SocDem MPs to lead committees controlling Romania's intelligence services

Romania’s Social Democratic Party (PSD), which got over 46% of the votes at the last December’s parliamentary elections, will take over the presidency of the parliamentary committees controlling the country’s main intelligence services SRI and SIE, according to sources from PSD, cited by local Mediafax. PSD proposed senator Adrian Tutuianu for the office of president of the SRI committee and MP Mihai Weber to head the SIE committee. Tutuianu received the positive vote yesterday, but the decision on the SIE committee was delayed. The Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) is in charge of Romania’s internal security whereas the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE) gathers information abroad related to Romania’s national security. The Parliament’s two chambers voted yesterday the constituency of the two control committees. Raluca Turcan, the interim president of the main opposition party – the National Liberal Party (PNL), said that PSD failed to respect the protocol according to which it was PNL’s turn to take over the presidency of the SIE committee. Turcan added that PSD acted like a “red army that comes and conquers the Parliament.” The two committees are very important as they can question the directors of the two intelligence services about their work. SRI is currently involved in a big scandal after its first deputy director Florian Coldea was suspended last week following a series of videos released by runaway investor Sebastian Ghita, who made some compromising allegations related to Coldea. editor@romania-insider.com