EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
2004 2009
Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners
5.12.2006
NOTICE TO MEMBERS
Subject: Report on the TDIP Committee delegation visit to Bucharest (Romania – 17-19 October 2006)
Please find attached a report on the delegation visit to Bucharest prepared by the Secretariat under the responsibility of Mr Carlos Coelho, committee and delegation chairman.
DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES
CM\643712EN.doc PE 382.407v01-00 A. Procedure
When it adopted its working programme for the second half of the year on 10 July 2006, the TDIP Temporary Committee decided to send a delegation to Romania.
By letter of 13 July 2006 (310323/D(2006)39564) Mr Coelho, chairman of the TDIP Committee, asked Mr Borrell, President of the European Parliament, to seek the Bureau's approval for this visit.
On 6 September 2006, the Bureau agreed to this request, authorising 10 committee members (chairman, rapporteur and one representative from each political group) to travel to Bucharest from Tuesday, 17 to Thursday, 19 October 2006.
Delegation participants are listed in Annex 1 and the programme is detailed in Annex 2.
B. Record of meetings
Monday, 16 October 2006
18.30 – 20.00 Reception by the Finnish Ambassador, on behalf of the Council Presidency, to welcome the delegation
When it arrived in the evening the delegation was welcomed by the Finnish Ambassador to Romania, Mr Tapio Saarela, and by the Head of the Commission Delegation in Romania, Mr Jonathan Scheele, as well as by several ambassadors from EU Member States.
Mr Saarela and Mr Scheele took the opportunity to brief the delegation on the political situation in Romania, with a particular focus on those issues of interest to the delegation.
Tuesday, 17 October 2006
9.20 – 10.30 Meeting with: Adrian Cosmin Vierita, Secretary of State for EU Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In response to the various questions put by the members of the delegation Mr Vierita gave the replies indicated below.
All the Romanian authorities were unanimous in stating that there were no secret prisons in Romania; this also emerged from the various inquiries that had been carried out on their initiative. This explained why no official approach had been made to the Bush Administration, at least by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following the statements that he made on 6 September 2006 affirming the existence of such secret detention centres.
Cooperation between Romania and the United States took place in the context of the various
PE 382.407v01-00 2/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN international agreements that had been signed with the latter, which did not include a bilateral treaty on the fight against terrorism. The use of Romanian airports and bases had taken place in this specific context.
10.55 – 12.00 Meeting with: Norica Nicolai, chairman of the Romanian Senate's Special Committee of Inquiry
Ms Nicolai summarised the contents of the interim report by the Special Committee of Inquiry, as adopted by the Senate. She undertook to provide all the documents available, indicating her willingness to cooperate. The committee's term of office had been extended following a number of incidents, such as the investigation into the accident involving the Gulfstream aircraft N478GS on 6 December 2004 and the televised statements made by a young Afghan claiming to have been detained in Romania.
The discussion then focused on the content of the report and the way in which the committee had conducted its investigations, particularly with reference to the flights by aircraft presumed to belong to the CIA within Romanian airspace, and the steps taken by the Romanian authorities in order to check what was happening within those aircraft. Special attention was directed towards the Gulfstream accident of 6 December 2004 and to the aircraft's occupants: three crew members and seven passengers, all American. Since the report drawn up by the frontier police was covered by the law on data protection, it could not be made available to the delegation.
12.00 – 12.30 Meeting with: Teodor Melescanu, Vice-President of the Senate and member of the Special Committee of Inquiry
Mr Melescanu described in detail the way in which the Special Committee of Inquiry had carried out its work and categorically ruled out the possible existence of secret detention centres in Romania, first on account of the inherent difficulty in keeping such a location hidden and secondly because the Romanian press would immediately have reported it. In addition, he stressed that if something had happened at any airports, the Romanian authorities would necessarily have been aware of this, since nowhere was outside their jurisdiction.
12.35 – 13.25 Meeting with: Romeo Raicu and Radu Stroe, chairmen of the Special Committees for Parliamentary Oversight of the Romanian Intelligence Services
Following on from what had been stressed at the preceding meetings, Mr Raicu and Mr Stroe insisted that there was no incontestable proof capable of sustaining any accusation against Romania. The two chairmen considered that their respective committees had carried out their work of parliamentary oversight in a proper manner.
They also confirmed, and regretted the fact, that some Romanian bodies/individuals were not subject to constitutional checks, such as the Supreme National Defence Council, which was
CM\643712EN.doc 3/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN not subject to parliamentary oversight at present.
In this context, they announced that at the Third Conference of Parliamentary Committees responsible for Oversight of the Intelligence and Security Services of the EU Member States, which was taking place in Bucharest at the same time as the visit by the TDIP delegation, they intended to propose to the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs that a code of conduct be drawn up for the EU Member States; this could be a model for all committees responsible for the oversight of secret services in the European Union.
Finally, with regard to the statements made by President Bush, Mr Raicu felt that it was a matter for the EU institutions to request clarifications from the US Administration concerning the countries which had hosted secret detention centres.
15.45 – 16.30 Meeting with: Renate Weber, chair of the Open Society Foundation
Diverging from the official line, Ms Weber expressed doubts about the non-existence of secret detention sites in Romania.
In saying this she took into account, in the first place, the statements by the former Prime Minister, Mr Nastase, and the former Defence Minister, Mr Pascu, who had both stated publicly that the American bases were outside Romanian jurisdiction; this had been clearly demonstrated by the American military operations on Romanian territory during their interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Secondly, she spoke about the administrative procedure to be followed depending on the type of flight. Hence, commercial flights had to land at civil airports, yet the aircraft chartered by the CIA also landed at military airports. To do so they were only required to inform the Ministry of Defence, but without having to provide any reason.
16.30 – 17.00 Meeting with: Diana-Olivia Calinescu, Director of APADOR-CH, the Romanian branch of the Helsinki Committee
Ms Calinescu confirmed that her organisation had been unable to complete any in-depth investigation owing to the shortage of information and the lack of interest and uncooperative attitude on the part of official institutions, which had not responded at any stage to the requests submitted to them by civil society.
Her view was that the Senate Committee of Inquiry had not taken the task assigned to it seriously, either.
PE 382.407v01-00 4/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN 17.00 – 18.00 Meeting with: Calin Cosmaciuc, journalist at Evenimentul Zilei
Mr Cosmaciuc had been invited to comment on the articles that he had published on the issues of interest to the delegation.
He confirmed that his official requests for information had come up against an institutional stone wall, especially with regard to information concerning flights in Romanian airspace.
He expressed regret at being unable to reveal the sources (especially the identity of the airport worker) of information about a witness who had stated that he had seen boxes being carried from an aircraft which was presumed to belong to the CIA. Mr Cosmaciuc said that this witness had not wished to meet the delegation.
Mr Cosmaciuc also stated that George Tenet had visited Romania in 2002.
18.15 – 18.45 Meeting with: Dan Vulcan, former Chief Inspector of the Ministerial Department of Civil Aviation
Mr Vulcan was Chief Inspector of the Ministerial Department of Civil Aviation at the time of the Gulfstream accident of 6 December 2004. He described the situation that he found when he arrived at Baneasa Airport a few hours after the accident, and what happened thereafter: a relaxed, calm atmosphere and full cooperation on the part of the pilots of the aircraft concerned. With regard to the passengers, whom he did not see at any stage, no detailed inquiries were made, since no-one had been injured.
Mr Vulcan then proceeded to give very precise answers to all the delegation's questions regarding the accident. He confirmed that this aircraft had been authorised to land at Baneasa Airport, which is a civil airport, that it had remained there for two months after the accident, and that it had then been removed in another aircraft.
18.45 – 19.00 Meeting with: Catalin Radu, Chief Inspector of the Ministerial Department of Civil Aviation
There had been initial contact with Mr Radu before the TDIP delegation arrived in Romania, but since he had a very full schedule, it had not been possible to arrange a meeting. Mr Radu finally appeared unexpectedly, at Ms Nicolai's request, bringing with him the preliminary technical report which had been drawn up following the Gulfstream accident of 6 December 2004.
He confirmed the information provided by Mr Vulcan and said that he did not know the names of the passengers in the aircraft, to which he did not have access, since the law on data protection prohibited the communication thereof.
20.30
CM\643712EN.doc 5/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN Cocktail party hosted by the Conference of Parliamentary Committees responsible for Oversight of the Intelligence and Security Services of the EU Member States.
This reception enabled the delegation to make some very useful contacts with members of the corresponding parliamentary committees of the countries present.
Wednesday, 18 October 2006
9.05 – 10.05 Meeting with: Sergiu Tudor Medar, Presidential Adviser on Defence and National Security
Between 1999 and 2005 Mr Medar was Head of the Military Intelligence Service Directorate.
He confirmed that he had never received any official American request for prisoners to be transported or detained on Romanian territory. It went without saying that activities of this kind would have required the prior authorisation of the Romanian authorities.
In addition, the military personnel responsible for airports would have had to draw up a report if such activities had taken place, which had never been the case. As far as he was concerned, there had been no illegal detentions in Romania, and in any case there was no evidence which might prove this.
With regard to the statements made by Mr Pascu, he said that he did not know the context in which they had been made. In any case, Mr Medar confirmed that he had had unrestricted access to all parts of the various airports at all times.
He considered that the arrival and departure of aircraft did not in itself justify carrying out an inquiry, unless it was suspected that something illegal was taking place.
He also made it clear that military flights were authorised by the Ministry of Defence alone.
Finally, with regard to the statements made by President Bush, he said he was convinced that the American President knew more about the locations of such sites than anyone else, and that he would be interested – to put it mildly – to see the Romanian authorities ask him what was happening on their own territory.
Mr Medar also took note of the list of flights drawn up by Mr Fava and undertook to provide the delegation with all the information that he had.
PE 382.407v01-00 6/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN 10.30 – 11.40 Meeting with: Anghel Andreescu, Secretary of State for Public Order and Security at the Ministry of the Interior and Public Administration
Mr Andreescu was accompanied by officials from the various departments within the Ministry of the Interior and Public Administration.
The delegation's questions were concerned primarily with the details of the Gulfstream accident of 6 December 2004. The ministry officials willingly agreed to forward to the delegation a copy of the report drawn up by the frontier police on the day of the accident.
It should be noted that at that stage, unlike the official line followed up to that point, no mention was made during this meeting of the law on data protection, and it was only on the following day, Thursday 19 October, that Mr Coelho, chairman of the delegation, was handed a letter informing him that the documents that he had received the previous day had to remain confidential.
12.05 – 13.05 Meeting with: George Maior, Head of the Romanian Intelligence Service
Mr Maior had been appointed to this post only a week earlier. He was accompanied by several colleagues.
Mr Maior immediately ruled out the existence of secret prisons and stated that he intended to discuss the issue with the CIA. He confirmed that cooperation between Romania and the Americans had been very close following the attacks of 11 September 2001 in the United States.
His view was that the use of Romanian bases by the Americans was purely military.
Where the Gulfstream accident was concerned, Mr Romero, the Deputy Director, stated that following the accident the aircraft remained where it was for six months, and was then taken to Canada in an Antonov 124. He confirmed that the intelligence services had no remit to investigate such accidents, and that in any case the Senate's Special Committee of Inquiry had taken charge of the matter.
Mr Romero stated that the American authorities had denied that the aircraft in question was a CIA aeroplane. With regard to the weapon that one of the passengers on the aircraft had been carrying, he stated that the relevant authority for such matters was the Ministry of the Interior.
He made no comment about the subject of the young Afghan. He ruled out the possibility of Romanians being imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay and of Romanian nationals having been extradited to other countries.
CM\643712EN.doc 7/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN 13.20 – 14.10 Meeting with: Radu Timofte, former Head of the Romanian Internal Intelligence Service
Mr Timofte was Head of the Romanian Internal Intelligence Service when the Gulfstream accident took place. It would have been beyond his remit to initiate an investigation following the accident. It was only after the publication of the Council of Europe report by Senator Marty that an investigation was launched. Up to that point, since his service had received no information from the frontier police, it was even unaware that one passenger had been carrying a pistol. If the intelligence services had been informed the weapon would have been confiscated immediately and an investigation would have been initiated.
He spoke of the close cooperation with foreign secret services in the fight against terrorism, but said that transporting prisoners across Romanian territory would have been unacceptable.
Mr Timofte stated George Tenet's visit to Romania had actually taken place in 2000, not in 2002.
14.40 – 15.20 Internal meeting of the TDIP delegation to prepare the following day's press conference.
15.40 – 16.00 Meeting with: Maria Ionescu of the newspaper Observator de Constanta
Ms Ionescu's view was that the Americans exercised control over the administration of Mihail Kogalniceanu Airport. There was no proof, but evidence from two workers confirmed movements of troops and equipment.
She confirmed that she had not been called to give evidence to the Senate's Special Committee of Inquiry.
Ms Ionescu stated that she did not know what had happened with the Afghan who claimed to have been arrested in Romania. However, she said that she was astonished that the secret services were not in the picture.
16.35 – 17.20 Meeting with: Cristian Radu and Stefan Candea, journalists at the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism
Mr Radu was asked to describe the incident that he had experienced in a hotel, when his personal effects were stolen while he was asleep; this was while he was carrying out investigations and cooperating with the Chicago Tribune. Mr Radu stated, however, that he did not believe there was a direct connection between this theft and his investigations.
He stated that he had recently spoken to two officers at Baneasa Airport who had confirmed that all the passengers on the aircraft involved in the accident of 6 December 2004 were dressed in civilian clothes and that after the accident they were put up in a hotel. He was
PE 382.407v01-00 8/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN surprised by the official version, according to which the aircraft supposedly landed to refuel, because coming from Bagram (Afghanistan) it had enough fuel to reach its destination, Shannon (Ireland).
Mr Radu also pointed out a Romanian connection in the case of Abu Omar: the SIM cards used by the CIA agents accused in Italy were in the name of Mihail Timofte (a Romanian construction worker in Italy).
The two journalists stressed the lack of transparency shown by the government and by the Senate's Special Committee of Inquiry, both of which had frequently invoked confidentiality to avoid responding to questions that had been put to them. They confirmed that they had not been called to give evidence to the committee. However, they stated that they had not been subject to pressure from the Romanian authorities and that they felt free to carry out their investigations.
With regard to the ARTE television programme about the young Afghan, they said that they had no information.
Their view was that it was entirely possible that the Romanians had been in the dark about what was happening, since the Mihail Kogalniceanu base was outside their control during the period of the war against Iraq.
17.25 – 17.45 Meeting with: Alison Mutler, journalist (Associated Press)
Ms Mutler was asked to provide details about the sources providing the basis for the information that she had published. First, there was an American national who worked in an American-run hospital in Constanta, and who claimed to have seen three individuals who spoke an Afghan dialect: she said, however, that she doubted the reliability of this evidence. Secondly, there were confidential diplomatic sources which confirmed the existence of prisons in Romania. Finally, there was the mayor of Constanta who, after making a few statements, had refused to say anything more.
Ms Mutler thought that something was undoubtedly going on, but it was not clear that the local authorities had been in the picture. What could be said was that they had started by denying outright that such activities could have taken place, and had subsequently become less categorical.
17.50 – 18.00 Meeting with: Mihaela Danga, Deputy Director of the Centre for Independent Journalism
Ms Danga confirmed the problems experienced by journalists in obtaining information that they requested officially, and also that in Romania it was impossible to keep such news secret.
20.30 Cocktail party, hosted by the TDIP delegation, for all those who had appeared before it.
CM\643712EN.doc 9/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN
Thursday, 19 October 2006
9.50 – 10.35 Meeting with: Gheorghe Fulga, former Head of the Romanian External Intelligence Service
The delegation began by questioning Mr Fulga, who was Head of the Romanian External Intelligence Service over the last six years, until his resignation in June 2006.
Mr Fulga described the service that he had headed, together with the developments which had taken place during his time in office.
With regard to the control exercised by the Romanian Government and the secret services over the bases used by the Americans during the war against Iraq, Mr Fulga said that this issue was within the direct remit of Mr Pascu (former Minister of National Defence), and that it had been dealt with within the Supreme Defence Council, given the difficulties that the United States had with securing Turkey's agreement regarding the use of its airports. It remained the case that it was only after allegations were made about Romania that investigations at different levels (President, Prime Minister, Parliament) were completed, but without being conclusive.
He also stated that he did not know the terms of the cooperation agreement signed with the United States in 2006, any more than he did any cases of Romanians held in countries which were said to practise torture. However, individuals with dual nationality or in the course of obtaining Romanian nationality had actually been suspected of having been involved in some terrorist activities.
10.35 – 11.15 Meeting with: Ioan Talpes, Senator and member of the Committee for Defence and National Security
The discussion with Mr Talpes focused on Romania's relations with the United States and the international cooperation agreements drawn up from March 2004 onwards in the context of its membership of NATO.
Mr Talpes' view was that the allegations had to be considered in that context, and the prime concern of the Romanians, as new members of NATO, was henceforward to fulfil all their obligations and to maintain secrecy, confidentiality and protection of their allies in all operations.
He stated that the agreements signed at that time with the United States were agreements of principle, wholly comparable with those signed with the other members of the Alliance. Movements of American aircraft took place, but Romania did not know whether these were CIA aircraft. In any case, individuals, goods and other equipment circulating on Romanian territory were subject to checks by Romanian officials or military personnel. However, nobody could have thought that human rights violations could have been taking place on
PE 382.407v01-00 10/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN Romanian territory.
11.23 Press conference
The chairman, Mr Coelho, and the rapporteur, Mr Fava, held a press conference in Bucharest on 19 October 2006 at the Information Centre of the Commission Delegation, at which they presented the main conclusions reached during the visit.
At the press conference the chairman, Mr Coelho, made the introductory statement appended as Annex 3.
CM\643712EN.doc 11/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN ANNEX 1
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS TDIP Delegation to Bucharest, 17-19th October 2006
MEPs
1. COELHO Carlos (Chairman) 20.05.1960 2. LUDFORD Sarah (ALDE) 3. FAVA Giovanni Claudio (Rapporteur) 15.04.1957 4. BREPOELS Frieda (EPP-ED)1 07.05.1955 5. GOMES Ana (PSE) 09.02.1954 6. MEYER Willy (GUE/NGL) 19.08.1952 7. CZARNECKI Ryszard (Non-attached)
TDIP Committee Secretariat:
8. NÉMOZ-HERVENS François 16.01.1955 (Head of Secretariat) 9. MARTINEZ VALLS Angeles 31.03.1965 (Administrator) 10. MARIN Nadia ..22.07.1976 (Assistant)
Political Groups/Assistants:
11. SPEISER Michael Alexander (EPP-ED) 12. RESTIFO Francesca (PSE) 13. MARZOCCHI Ottavio (ALDE/ADLE)
Press service
14. ZALEWSKI Piotr
Interpreters
15. DE LA CALLE-ORTEGA Alicia (freelance) 16. ALLENDESALAZAR Iciar (freelance) 17. TANGO Anne (freelance) 18. CARDNO Sheilah (freelance) 19. CODREANU Mihai Cristian (freelance) 20. POP Hortenzia Elena (freelance) 21. SANTA Laura-Cristina (staff, TL)
1MARINESCU Marian-Jean (EPP-ED): will participate in the meetings as European Observer from Romania SZABO Karoly Ferenc (EPP-ED): will participate in the meetings as European Observer from Romania
PE 382.407v01-00 12/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN Annex 2 TDIP Secretariat Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners
TDIP Delegation to Romania (17-19th October 2006) FINAL AGENDA
Monday, October 16th
Departure from Brussels airport
13.55 Arrival to Otopeni airport (Romanian time)
15.30 Accommodating into Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel
(Calea Dorobanti 57 - Tel. 0040 021 2015000)
venue: at the residence of the ambassador: Sofia, 7
18.30 Reception - Welcome by the Finnish Ambassador Tapio Kalevi SAARELA
(Ambassadors from all EU Members States have been invited together with the Head of the European Commission delegation)
Tuesday, October 17th
venue: Aleea Alexandru no. 31, Ministry for Foreign Affairs premises
9.00 - 10.00 Adrian Cosmin VIERITA Secretary of State for EU affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
venue: Izvor Street, no 2-4, Parliament Palace
10.30 - 11.30 Norica NICOLAI Senator, Chairwoman of the Special Inquiry Committee -Senate
11.30 - 12.15 Teodor MELESCANU Vice president of the Romanian Senate and Member of the Special Inquiry Committee
Chairman of the Romanian Foreign Intelligence Service Oversight 12.15 - 13.15 Romeo RAICU and Parliamentary Committee Radu STROE Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for the Oversight of the Romanian Intelligence Service
13.15 Lunch at the restaurant of Romanian Parliament
venue: Jules Michelet Street no 18-20, EC Delegation's premises
15.30 - 16.15 Renate WEBER Chair of the Open Society Foundation
16.15 - 17.00 Diana-Olivia CALINESCU Executive Director APADOR-CH (Romanian Helsinki Committee)
17.00 - 18.00 Calin COSMACIUC Journalist at "Evenimentul Zilei"
CM\643712EN.doc 13/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN 18.00 - 18.45 Dan VULCAN Former chief inspector, Department of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport Catalin RADU Chief inspector, Department of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport
venue: Lido Hotel premises, Bulevardul Magheru nr.5-7
20.30 Cocktail offered by the Conference of the Oversight Committees on the Intelligence bodies of the European Union Member States
Wednesday, October 18th
venue: Palatul Cotroceni, Geniului Steet, no. 1-3
9.00 - 10.00 Sergiu Tudor MEDAR National Security Adviser, Presidential Administration
venue: Piata Revolutiei, no 1 A, first floor (Ministry of Interior)
10.30 - 11.30 Anghel ANDREESCU Secretary of State for public order and security
venue: to be confirmed
12.00 - 13.00 George MAIOR Head of the Romanian Internal Intelligence Service
13.00 - 14.00 Radu TIMOFTE Former Head of the Romanian Internal Intelligence Service
14.00 - 15.30 Delegation meeting at Floridas's Room (Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel - 1st floor)
venue: Jules Michelet Street no 19-20, EC Delegation's premises
15.30 - 16.15 Maria IONESCU Editor in chief at Observator de Constanta newspaper
16.15 - 17.15 Cristian RADU and Romanian Center for Investigative Journalism
Stefan CANDEA
17.15 - 18.00 Alison MUTLER Associated Press Writer
18.00 - 18.45 Mihaela DANGA Deputy Director at the Center for Independent Journalism
venue: Casa Oamenilor de Stiinta - Piata Lahovary no. 9, sector 1 (Tel: +4021 211 3521)
20.30 Reception offered by the TDIP Delegation
PE 382.407v01-00 14/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN Thursday, October 19th
venue: Central university Library, Strada Boteanu, 1
9.00 - 10.00 Ioan TALPES Senator, Member of the Committee for National Security and Defence, former Chief of the Department for National Security - Presidency (2004-2005)
10.00 - 11.00 Gheorghe FULGA Former Head of the Romanian External Intelligence Service
venue: Calea Victoriei, no 88, Information Center of the EC Delegation -Infoeuropa
11.00 Press conference
17.55 Departure from Otopeni airport
19.40 Arrival to Brussels airport (Belgium time)
CM\643712EN.doc 15/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN Annex 3
Bucharest, 19 October 2006
Statement by Chairman Coelho
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,
As you know, we have just completed a three-day visit to Bucharest in the framework of our investigations on the alleged illegal activities of American intelligence services in Europe.
We have come to Bucharest on the eve of a major event for Romania, namely its accession to the European Union. This means we felt at home here, because we all share in the same community of values – the rule of law, democracy and respect for human rights.
We are grateful for the way we have been received by all authorities we had asked to meet and for the willingness to cooperate they all showed towards our delegation.
We had indeed the opportunity to meet representatives from the Government (the Secretary of State for European Affairs and for public order and security), as well as high officials of state organs dealing with intelligence and national security, besides our meetings with our colleagues from the Romanian Parliament.
Furthermore we also met representatives from civil society and the media. We are grateful for the very useful information they gave us. During our talks with our different interlocutors – both from Government and Parliament – we touched upon some concrete cases like the one involving a Gulfstream plane which had an accident on Baneasa airport (Bucharest) on 6 December 2004 and was supposedly an aircraft operated by the CIA. Documentation concerning this specific case has been provided to us on our request by the competent bodies.
We also appreciate the fact that the Romanian Senate has set up an inquiry committee which is the proper way in a democracy to deal with such allegations. In this respect I would like to underline that the Romanian Parliament is up to now the only one, along with the German
PE 382.407v01-00 16/17 CM\643712EN.doc EN Bundestag, to have set up such a committee and we actually also paid a visit to Berlin one month ago. This should be seen as a confirmation of the increasing cooperation between the European Parliament and national parliaments.
Taking into account the gravity of the allegations, all institutions should make all efforts to find out the truth beyond any doubt.
This implies that research work should continue and go deeper than was the case up to now. Because there are questions which have still not been answered.
We welcome the statement made by Senator Nicolai, chair of the parliamentary inquiry committee, who did not fully exclude that illegal flights could have occurred. We understand therefore that the conclusions reached by this committee are only provisional.
In this respect we very much hope that our cooperation with the Romanian Parliament will continue and become even deeper and that all documents we asked for will be provided to us.
Finally I would also like to mention the coincidence of our visit with the conference of the parliamentary oversight committees of EU Member States' intelligence services currently taking place in Bucharest, because it reflects the common aspirations of these committees to increase the accountability of secret services, a concern obviously shared by the European Parliament and particularly emphasised by the relevant committees of the Romanian Parliament.
Thank you and I will now give the floor to our rapporteur, Claudio FAVA.
CM\643712EN.doc 17/17 PE 382.407v01-00 EN