Financiarul

The Gendarmerie has travelled a long way to redefine itself as an institution, 2009 being a year “characterized by a high level of delinquency” in many places, reads the message conveyed by President Traian Basescu on Tuesday, when they presented the survey of the Romanian Gendarmerie for 2009.

“[The Gendarmerie] is an institution that has built again its working framework, it is an institution that has built its new image, an institution that has assumed new responsibilities both domestically and internationally.
A number of new activities carried out by the Romanian Gendarmerie turned out to be successful and I would mention here the mountain gendarmerie especially, which has recently proved so useful in helping tourists in difficult situations in the mountains or in ensuring the observance of the law in these areas,” reads the President’s message.

Traian Basescu also appreciated that 2009 was a difficult year for the Gendarmerie, which was “characterized by a high level of delinquency in many places, by the increasing phenomenon of hooliganism in the areas of the sports arenas,” by a large number of illegal acts that required stricter measures taken by the gendarmes structures in order to ensure the public order.

He also emphasized the fact that the most important resource of the Gendarmerie was people, who help in difficult situations. He also thanked the Gendarmerie for “the exemplary way” in which they fulfilled their duty in difficult situations: floods or other highly risky situations. The President also pointed to the missions carried out by the Romanian gendarmes in Kosovo, which were “extremely well appreciated” by the European Union.

“Romania is also important in the European Union thanks to the performance of these people and I think that, in the near future, the requirements of the international community for Romania referring to its contribution, the one made by the Gendarmerie included, will be ever more numerous.
As it demonstrated its professionalism, it was but natural for the Romanian Gendarmerie to be called upon by ever more European and international partners both to make its contribution to rebuilding other states and to help the European Union missions, and maybe the NATO ones too, in this respect,” reads the above-mentioned message.

On Tuesday, at the headquarters of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Gendarmerie, they assessed the activities carried out by the Romanian Gendarmerie in 2009, Minister of Administration and the Interior Vasile Blaga attending.