a gesture of democratic health”

The Director of the National Intelligence Service (SRI), Eduard Hellvig, announced on Monday his resignation as Director of the Service, saying that he has achieved his goals of modernizing the institution.

„I can therefore end the stage of my life at the head of the SRI. I have openly discussed this with the President. (…) It is a bad custom in our country that those who hold positions of power do not leave them until the last minute. I think such a step is needed. It is a gesture of democratic health. It is healthy for democracy, for the state’s balance of powers, that a service director has a limited term of office. The director position gives access to a significant amount of sensitive information (…) I end this stage with the satisfaction that we have done good things for citizens, for Romania, and for the SRI”, said Eduard Hellvig.

Eduard Hellvig:

The SRI submitted its activity report for 2022 to the Control Committee on June 23.

The report includes tools for the SRI to become more adaptable to current realities.

The SRI has undergone a major transformation this year so that it can act more effectively to protect Romania.

We are at the end of a very important process of reconfiguring all components of the SRI.

It has been a process designed to ensure an integrated conceptual security system.

The document details the successful completion of two major projects, Regio and Centrio. Through these two projects, the SRI has become a modern, lean, and de-bureaucratized institution.

Regio started in 2017 and aimed to reorganize the institution regionally. Today we no longer have 41 miniature institutions. We have a shortened chain of command with increased flexibility.

Regio has meant transforming central units from the ground up in relation to a simple idea: operations first. This has involved assurances about staying in the legal and constitutional frame. Good results have already been seen. The strategic directions we have pursued are working successfully.

Modernization came with other steps, which meant separating ourselves from the legacy of the former Securitate, turning over the archives completely to The National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives(CNSAS), a gesture that we hoped would be taken up by other institutions, something that did not happen.

We cannot always ask future generations to solve problems that we have not solved. It is time to note that the objectives I set myself have been achieved.

I can therefore end the stage of my life at the head of the SRI. I have discussed this openly with the President.

It is a bad custom in our country that those in positions of power do not leave them until the last minute. I think such a step is needed.

It is a gesture of democratic health. It is healthy for democracy, for the balance of power in the state, that a director of a service should have a limited term of office.

The post of director gives access to a significant amount of sensitive information.

I end this stage with the satisfaction of having done good things for the citizens, for Romania, and for the SRI.

We have promoted a new generation to the top positions.

The state of the service is now significantly better than it was 8-9 years ago.

I express my appreciation to the professionals in the SRI.

I believe that the future of the SRI will be a good one if the institution avoids the mistakes and abuses of the past if it maintains its democratic path.

Today’s statement is my last as Director of the SRI.