Nicușor Dan. Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
President Nicușor Dan, explained, in an interview with TVR 1, that he chose not to prioritize the appointments for the heads of information services, because “the stability was more important”. He said he still wants a head of SRI who is not part of a political party.
“The role of the civil chief, if we talk about the SRI, that SIE has one, is to regain the confidence between the company and the operational part of this service. On the operational side, you realize that I have interfered with the service these weeks, since I took over the mandate, things work,” said the President of Romania.
He said that “Romania is the target of a hybrid war from the Russian Federation”, that there are cyber attacks where “state institutions react in reasonable time” and that there is also a concern in the misinformation area.
“On the misinformation side there is a concern, even if at this moment and at the November elections, the reaction of the state was not the optimal. I assure you that I am very interested in the services part, and when the political discussion about bosses will end, we will have a civil boss,” said Nicușor Dan.
Nicușor Dan wants a boss at SRI from outside the parties
Asked if he still wants to appoint a head of the SRI from outside the political parties, he said that “it is what I want.”
However, the president stressed that the reform and stability are in “contradiction”.
“There is a substantial desire for reform, the two rows of presidential elections were also about the reform, but there is a contradiction between stability and reform, and sometimes you have to see what the priority you have. In these mandate months, the stability was more important in my opinion, than to accelerate the process of reform. In my opinion, these things could not be done, ”added Dan.
He also remembered his first term at the Capital City Hall, where the type of one and a half year did not speak about the problem of the deficit-“the biggest problem”-because he would have taken the City Hall in a “vicious circle, to go bankrupt”.
In June, President Nicușor Dan said in a press conference that a civil director at SRI is needed and that “a new SIE director is very likely.” In another press conference, from July 30, Nicușor Dan said that he has “three, four names” in mind for the head of the SRI. At the same time, he said he would name the heads of the services “in the coming weeks”.
SRI was left without director in 2023, after Eduard Hellvig, announced his resignation. He has held this position for eight years, since 2015. At the SIE leadership is, since 2018, Gabriel Vlase, former PSD deputy.
What kind of people Nicușor Dan wants at the head of SRI and SIE. “It's a sensitive discussion”
