The National Council for the Study of Security Archives (CNSAS) is checking 130,000 civil servants in Romania to identify possible collaborators or workers of the former Security. The first confirmed cases come from institutions such as APIA and the Romanian Customs Authority.
The 130,000 civil servants in Romania are checked by CNSAS Photo Facebook CNSAS
The checks are carried out on the basis of the 2019 Administrative Code, which stipulates that a person cannot hold a public position if he has been “security worker or its collaborator, according to the specific legislation”.
APIA and Customs, at the center of the CNSAS investigation
Two institutions are already notable for the large number of employees for whom CNSAS requested the Bucharest Court of Appeal to ascertain the involvement as former collaborators or workers of the Security: the Payments and Intervention Agency for Agriculture (APIA) and the Romanian Customs Authority.
According to a response sent to G4Media.ro by the Communications Directorate of the National Council for the Study of Security Archives (CNSAS), in 2023 and 2024, 13 employees of the Payments and Intervention Agency for Agriculture (APIA) were identified for which the institution submitted, at the Court of Appeal in Bucharest, requests to ascertain the quality of security collaborator. They would have violated fundamental rights of those about whom they signed informative notes.
Suspect civil servants in other institutions as well
Two other actions had as defendants employees from another institution subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture – the National Agency for Fisheries and Aquaculture. CNSAS confirmed that among the 15 are Dorel Chirilă, Nicolae Dorca, Cezar Iulian Marcu, Adrian Cucu Popescu, Cornelia Csatlos, Mircea Ion Ogrin, Magda Cîrstoiu, Mariana Olaru, Richard Corneliu Dima and Florin Cazacu.
From checks, most of them are heads of services, heads of offices or senior advisers in the two institutions. For three of the above, the Court has already admitted CNSAS’s actions on the merits, while the rest of the files are pending.
How to defend APIA
Regarding the existence of these files, the Public Relations and Communication Service within the APIA stated that, in order to hold a public position, according to the Administrative Code, the employee declares on his own responsibility that he was not a collaborator/worker of the Security, and the APIA “he cannot assume responsibility nor can he comment on the improper declaration of the truth in these statements, as the competence to resolve these actions belongs to the courts”.
The institution specified that, in the event that the judges will admit the actions of CNSAS by final decision, for the respective civil servants the service relationships will cease by law, according to an article of the Administrative Code.
Outbreak of suspects at Romanian Customs
From the activity report of the CNSAS for the year 2023, it appears that another institution facing a larger number of employees discovered as collaborators or workers of the Security is the Romanian Customs Authority: five employees – customs inspectors in Albița, Sculeni, Ilfov, Siret and Moravița.
The identification of the above took place on the basis of an article of the new Administrative Code, which came into force in 2019, an article which requires the verification of all 130,000 civil servants in Romania. The subsequent determination of the quality of collaborator/worker of the former Political Police by the court will be equivalent, according to the same Code, to the immediate dismissal. Previously, this provision did not exist in the law. CNSAS checks started in the second part of 2022.
“(…) Our institution has started the verification procedure for approximately 130,000 civil servants, in accordance with art 465, paragraph 1 letter k of oug no. 57/2019 regarding the Administrative Code, with subsequent amendments and additions. I would like to point out that Ordinance No. 24/2008 regarding access to the Security’s own file and debunking the conspiracy, with subsequent amendments and additions, which represents the framework according to which CNSAS carries out its activity, did not provide for the verification of civil servants”it is stated in the answer received by the journalists.
Cases also discovered at Ministries
Other public officials identified, in 2023, based on this article, for which CNSAS has filed actions at the Bucharest Court of Appeal, are a senior advisor, a head of service, both from the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, a senior advisor from the Ministry of National Defense and an advisor from the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism.
