The Romanian Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe starts on February 1st, 2023. With this occasion, professor Adrian Ivan, PhD. the Rector of “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy, introduces Romania’s projects and ambitions for the College.
It is an honour for us today to take over – on behalf of Romania – the Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe. We are very much obliged to and inspired by the previous presidencies – our colleagues and friends from the Italian Republic, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Croatia. We commend the French Republic’s vision in initiating this project, as well as the effort made by the Permanent Secretariat and the subsequent presidencies, that have turned ICE into a fully-fledged academic platform of academic cooperation. Now – in its 5th year of existence – ICE has become a mature intergovernmental entity with a solid framework for cooperation, aimed at supporting our shared strategic objective – to foster the development of a shared strategic culture of the European intelligence community.
As in all complex endeavours, there is still a lot of work ahead to fully achieve this objective, so we will build on the foundation set in the previous years, with a particular focus on dialogue, engagement and outreach in all ICE pillars. Our vision has been shaped by the fast evolving European security environment, knowing for a fact that transnational security risks to the security of our continent can be efficiently addressed together. To be able to do that, intelligence services need to share a common vision, understand, and strategic culture. This endeavour can be achieved by sharing our individual knowledge and skills needed for intelligence and national security – and this is exactly what the College will strive to offer: opportunities for the academia, experts and practitioners in security and intelligence alike to share their expertise and work together to build a strong common security culture in Europe.
To achieve these long-term goals, the Romanian Presidency will focus on three hey areas, where we count on an active and consistent involvement of all ICE members:
- first, consolidating the Executive Program in a multi-annual perspective, to facilitate performance and traceability;
- second, supporting and facilitating the development of both executive and academic program modules in co-production by various communities;
- third, encouraging outreach initiatives and College visibility.
The Romanian Presidency is determined to contribute to the College long term strategic development, by working together with all of you, the ICE members, to provide the right opportunities for reflection and to foster exchanges between members of the European intelligence community. Our strong belief is that by strengthening a pragmatic cooperation and synergy amongst partners, and promoting new learning opportunities, while confidently moving forward on the outreach dimension, we will soon enjoy the benefits of a shared and vibrant intelligence culture.
We are looking forward to working together!
Rector of “Mihai Viteazul” National Intelligence Academy
Professor Adrian Ivan