INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

Today, Erolld Musliu, the Director of the Intelligence Agency - AR, attended the Annual Conference of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), as panellist reflecting on the Intelligence and security sector reforms in North Macedonia – achievements, challenges and priorities.

Regarding the current state of the implemented reforms, director Musliu emphasized that successful reforms of the security services have been made that began once the security – political crisis in 2014/2015 in the country came to an end, imposing need for reforms in the security and intelligence sector.

The Director pointed out that the Intelligence Agency is the only institution established by law back in 1995, and at the beginning of last year, a Law was passed encompassing profound reforms of the Agency.

The Director stressed the fact that the employees in the Intelligence Agency work as a team under the “We, not Me” motto. Serious goals have been set in the reform process, which have been fully supported by the NATO Security Office.

In the course of the discussion, the Director elaborated the six strategic goals set by the Intelligence Agency: strengthening the position of AR in the national security system as a foreign intelligence service recognized as a reliable and professional partner and ally internationally; enhancing the human potential via training and adaptation to the dynamic security environment changes; advancing and enhancing of the technical capacities and the cyber resilience aimed at quick recovery after an attack; building and upgrading the Agency’s security culture at all levels; making impact on the politicians’ and the state leadership’s awareness and security culture, thus providing influence of the Intelligence agency’s information to the strategic decision-making related to the national security; and the last goal - transparency, being open towards the public in order for the citizens to build trust in the Intelligence Agency and recognize in it an institution whose mission is the protection of their safety and the sovereignty of the country.

He then added that not everything is perfect in the security–intelligence system, that progress does happen, but it is an endless, continuously upgrading process.

The Parliamentary Commission for Supervision of the Work of AR and ANB supervisory executes two visits to AR per year. In that regard, the Director confirmed that the Agency is open for oversight and control within the legal limitations, and taking into consideration the specifics of the work of AR, there are limits, despite the fact that the members of the Commission are holders of security clearance certificates, the principle of secrecy being one of the key principles in the Agency’s operation.

Regarding the Council for the coordination with the security - intelligence community, and considering the fact that in accordance with the Law for coordination of security - intelligence community, AR, on a rotation basis in 2022, nominated a secretary of the Council office for a period of two years, the director pointed out that the coordination on an operational-tactical level is much better and that several joint operations were carried out, but from the legal aspect, there are still difficulties of administrative and technical nature for the Office that operationalizes the work of the Council. This will be one of AR’s challenges for upgrading its own capacities. The cooperation at an expert level is excellent in all areas.

The Director of AR emphasized the fact that the intelligence - security sector reforms produced quality, and the result is two civilian agencies with precise legal competences. As for the ethnicity-based disagreements in the past, the director said that there is another quality accomplished with the Law, which is his appointment as a Director in the security sector, since, for the first time in the history of our country, an ethnic Albanian with an outstanding professional career is the Director of the Intelligence Agency.

One of the main challenges of the Intelligence Agency in the reform process is the change of generations, especially in the last two years, because some of the employees have retired. Attention is being paid on the young staff via mentoring, but the Agency has been also working on attracting profiles from other institutions that can help the Agency. The director explained that building of a training centre is planned, since, as he pointed out at the beginning of the panel, the Agency’s motto is “We, not me”.

Director Musliu, at the end of his address, stressed out that each member of the Intelligence Agency is a patriot working for their country, who loves the Republic of North Macedonia, is loyal to the Intelligence Agency and the information it is producing, is loyal to the team, works for the security of the citizens and protects the sovereignty of the country.