Romania's intelligence service SRI said on June 5 that the EUR 196 million contract awarded to Digi Romania for the development of an integrated large language model (LLM) cybersecurity platform was carried out in accordance with the procedures established under the EU's Security Action for Europe (SAFE) instrument and national legislation.

The clarification came a day after SRI had stated in a separate press release that “the identification and selection of suppliers for projects financed through SAFE is carried out within the framework of the interinstitutional working group coordinated by the Head of the Prime Minister’s Chancellery”, effectively assigning responsibility for supplier selection to the government.

According to the latest statement, SRI said it followed the same steps as other public institutions authorised to conduct procurements under SAFE. These included identifying operational needs and objectives, carrying out market consultations to identify technical and financial solutions, and preparing the award documentation.

The resulting information request analysis document was subsequently submitted for approval to the interinstitutional working group, the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT), and Parliament, through the joint committees on defence, public order, and national security, SRI said.

The intelligence service added that, pursuant to Article 19 of the SAFE instrument and Article 4(2) of Government Emergency Ordinance 62/2025, it used a negotiated procedure without prior publication of a tender notice and awarded the framework agreement to Digi Romania.

The contract, worth up to EUR 196 million and financed under the SAFE programme, aims to create an integrated platform for evaluating and operating cybersecurity-focused LLM systems.

The award has drawn scrutiny after Orange Romania, the country's largest telecom operator and a major player in IT systems integration and cybersecurity, reportedly said it had not been consulted regarding the project. Questions have also been raised over the lack of prior public disclosure concerning the initiative and the absence of a competitive tender procedure.

iulian@romania-insider.com

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