The negotiations for the appointment of the heads of the intelligence services are intensifying, with PNL and PSD going to have a decisive role in appointing the leadership of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE).
For the head of the SRI, the PNL supports the Minister of the Interior, Cătălin Predoiu, and the President of the Senate, Mircea Abrudean, while for the SIE, the PSD would consider several options – Vasile Dîncu, Claudiu Manda and MEP Andi Cristea – but the favorite remains the presidential adviser Marius Lazurcă, G4Media sources say.
Initially, the president Nicușor Dan proposed the lawyer Gabriel Zbârcea for the SRI, but his candidacy was rejected due to neo-Legionarian sympathies. PSD and PNL refused from the beginning the proposals from the head of state, the social-democratic leader Sorin Grindeanu stating that they will not be accepted “characters who identify with the discourse of the extremist party AUR”.
Florin Vlădică, who works in the National Security Department of the Presidential Administration, was also circulated for the SRI, the quoted source states that he has little chance of being proposed, not having the support of the PNL. In parallel, the PNL senator Alexandru Muraru was considered for the SIE, but it is unlikely that the party will get appointments to both services, so his chances are reduced.
More than two years and five months have passed since the resignation of Eduard Hellvig from the head of the SRI, and the president Nicușor Dan announced at the end of December that he will make a decision “within a reasonable time”, possibly until late 2025 or early 2026, avoiding giving hints about who he prefers to lead the most important intelligence structure.
According to the sources, the appointments to the SRI and SIE will be treated “as a package” with those from the head of the prosecutor’s offices, given that the PSD holds the decisive role in the coalition and the Ministry of Justice – the one that makes the proposals for the leadership of the General Prosecutor’s Office, DNA and DIICOT. The procedure for appointing the heads of the prosecutor’s offices will soon be launched by the Minister of Justice, Radu Marinescu, and after the proposals, the advisory opinion of the CSM and the final decision of the president will follow.
Nicușor Dan stated that he wants to secure the appointments to head SRI and DNA and will negotiate with PSD, thus ensuring an agreement in the coalition. At the same time, one month after the consultations in Cotroceni caused by the Recorder documentary about the captured justice, Nicușor Dan encouraged the magistrates to report the problems in the system and to participate in the selections for leadership positions.
The mandates of the current heads of public prosecutor’s offices – Alex Florenta (General Prosecutor’s Office) and Marius Voineag (DNA) – expire on March 30, but both can be reconfirmed for a second term. In parallel, President Dan announced the organization of a referendum in January, through which the magistrates will be asked whether the SCM acts in the public interest or not.
Thus, the appointments to SRI, SIE and prosecutors will mark an important stage in the reorganization of the main security and justice institutions in Romania, with PSD and PNL having key roles in appointing the candidates approved in the coalition.
