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On September 1, 2024, the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA), Daniel Markić, assumed the position of Director of the EU Intelligence and Situation Centre (EU INTCEN). Mr. Markić served as director for two terms since 2016.

The management of the SOA was taken over by the Deputy Director of the SOA, Hrvoje Omrčanin, who was appointed to this position on July 5, 2024. Deputy Director Omrčanin will lead the SOA until a new director is appointed.

On Monday, July 8, 2024, acting director of the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA), Daniel Markić, participated in a cybersecurity roundtable in Washington, organized by Foreign Policy and Microsoft. The roundtable was titled "Defend, Attribute, Punish: Deterring Cyber Warfare in the Age of AI."

The organizers noted that, in the context of the war in Ukraine and the 75th anniversary of NATO, cyber is increasingly weaponized to disrupt the information space, destroy critical infrastructure, and destabilize societies across the Alliance and beyond. Following the pledge to enhance cyber capabilities at the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, this year's summit in Washington presents an opportunity to further operationalize and strengthen cross-sectoral partnerships focused on cyber deterrence and defense.

In this context, Foreign Policy, in partnership with Microsoft, gathered senior leaders from across governments, multilateral institutions, civil society, and industry to discuss how cyberattacks, accelerated by the rise of artificial intelligence, can be identified, thwarted, and punished to deter future attempts. Roundtable participants considered the types of partnerships that could improve emerging digital forensic technologies, enhance intelligence sharing, and strengthen international law to deny the benefits and increase the costs to the organizers and perpetrators of cyberattacks.

The Association of European Journalists in Spain (La Asociación de Periodistas Europeos – APE, https://www.apeuropeos.org/) has published the proceedings of the 35th International Seminar on Security and Defense held on June 21 and 22, 2023, in Toledo, Kingdom of Spain.

At the seminar, the Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić, gave a presentation titled "The Virus of Russian Propaganda" (Virus de la propaganda rusa) discussing Russian information operations and propaganda in the context of the war in Ukraine, with a particular reference to the area of Southeast Europe.

Alongside the SOA Director, the part of the seminar titled "Propaganda, Disinformation, and Unconventional Threats" was attended by General Carlos Javier Frías, Director of the Spanish Army Military Academy, Sergio Sánchez, communications and security expert, and Carlos Franganillo, journalist and editor at the Spanish public broadcasting service.

The Association of European Journalists in Spain has been organizing international seminars on security and defense since 1983. The goal of the 35th seminar was to foster discussion among experts from civilian and military fields, national and international institutions, academia, and journalists on the of Russian aggression against Ukraine, war diplomacy, solutions for the Ukrainian war, and views on NATO and the EU.

The proceedings of the presentations are published in Spanish and can be found at the following link: https://www.apeuropeos.org/descargas/XXXV-Defensa.pdf

Acting Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) Daniel Markić participated in a panel discussion as part of the Lennart Meri Conference held from May 16 to 18, 2024, in Tallinn, Estonia.

The topic of the panel discussion was "2024 as the Year of Elections – Can Russian Disinformation Change Our Politics". Alongside Mr. Markić, the panel featured Jade McGlynn, a research fellow at the Department of War Studies at King's College London; Luigi Sergio Germani, director of the Gino Germani Institute for Social Sciences and Strategic Studies; and Benjamin Tallis, senior research fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations. The panel was moderated by Edward Lucas, senior fellow and adviser at the Center for European Policy Analysis.

The panel's theme was prompted by the numerous elections taking place worldwide in 2024. In addition to the European Parliament elections and the U.S. presidential election, elections will be held in Mexico, India, and Indonesia, as well as in 13 African countries throughout the year. Overall, every second person globally will have the opportunity to vote in 2024. The panel addressed the possible Russian interference in electoral processes, the tools and messages Russia might use, and the effectiveness of Russia in creating conflicts and divisions in Europe and the U.S.

Mr. Markić focused on Russian influence on political and other processes in Southeastern Europe, particularly the Western Balkans, which remain outside European integration.

This year's Lennart Meri Conference is the 17th in a series that gathers policymakers, decision-makers, politicians, analysts, military and security officials, scholars, and other experts to discuss key foreign policy and security issues in Europe and the world.

Dr. Tomislav Dokman, Director of the Center of Excellence for OSINT, and José Casimiro Morgado, Director of the EU Intelligence Analysis Center (EU INTCEN), signed a memorandum of understanding on May 6, 2024, in Brussels, defining the framework for future cooperation between these two institutions.

EU INTCEN, known publicly as the "civil intelligence unit" of the EU, operates as one of the departments of the European External Action Service (EEAS), reporting directly to the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Its analytical products are based on data obtained from the security and intelligence services of EU member states.

Signing the memorandum with EU INTCEN represents an important step in further enhancing the recognition and significance of the Center within the European security and intelligence community.

The International Center of Excellence for OSINT is a specialized institution of interest to the Republic of Croatia and international security, serving as a central hub of knowledge, expertise, and experience in the field of collecting, processing, and analyzing data from open sources.

The Center was established after the Croatian Parliament passed the Law on the Establishment of the Center of Excellence for collecting, processing, and analyzing data from open sources on June 28, 2023, with the Security and Intelligence Agency performing the founding rights.

More information about the Center and its activities can be found on the Center's website www.osintcoe.hr.

On February 27, 2024, a conference “Tackling Cyber Threats with U.S. Tools“ was held in Zagreb, organized by the U.S. Embassy.

Welcome remarks at the beginning of the conference were delivered by the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia, Her Excellency Nathalie Rayes, and the Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić.

The conference showcased the capabilities of U.S. companies specializing in cybersecurity, and also featured a panel discussion on the impact of the EU NIS2 directive on businesses in the Republic of Croatia. A representative of the Security and Intelligence Agency also participated in the panel discussion.

With the entry into force of the Cybersecurity Law on February 15, 2024, the Security and Intelligence Agency became the national cybersecurity authority, and for this purpose the existing Cybersecurity Center of the SOA will be transformed into the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC-HR).

The Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić, participated in the 60th Munich Security Conference (MSC) held from February 16th to 18th, 2024.

Director Markić participated in activities related to intelligence matters and European security and cooperation, and during the MSC, he held several bilateral meetings.

This year's MSC discussed the international order and global security challenges, European security and defense, the war in Ukraine and the Middle East, and other regional conflicts and crisis spots, as well as new technologies.

On February 15, 2023, the first meeting of the Steering Committee of the Center of Excellence for Open Source Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis was held in Zagreb. With this, the Center formally commenced its operations. Before the start of the first meeting, the members of the Steering Committee were greeted by the Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić, as well as by the Director of the Center, Tomislav Dokman.

Over the past few months, six European countries, including France, Spain, Hungary, and Poland, have signed memoranda of cooperation, thus joining the Center. This fulfills the legal requirement for the commencement of the Center's operations, namely the formation of the Center's Steering Committee, in which each accessioning country has one representative.

The Steering Committee adopts the Center's Statute, supervises its work and activities, approves work plans, adopts financial plans, and, upon the proposal of the Center's Director, approves the accession of new parties to the Center and makes other decisions necessary for its operation.

The Center of Excellence was established after the Croatian Parliament passed a law on its establishment on June 28, 2023. The Republic of Croatia is the founder of the Center, and its founding rights are exercised by the Security and Intelligence Agency. The Center was established as an institution based in Zagreb, having legal personality and being registered in the court register.

The Center of Excellence will be a central hub of knowledge, expertise, and experience in the field of open source data collection, processing, and analysis. The Center will develop doctrines, standardized procedures, and methodological frameworks aimed at greater efficiency in the use of open source data and the interoperability of European security and intelligence agencies.

More information about the Center and its activities can be found on the Center's website www.osintcoe.hr.

On February 15, 2024, the Cybersecurity Act (Official Gazette, No. 14/2024) entered into force. The Cybersecurity Act transposes into national legislation Directive (EU) 2022/2555 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 14, 2022, on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union, amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 and Directive (EU) 2018/1972 and repealing Directive (EU) 2016/1148 (NIS2 Directive).

The aim of Cybersecurity Act is to ensure the effective implementation of procedures and measures to achieve a high level of cybersecurity prescribed therein. To this end, the Act establishes a new cybersecurity management system in the Republic of Croatia, which entails a reorganization of the existing responsibilities in the field of cybersecurity.

The Cybersecurity Act establishes the functionality of a central state cybersecurity authority, whose tasks will be carried out by the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA). For this purpose, the existing Cybersecurity Center of the SOA will be transformed into the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC-HR).

After the Croatian Parliament passed the Law on the Establishment of the Center of Excellence for Open Source Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis on June 28, 2023, the Security and Intelligence Agency conducted organizational, technical, and personnel preparations for the Center's commencement.

The Center was established as an institution with legal personality necessary for performing tasks within its competence and is registered in the court register. The Center is headquartered in Zagreb. On January 4, 2024, the Government of the Republic of Croatia appointed Tomislav Dokman as the director of the Center.

The Center of Excellence has an international character, and the Law stipulates that it will formally commence operations after at least two international parties join (foreign security or intelligence agency, or other foreign or international security body).

Over the past few months, six European countries, including France and Spain, have signed memoranda of cooperation, thus joining the Center. This fulfills the legal requirement for the Center's commencement, namely the formation of the Steering Committee in which each acceding country has one representative.

The Steering Committee adopts the Center's Statute, oversees its work and activities, approves work plans, adopts financial plans, and, upon the director's proposal, approves the accession of new parties to the Center and makes other decisions necessary for its operation.

The International Center of Excellence for Open Source Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis is a non-profit and professional institution of interest to the Republic of Croatia and international security. It serves as a central hub of knowledge, expertise, and experience in the field of collecting, processing, and analyzing data from open sources.

The Center will develop doctrines, standardized procedures, and methodological frameworks to enhance the efficiency of utilizing data from open sources and the interoperability of European security and intelligence agencies.

The Center of Excellence will also have its own website.

On December 15, 2023, the conference on critical infrastructure in the maritime domain took place at the premises of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb. The event was organized by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway in the Republic of Croatia, the Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA), and the Norwegian Center for Security and Resilience UTSYN. Support for the conference organization was provided by the Norwegian Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

The conference aimed to bring together Croatian and Norwegian entities from government, industry, and the scientific community to discuss and exchange views on current threats and vulnerabilities to critical infrastructures in the maritime domain. The goal was also to explore solutions, ideas, and strategic partnerships to address these challenges.

Maritime critical infrastructure includes gas and oil installations, energy facilities, communication cables, transportation, food, and industrial facilities. The list of threats encompasses accidents, terrorism, hybrid operations, diversions, and various others.

In addition to government and military officials from both countries, the conference saw participation from representatives of Norwegian and Croatian companies operating critical infrastructure, as well as those involved in security, defense, technology, and the construction/maintenance of critical infrastructure. Representatives from Croatian universities and faculties, as well as representatives of EU security bodies, were also present.

Opening presentations at the conference were given by Zdravko Jakop, State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense, and Damir Trut, Director of the Directorate for Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior.

Subsequent presentations were delivered by the Norwegian Ambassador to Croatia, Arne Sannes Bjoernstad, SOA Director Daniel Markić, and Commodore Thomas Andersen, Deputy Chief of Staff Operations, Norwegian Navy. They then engaged in a panel discussion on threats and political responses to them.

In the following two panels, representatives from the professional community, critical infrastructure operators, and industry discussed vulnerabilities and risks to critical infrastructure, as well as new solutions and possibilities for protecting critical infrastructure.

Throughout the conference, similarities in the importance of critical infrastructure in the maritime domain for both countries and the overall security of Europe were emphasized. Croatia and Norway, as maritime nations with extensive coastlines crucial for various economic strategic interests, consider the discussion on protecting and maintaining maritime security in the current security situation a priority.

Conference participants highlighted that modern economies and societies rely on maritime infrastructure for the development and assurance of trade, supply chains, digital communications, energy, and food security. The complexity of protecting critical infrastructure requires a comprehensive approach involving numerous stakeholders. Strengthening the resilience of societies and infrastructure supporting economic and social development requires a joint effort by government bodies, as well as the involvement of industry and the scientific community in strategic partnerships to elevate the level of national maritime readiness.

Croatian conference participants emphasized that the Croatian homeland security system sees such comprehensive synergy of all involved stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental, as the most effective way to protect all aspects of national security, including the security of the Croatian maritime domain and infrastructure.

On November 28, 2023, the Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić, delivered a presentation at the plenary session of the international technological conference Future Tech Event 2023, held on November 27 and 28, 2023, in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Director Markić gave a presentation on digital transformation as a driver of change in the security-intelligence world. He spoke about the opportunities and challenges for security-intelligence activities arising from technological development, emphasizing the necessity for security-intelligence organizations to adapt to new technologies. Director Markić concluded that the success of security-intelligence systems would be measured, among other things, by their adaptability to new needs and possibilities, as well as innovation in leveraging new technologies.

Future Tech Event is a technological conference that serves as a platform for establishing business contacts and discussing technological innovations, challenges, and solutions among decision-makers and experts from the government sector, industry, and the academic community.

In Washington, United States, on November 1, 2023, the third meeting of the members of the Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) took place. The head of the Croatian delegation was Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency Daniel Markić. Alongside Director Markić, the Croatian delegation included Tihomir Lulić from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and Renato Grgurić from the Ministry of Interior.

The United States initiated the CRI in 2021 in response to the increasing prevalence of ransomware attacks targeting both state and critically important private objectives. Currently, 48 countries, the European Union, and INTERPOL are participating in the Initiative, with the Republic of Croatia being among the included countries.

During the meeting, the members adopted a Joint Statement in which they reaffirmed their joint commitment to building our collective resilience to ransomware, cooperating to undercut the viability of ransomware and pursue the actors responsible, countering illicit finance that underpins the ransomware ecosystem, working with the private sector to defend against ransomware attacks, and continuing to cooperate internationally across all elements of the ransomware threat.

This year’s CRI gathering focused on developing capabilities to disrupt attackers and the infrastructure they use to conduct their attacks, improving cybersecurity through sharing information, and fighting back against ransomware actors.

The Joint Statement can be read on this link:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/11/01/international-counter-ransomware-initiative-2023-joint-statement/

On June 22, 2023, the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić, gave a presentation at the 35th International Seminar on Security and Defense, which took place on June 21 and 22, 2023, in Toledo, Kingdom of Spain.

The seminar was organized by the Association of European Journalists (La Asociación de Periodistas Europeos - APE, https://www.apeuropeos.org/) in cooperation with the Spanish Ministry of Defense.

Director Markić held a presentation "Virus de la propaganda rusa" about Russian propaganda in the context of the war in Ukraine, with special reference to the area of Southeastern Europe. Along with Director Markić, the session entitled "Propaganda, disinformation and unconventional threats" was attended by General Carlos Javier Frías, director of the Military Academy of the Spanish Army, Sergio Sánchez, communications and security expert, and Carlos Franganillo, journalist and editor of the Spanish Public Radio and Television.

The presentations of the participants will be published in the proceedings of the seminar.

The Association of European Journalists in Spain organized the first international seminar on security and defense in 1983, and this year's seminar is the 35th in a row. The goal of this year's seminar is to encourage discussion between experts from the civilian and military fields, national and foreign institutions, the academic community and journalists on the topics of Russian aggression against Ukraine, war diplomacy, the solution to the Ukrainian war, and views on NATO and the EU that go beyond Putin.

Photo: Twiter Asociación de Periodistas Europeos (@apeuropeos)

On June 6 2023, the First SK@UT Conference was held in Zagreb, organized by the Security Intelligence Agency and the Institute for Information Systems Security.

SK@UT is the largest national cyber space protection project and represents a system for detection, early warning and protection against state-sponsored cyber attacks, APT campaigns (Advanced Persistent Threat) and other cyber threats.

The SK@UT system was built by the Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA) and the Institute for Information Systems Security (ZSIS) and consists of a distributed network of sensors in key entities. The Center has a joint team of cyber experts from several bodies of the security-intelligence system (SOA, ZSIS, VSOA).

SK@UT thus represents the so-called "cybernetic umbrella" which currently covers more than 60 state bodies, operators of key services and legal entities of special interest to the Republic of Croatia. SK@UT includes, in addition to all ministries and bodies of the security-intelligence system, parts of the national critical and information infrastructure.

The conference was opened by the Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković.

In addition to the aforementioned, the Vice Presidents of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and Ministers Tomo Medved and Davor Božinović, as well as Ministers Marko Primorac, Ivan Malenica and Mario Banožić and the Head of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia Zvonimir Frka Petešić, participated in the conference. In addition to them, the conference was attended by the advisor to the President of the Republic of Croatia for national security Dragan Lozančić, Chief State Attorney Zlata Hrvoj-Šipek, the heads of the bodies of the security-intelligence system of the Republic of Croatia, presidents of boards and directors of legal entities involved in SK@UT, presidents of boards of IT companies in the field of cyber security, representatives of the academic and professional community, as well as experts from bodies involved in SK@UT. Joško Kadivnik, director of the Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency (SOVA), participated as a guest at the conference.

The conference brought together around 200 participants, representatives of more than 60 institutions and legal entities involved in SK@UT, and the discussed topics included the security of the national cyberspace, sharing of best experiences and practices of the SK@UT system, challenges and needs of the transposition of the EU NIS2 directive in national legislation, as well as issues related to the establishment of a national center for cyber security.

During the conference, the website of SK@UT (www.skaut.hr) was presented, where, in addition to basic information about SK@UT, there is also a CTF competition intended for cyber security experts, especially those who are interested in employment at SK@UT.

On June 5 2023, the Director of the Security Intelligence Department of the Italian Republic, Elisabetta Belloni, visited the Security-Intelligence Agency, where she was received by Director Daniel Markić.

During the visit, issues of the security situation in Europe, the consequences of Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the security situation and the European perspective of the countries of Western Balkans were discussed.

Principal Belloni was also received by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković.

The Security Intelligence Department (Dipartimento delle Informazioni per la Sicurezza) is at the top of the Italian security-intelligence system and coordinates all security-intelligence activities, including national cyber security, and supervises the work of Italian security and intelligence agencies, submits relevant information collected by security-intelligence agencies to the Prime Minister and provides strategic analyses and assessments to decision-makers and performs information security tasks.

At the 220th session held on May 25 2023, the Government of the Republic of Croatia submitted to the parliamentary procedure the proposal of the Law on the establishment of the Center of Excellence for the collection, processing and analysis of data from open sources, an institution of interest to the Republic of Croatia and international security.

The proposed law regulates the activity, organization and method of financing the Center as a non-profit institution founded by the state, and the founding rights would be exercised by the Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA).

In addition to Croatian representatives, the center would consist of representatives of foreign security and intelligence and other appropriate services and international institutions, and they would join it by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Croatian Veterans, as well as President of the Council for the Cordination of Security-Intelligence Agencies, Tomo Medved emphasized that the Center of Excellence for OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) will be the central place of knowledge and experience in this field at the national and international level.

He emphasized that a Center of Excellence of this type has not yet been formed in the international intelligence community, and the fact that it is managed by the Republic of Croatia is strong evidence of the importance of our security-intelligence system at the international level.

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Intelligence and Security David Cattler visited the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA) on April 24, 2023, where he was received by SOA Director Daniel Markić.

The meeting discussed SOA's contribution to the Alliance's activities and projects, as well as the current security situation in Southeast Europe, especially in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The Assistant Secretary General of NATO was also received by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Andrej Plenković.

Director of the Security Intelligence Agency Daniel Markić participated in the International Conference on the fight against cybercrime organized by the Ministry of Justice and Administration, the US Department of Justice and the State Department in Šibenik on May 22 and 23, 2023.

The international conference brought together leading experts from state attorneys' offices, police, cyber security centers and judicial institutions from the Republic of Croatia, the United States of America and the countries of Southeast Europe.

The focus of the conference is the effective fight against cybercrime, the strengthening of state information and communication systems, and the cooperation of states in combating cybercrime.

As part of the Conference, the Republic of Croatia and the USA signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of combating cybercrime. The memorandum will ensure more effective and closer cooperation in the field of combating cybercrime, especially in transnational cases. The memorandum was signed by the Minister of Justice and Administration Ivan Malenica on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and Administration, Chief State Attorney Zlata Hrvoj-Šipek on behalf of the State Attorney's Office of the Republic of Croatia and Temporary Deputy Chargé d'Affaires Amy Davison from the US Embassy in Zagreb (on behalf of the US). In addition to the mentioned officials, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the USA Bruce Swartz also participated in the conference on behalf of the USA.

On May 18, 2023, the Director of the Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA) Daniel Markić gave a presentation at the plenary session of the Cybertech Conference for Latin America, which took place in Panama on May 17 and 18, 2023.

In his presentation, Director Markić talked about the ways in which security and intelligence agencies can lead the development of national cyber resilience (La evolucion de la resiliencia cibernética nacional: cómo las agencias de inteligencia pueden liderar el camino). In doing so, he referred to the experiences of the Security-Intelligence Agency in building capabilities and protection mechanisms, international cooperation and information sharing between the involved stakeholders through the development of the Cyber Security Center of the SOA.

Cybertech is a cyber industry platform that organizes business events around the world. Cybertech conferences serve to establish business contacts and discuss technological innovations, challenges and solutions in combating global cyber threats.

At the conference, presentations are given by leaders from the cyber industry, decision makers from numerous countries, technology experts, investors, entrepreneurs and others.

The Security Intelligence Agency (SOA) publishes a Public Report for the year 2022. This is the eighth SOA Public Report, and the document is available here.

The purpose of public reports is to acquaint citizens with the security situation in the Republic of Croatia and its surroundings, and to present SOA's activities in the protection of national security, citizens and the interests of the Republic of Croatia.

Public Report contains data on the work of the SOA in 2022 and an overview of the security situation in the Republic of Croatia and the surrounding area.

By publishing public reports, SOA fosters the practice of developed democratic states in promoting greater transparency and accountability of security and intelligence agencies towards citizens. Public reports are regularly published by the security and intelligence agencies of other democratic European countries.

Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA) Daniel Markić participated in the Conference on Cyber Defence Challenges and Capacity Building in the Western Balkans, jointly organized by the Slovenian Ministry of Defence and NATO in Ljubljana 8-11 May 2023.

Director Markić participated in the High Level Roundtable on Cyber Defense Challenges and Capacity Building in the Western Balkans. Participants in the discussion were high-ranking representatives of NATO, the European Union and countries from the Western Balkans. Along with the SOA Director and other participants, the Director of the Slovenian Security Intelligence Agency (SOVA) Joško Kadivnik took part in the round table.

During the discussion, SOA Director spoke about the experiences of building and further developing the national cyber space protection capacity that SOA is developing through its Center for Cyber Security. In doing so, he highlighted APT state-sponsored and ransomware cyber attacks as the most significant challenge. The Director also spoke about the cyber security requirements set for Member States by the new EU NIS2 directive, which entered into force on January 16, 2023.

On March 2, 2023, the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA) Daniel Markić met with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti. Prime Minister Kurti was accompanied by the Director of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (KIA), Petrit Ajeti.

The participants of the meeting discussed mutual Croatian-Kosovo cooperation, common European and regional threats and security, especially after the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

During the meeting, the importance and mutual benefit of exchanging experiences and information was emphasized. In this sense, the importance and readiness for further cooperation and coordination with the aim of strengthening peace, stability and security was highlighted.

On Thursday, February 16, 2023, members of the Committee for Internal Policy and National Security of the Croatian Parliament visited the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA), where they were presented with the Cyber Security Center of SOA and the SK@UT system.

During the visit, the role and activities of the SOA in protecting the national cyberspace, strengthening cyber resilience, as well as building the capacity of Croatian institutions and society in preventing and suppressing cyber threats were presented to the Committee.

Global cyber threats are constantly increasing, and an increasing number of sophisticated cyber attacks, along with the growing dependence of modern society on technology, require new approaches to cyber security. The Republic of Croatia, especially as a member of NATO and the EU, is the target of state-sponsored cyber attacks that are thoroughly planned, advanced and persistent (APT - Advanced Persistent Threat) and characterized by a high level of expertise and concealment of the perpetrators of the attacks over a longer period. State-sponsored cyber APT attacks are aimed at carefully selected and carefully studied targets, and are carried out by organized hacker groups that are connected to the intelligence systems of individual countries.

In response to the growing challenges in cyberspace, the SOA established the Cyber Security Center in 2019 with the aim of protecting the national cyberspace. Also, in order to raise national capabilities for timely detection and protection against cyberattacks, SOA and the Information Systems Security Institute (ZSIS) built SK@UT as a central system for detection, early warning and protection against state-sponsored cyberattacks, APT campaigns and other cyber threats which consists of a distributed network of sensors in key government bodies and legal entities.

Croatia's Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA), in conjunction with the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE), organized a seminar from 6 to 10 February 2023 on security processes and challenges for South-East (SE) Europe and their influence on Europe. The seminar encompassed various security perspectives and challenges for SE Europe, with seminar participants being senior leaders of European intelligence communities from ICE member states. Thirty participants from 14 countries took part in the seminar.

The seminar was organized in cooperation with the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Political Sciences and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Other than speakers from SOA and the mentioned faculties, presentations also given by representatives of the Office of the President of Croatia, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Office for the Council on National Security, VERN University, University of Split Forensic Science Department, Croatian Military College and Police Academy, as with the EU INTCEN representative.

Other than discussing security processes and challenges in SE Europe, the seminar contributed to ICE goals of generating strategic thinking on contemporary security themes at the European level and increasing ICE's visibility at national level.

The Intelligence College in Europe is an intergovernmental entity project that gathers 23 national security-intelligence communities of European states. On 26 February 2020, the twenty-three states met in Zagreb to sign the ICE Letter of Intent. One of the College's tasks is developing academic programs for European level strategic thinking on security and intelligence themes. To that end, the College's platform develops academic networks for strengthening cooperation and dialogue between security-intelligence and academic communities. SOA chaired the Presidency of the Steering Committee for ICE from 2020 to 2021.

The ICE academic network in Europe comprises 26 academic institutions, universities and Think Tanks in 14 member states. The ICE academic platform in Croatia is represented by the Zagreb University, Faculty of Political Sciences and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Encouraged by increasing cyberattacks against targets of vital importance in both state and private sectors, the United States launched an international Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) in 2021.

The Initiative currently includes 36 countries and the European Union, amongst being the Republic of Croatia.

The second summit of Initiative members was held in Washington DC, from October 31 to November 1, 2022. The head of the Croatian delegation was the Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency, Daniel Markić.

At the Second CRI Summit, members adopted a Joint Statement reaffirming their joint commitment to building collective resilience to ransomware, cooperating to disrupt ransomware and pursue the actors responsible, countering illicit finance that underpins the ransomware ecosystem, working with the private sector to defend against ransomware attacks, and continuing to cooperate internationally across all elements of the ransomware threat.

US Vice-President Kamala Harris also received the delegation leaders.

The Joint Statement can be read on this link:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/01/international-counter-ransomware-initiative-2022-joint-statement/

Photo: https://twitter.com/VP (Vice President Kamala Harris)

On 21 June 2022, the Government of the Republic of Croatia issued the Decision on the Process of Establishment of the OSINT Centre of Excellence (OSINT - Open Source Intelligence).

The proposal of the Decision was presented at a government session by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved, who also chairs the Council for the Coordination of Security Intelligence Services.

The Centre’s founder will be the Republic of Croatia and the Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) is tasked by the Government’s Decision to manage all practical aspects of its establishment. The project will be finalized by a special act regulating the Centre’s establishment.

This international OSINT Centre of Excellence is SOA’s answer to an ever-increasing amount of intelligence generated from open sources and to a growing need of European security and intelligence agencies to develop and strengthen capacities involving the selection, collection, processing and analysis of open source data.

The Centre will have an international status as SOA will encourage interested European civil and military, security and intelligence agencies to take part in its work. That way it will become the focal point for expertise and a collective future effort of all members of the European intelligence community working to improve the OSINT discipline but also the capabilities, resilience and willingness of security and intelligence agencies to tackle vast amounts of publicly available data.

The Centre will develop doctrines, standardized procedures and methodologies aiming to increase the efficiency of open source data extraction and interoperability of European security and intelligence agencies.

The excellence will be achieved by building links with the Centre across sectors and agencies and through a close collaboration of national and international communities of practitioners, experts and scientists with the private sector. There are also plans for the Centre to host expert courses, seminars and conferences, along with other activities designed to strategically reinforce the collection, processing and analysis of open source data.

Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) Director Daniel Markić attended the Security and International Relations Panel at the U.S.-Croatia Forum held in Zagreb on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Croatia – U.S. relations. The Forum was organized by the University of Zagreb Faculty of Economics and Business and the United States Embassy in the Republic of Croatia.

In addition to SOA Director, the panel also hosted Davor Božinović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Dragan Lozančić, National Security and Defense Advisor to the President of the Republic of Croatia, Richard W. Downing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice and  Lauren Speranza, Director of the Transatlantic Defense and Security Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). The panel was moderated by editor and journalist Igor Alborghetti.

Director Markić spoke on 30 years of Croatia's security and intelligence cooperation with the United States and on the current security challenges in Europe and Croatia's neighbourhood, set in the context of Russian attack on Ukraine.

In his speech, the Director placed particular emphasis on value and reliability of the partnership forged between Croatian and U.S. intelligence communities.

Yasmine Gouédard, Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE), came to a visit to SOA on 29 March 2022.

Ms. Gouédard was received by SOA Director Daniel Markić and his associates.

They went over the College’s activities and discussed ways to develop its academic program, increase its visibility and enhance its collaboration with other European institutions.

This was a farewell visit to Director Gouédard as she is soon to retire; she departed with a SOA award for successful and outstanding cooperation with SOA and contribution to the College’s development given by Director Markić.

The Intelligence College in Europe was established with the Letter of Intent signed by 23 European countries on 26 February 2020 in Zagreb. The Republic of Croatia (represented by SOA) had the honour of being the College’s first presidency from February 2020 to February 2021.

ICE website:  https://www.intelligence-college-europe.org/

On Saturday, 29 January 2022, SOA Director Mr. Daniel Markić participated in a round table event organised by the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) during the La Fabrique Défense fair in Paris. The topic was “Intelligence and Europe: Unity beyond Secrecy”.

Mr. Markić discussed the role of the ICE in building a common strategic culture across European intelligence communities.

In addition to Mr. Markić, other participants included:

• Mr. Laurent Nuñez, French National Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, who addressed the evolution of cooperation between European intelligence and security services,
• Mr. José Casimiro Morgado, Director of the European Union Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN), who reported on the topic of the Strategic Compass and the development of European intelligence,
• Prof. Margarita Šešelgytė, Director of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science of the University of Vilnius (IIRPS), who discussed the role and responsibility of the next generations of intelligence officers in building a stronger European Intelligence Community.

The event was moderated by Ms. Yasmine Gouédard, Director of ICE’s Permanent Secretariat.

In his presentation, Mr. Markić pointed out that SOA has been actively involved in establishing the ICE since the beginning, and the ICE is aimed at developing a shared intelligence culture and building links between European intelligence communities. SOA Director reminded that the ICE Letter of Intent was signed in February 2020 in Zagreb, when the College was joined by 23 European countries and seven partner countries.

SOA was elected its first chair and during the one-year Presidency, SOA was in charge of the ICE’s organisational and conceptual development, as well as academic programs between the ICE and academic institutions in Europe.

Mr. Markić noted during his presentation that the ICE’s efforts towards developing a shared European intelligence culture is based on three pillars:

• non-operational exchange of knowledge and experience between employees of European security and intelligence agencies and bodies,
• raising awareness among national and European decision-makers about intelligence-related matters, and
• development of think-tanks for security and intelligence topics at the European level. The ICE’s academic network currently comprises 26 academic institutions, universities and think-tanks in 14 member states.

Mr. Markić concluded that the ICE is a long-term and strategic European project that will strengthen the security and unity in Europe.

The La Fabrique Défense fair was also used to present the ICE’s activities to French Defence Minister Ms. Florence Parly.

SOA Director Daniel Markić took part in the Black Sea and Balkans Security Forum 2021 held on 3 and 4 September 2021 in Bucharest, Romania.

He was among panellists discussing building resilience in the Balkans and old and new challenges for the Region.

The Romanian think tank New Strategy Center with and its partners, Romanian ministries of foreign affairs and defence and NATO Public Diplomacy Division, organized the forum. The event brought together many civilian and military officials, scientists and businessmen in security, defence, energy, international relations, cybernetics and others.

On 29 August 2021, Delegation of the Congress of the United States of America visited the Security and Intelligence Agency. SOA Director Daniel Markić and associates welcomed the delegation.

Following topics were discussed during the visit: better understanding of the bilateral and multilateral (NATO) relationship, defence and intelligence oversight and review of regional, global defence and security concerns from U.S. Allies.

The U.S. congressional delegation was headed by Senator Richard Shelby and it comprised senators Roger Marshall, Deb Fischer, Mike Crapo and John Cornyn. Mike Fleming, Charge d’Affaires, a.i. of the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb, accompanied the delegation.

On 08 July 2021, the General Secretariat of the EU Council organised a conference entitled “20 years after 9/11: Achievements and challenges of EU counter-terrorism efforts”.

The Conference also marked the retirement of Mr. Gilles de Kerchove after 14 years as EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator.

Invited by Mr. de Kerchove, the Conference was attended by high representatives of institutions and agencies of the European Union, Member States, scientific institutions, think-tanks, international organisations and partner countries.

SOA Director Mr. Daniel Markić was also invited to the conference. Mr. Markić delivered a speech during the part of the Conference addressing counter-terrorism and security and intelligence work.

As the only security and intelligence service director in active employment who was in attendance, Mr. Markić advocated the views and opinions from the perspective of EU security services in terms of cooperation between security services and stepping up the fight against terrorism within the EU.

In addition to the abovementioned topic, the Conference also dealt with the EU’s efforts to fight against terrorism, evolution of terrorist threat, anticipating emerging threats and prevention of future attacks, impact of new technologies and development of counter-terrorism partnerships, in particular in the EU’s neighbourhood (Western Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East).

On 07 July 2021, Security and Intelligence Agency Director Mr. Daniel Markić and Zagreb Faculty of Political Sciences Dean Andrija Henjak, associate professor, signed a Cooperation Agreement.

Zagreb University Faculty of Political Sciences is a higher education and research institution that carries out study programs and scientific research projects related to national security.

Among other things, the Agreement covers cooperation within the platform Intelligence College in Europe.

The Intelligence College in Europe is an intergovernmental project bringing together 23 national security and intelligence communities of European countries. It was established by signing the Letter of Intent on 26 February 2020 in Zagreb and one of its pillars is stimulating cooperation and dialogue between security intelligence communities and Academia.

By entering into a partnership with Croatian scientific institutions, the Security and Intelligence Agency strengthens its capabilities using the finest national potentials in the areas of research, innovation and education.

On 28 June 2021, SOA Director Daniel Markić spoke on Croatia’s contributions to the fight against terrorism at the 2nd High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of UN Member States.

The Director emphasized the importance of a wide and strong network of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the support to the UN’s conventions and efforts in its eradication. The Republic of Croatia has implemented all of the UN’s conventions and is also developing new national capacities to prevent and fight terrorism, including those within the Homeland Security System.

He stressed that SOA was focused on fighting terrorism on national, regional and international level. To this end, the Agency cooperates with many bilateral and multilateral partners, including contributing greatly to NATO and EU activities. SOA is very involved in organizing many international counter-terrorist activities.

In 2020, the Agency presided over the Counter-Terrorism Group (CTG) and was also the first Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe. In cooperation with Polish security service ABW, SOA co-piloted a three-year long terrorism prevention project funded by the EU.

The Republic of Croatia pays special attention to the use of new technologies. Thus SOA has developed its own Cyber Technologies Centre, the capabilities of which may contribute to its counter-terrorism efforts as well.

The High-Level Conference of Heads of Counter-Terrorism Agencies of UN Member States is held as part of the Counter-Terrorism Week during which the UN General Assembly will adopt the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy review resolution at the Plenary Meeting.

After successfully organizing the event of signing the Letter of Intent to establish the Intelligence College in Europe (ICE) by 23 European countries on 26 February 2020 in Zagreb, the Republic of Croatia (represented by the Security and Intelligence Agency) has been appointed the first College Presidency for one year.

The College is a platform for dialogue between members of the European intelligence community, decision-makers and academia, to stimulate strategic reflection, enhance shared knowledge and develop a common European intelligence culture.

After Croatia, the College Presidency was taken over by the United Kingdom, which will be followed by Italy. The three presidencies together make the College Troika. Croatia successfully ended its presidency in February 2021 and remained a member of the Troika.

Before passing on the baton to the United Kingdom, SOA Director presented College projects and achievements during the Croatian Presidency in a video message. The link to the message is available on the ICE website: https://www.intelligence-college-europe.org/a-review-of-croatias-presidency-by-dg-daniel-markic/

On 6 April 2021, SOA Director Daniel Markić spoke on the Agency’s role in protecting the national cyber space at the Cybertech Global 2021 event, held on 5 - 7 April 2021 in Dubai, UAE.

Cybertech Global is a cyber-industry platform intended for creating business opportunities and fostering discussions on technological innovations, challenges and solutions in countering global cyber threats. It is one of the largest events of its kind worldwide. Among its speakers, it welcomes leaders of cyber industry, decision-makers from many countries, IT experts, investors, professionals etc.

Director Markić spoke about cyber resilience as key objective for the national security in a digital decade. He emphasized the role of SOA’s Cyber Technologies Centre in the protection of Croatian national cyber space from advanced threats. The Centre’s importance is especially reflected in the fact that the number of state-sponsored attacks against the Croatian cyber space has doubled in 2020. The Director particularly hailed Croatia’s membership in the EU which allows it to build a more effective cyber resilience, in a time ridden with challenges, such as recent global state-sponsored attacks compromising Solarwinds and Microsoft Exchange Server.

The Director pointed out that Croatia’s cyber space has been part of national security for a long time now and that SOA will continue developing its Centre’s technological capacities. The Centre relies on capabilities SOA fosters and develops in four areas: human resources, advanced technologies, national and international partnerships and information.

Domestic Policy and National Security Committee of the Croatian Parliament unanimously accepted at its closed session held on 10 March 2021 the Report on the Work of the Security and Intelligence Agency for the year 2020.

Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency Daniel Markić presented the report to the members of the Committee.

The Annual Report contains an overview of the work of all the segments of the Security and Intelligence Agency and represents one of the ways in which the Croatian Parliament, through the Domestic Policy and National Security Committee, conducts oversight of the work of the Security and Intelligence Agency.

Pursuant to the Security and Intelligence System Act, the Security and Intelligence Agency also submitted the annual report on its work to the President of the Republic, Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and Head of Office of the National Security Council.

On 19-20 January 2021, online conference on raising awareness of terrorism prevention entitled “Protect by Training: The importance of awareness in terrorism prevention” was organized by the Terrorism Prevention Centre of Excellence of the Polish internal security service ABW.

The conference was held as part of SOA and the ABW’s joint project of increasing institutional capacities in the area of national security, co-financed by the EU from the European Social Fund.

The conference was also attended by representatives of other countries’ security services and institutions and international and academic organizations.

The conference was chaired by Deputy Head of the ABW Bernard Col. Bogusławski and Director of the TP CoE Lt. Col. Anna Kańciak-Kulińska.

Opening remarks were given by SOA Director Daniel Markić and Lt. Gen. Michael K. Nagata (Ret.), former Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington.

Defence and National Security Advisor to the President of the Republic of Croatia Dragan Lozančić, PhD, also contributed to the conference.

During 4 working sessions, panellists representing a wide spectrum of knowledge and experience, both from the secret services, the scientific community, as well as practitioners and decision makers in the field of media and terrorist prevention, discussed, among others, best practices in this regard, presented possible solutions and referred to trends in terrorism prevention in the media, including social media. Special attention was paid to the recommendations for effective use of strategic communication in prevention and response to terrorist threats.

Daniel Markić, current Director of the SOA, has been awarded another mandate starting on 6th May 2020 by the decision co-signed by the President of the Republic of Croatia Zoran Milanović and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The mandate of the SOA Director lasts four years.

Daniel Markić has been serving as the SOA Director since 5th May 2016.

On 26th February 2020, 23 European countries gathered in Zagreb to sign the Letter of Intent of establishing the Intelligence College in Europe.

The ceremony of signing of the Letter was organized by the Croatian Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) in cooperation with the temporary College Secretariat based in Paris. It was followed by a panel discussion on the European security and intelligence cooperation, featuring representatives of the European intelligence communities.

The panel was inaugurated by the Director of SOA Daniel Markić and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The Intelligence College in Europe is an intergovernmental project bringing together European national security and intelligence communities to promote strategic dialogue between:

• European security and intelligence communities, providing opportunity for members of different services to meet, share and compare their experiences and know-how at a non-operational level;
• security and intelligence communities and members of the Academia, through publications and academic programs dedicated to security and intelligence professionals;
• security and intelligence communities, national and European decision-makers and citizens, to raise awareness on security and intelligence issues and challenges.

22 countries joined Croatia as members of the College: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Portugal, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Representing the Counter Terrorism Group (CTG), European Commission VP Margaritis Schinas met with SOA Director Mr. Daniel Markić on 5 February 2020.

The topics of discussion included modalities for cooperation between EU institutions and the CTG with the objective of strengthening European security.

CTG includes intelligence and security services of EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. SOA took over the presidency of CTG on 1 January 2020.

Among other things, VP Schinas coordinates European Commission’s work at developing the Security Union, ensuring compatibility between external and internal security dimensions and coordinating European Commission’s efforts in strengthening measures for prevention, detection and response to hybrid threats.

As part of the plenary of the Cybertech 2020 global conference taking place 28–30 January 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel, SOA Director Mr. Daniel Markić gave a presentation on the role of the Security-Intelligence Agency in protecting national cyberspace on 29 January 2020.

Cybertech is the cyber industry’s networking platform organising industry-related events all around the globe. Cybertech conferences serve as the go-to place to make business happen and discuss technological innovations, challenges, and solutions to combating global cyber threats.

Mr. Markić’s presentation opened the conference, mentioning the impact of technological changes on the security and intelligence industry, and development of new capabilities and digital transformation of SOA’s activities. He referred in particular to SOA’s proactivity in order to protect Croatia’s national cyber space from cyber threats. Mr. Markić underlined the role of SOA’s Cyber Centre as a milestone in developing new capabilities. SOA’s Cyber Centre relies on the potential that SOA has and that it develops in four segments: human resources, advanced technologies, national and international partnerships and information. The Centre acts as a bridge between security-intelligence work and advanced technologies in the area of cyber security.

Other speakers at the Conference include top executives from the cyber industry, decision-makers from various countries, technology professionals, investors, entrepreneurs and others.

The joint delegation of Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) and Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) had consultation meetings with Spain’s security authorities 14–15 January 2020 in Madrid, the Kingdom of Spain. SOA Delegation was headed by SOA Director Mr. Daniel Markić.

Meetings were held with Spain’s National Intelligence Centre (CNI), Intelligence Centre for Counter-Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) and law enforcement agencies Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional.

The meetings covered the role of services and authorities in preventing and combatting terrorism, radicalisation and role in immigration processes.

The ABW and SOA have partnered up to implement EU project aimed at enhancing institutional capacities related to national security. The project is co-financed by the European Social Fund.

European Union’s Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove visited the Security Intelligence Agency on 23 January 2020.

Activities that SOA is carrying out in preventing and combating terrorism were presented to Mr. de Kerchove, as well as priorities of SOA’s presidency of the Counter Terrorism Group (CTG). CTG includes intelligence and security services of EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. In parallel with the Republic of Croatia’s presidency of the Council of the EU, SOA took over the presidency of CTG on 1 January 2020.

Gilles de Kerchove plays a crucial role in promoting the counter-terrorism debate within the EU and he sends regular reports to the Council of the EU on implementation of counter-terrorism measures at EU level. He also cooperates closely with EU institutions to enhance EU’s counter-terrorism efforts.

Europol Director Catherine De Bolle visited the Security Intelligence Agency on 23 January 2020.

The meeting focused on current security matters, such as international terrorism, organised crime and illegal migrations. Priorities of SOA’s presidency of the Counter Terrorism Group (CTG) were presented to Ms. De Bolle. CTG includes intelligence and security services of EU Member States, Norway and Switzerland. In parallel with the Republic of Croatia’s presidency of the Council of the EU, SOA took over the presidency of CTG on 1 January 2020.

The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is the law enforcement agency of the EU tasked with assisting law enforcement authorities of EU Member States. Europol Director is appointed by the Council of the EU.

SOA Director Daniel Markić participated in the 11^th annual Halifax International Security Forum that took place in Halifax, Canada, 22–24 November 2019.

Halifax Security Forum is the leading annual conference on security, defense and foreign affairs in North America. The number of participants is limited to 300 persons from more than 80 countries. The Forum convenes democratic leaders, experts and scientists, as well as managers and decision-makers in both public and private sectors from all over the world.

Halifax International Security Forum was founded in 2009 as a program within the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Forum is dedicated to strengthening strategic cooperation among democracies and is recognized as the leading gathering of democratic leaders committed to global security and prosperity.

 “This weekend we addressed a range of global issues, notably China and the need for a comprehensive strategy to address it, the ongoing challenges in Ukraine, US leadership in the world, and how countries need to adapt to technological and political changes,” Forum President Mr. Peter Van Praagh said in a statement.

A special plenary session addressed women’s contributions to global peace and security.

On October 29, 2019, a delegation of the Croatian Security and Intelligence Service (SOA) and the Terrorism Prevention Centre of Excellence of the Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) within ongoing project to improve cooperation in the field of internal security held an meeting at the expert level, which took place with the Joint Counter-Terrorism Centre in Berlin (GTAZ).

The German Centre is an institution responsible for coordinating the cooperation of special services and law enforcement authorities (police, customs) and military bodies in Germany in the context of Islamist terrorist threats. During the meeting, issues related to the organization of the Center and exchange of information between the entities involved at the federal and international level were raised. At the same time, the role of GTAZ in the area of prevention and research programs to counteract radicalization was emphasized.

The Polish-Croatian delegation to Germany contributed to the information exchange on terrorism prevention with German anti-terrorist institutions. On the next day of the delegation, a meeting was held with experts from other German institutions responsible for internal and external security (BMI, BND)

SOA Director Daniel Markić and his associates visited USA on 21 – 23 October 2019. SOA delegation travelled to USA together with the delegation from the Terrorism Prevention Centre of Excellence of the Polish security service ABW as part of SOA and ABW’s joint EU project of enhancing national security.

The visit included high-level meetings between Croatian and Polish officials and American institutions.

One of the meetings was held at the USA National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) on the subject of combating terrorism and preventing extremism. Concrete issues were also tackled, such as preventing dissemination of terrorist content online.

The final day of the trip was reserved for talks at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Along with the visit to USA, SOA delegation, led by Director, and Polish partners on 7 – 11 October 2019 held consultation meetings with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre (ITAC). The meetings dealt with the issue of preventing and combatting terrorism.

On 15 October 2019, SOA Director Daniel Markić took part in panel discussion on fake news and disinformation as part of the European Commission's 14th Annual Security Symposium.

Mr. Markić shared the floor with Madeline de Cock Buning, Chairwoman of the HLEG on Fake news and Disinformation, Alastair Macdonald, Reuters Bureau Chief in Brussels and prof. dr. Iryna Gurevych from Department of Computer Science at Technical University in Darmstadt. The discussion was moderated by Shada Islam, Director of Policy in the Friends of Europe think-tank.

Mr. Markić stressed the complexity of hybrid threats and disinformation campaign and presented the panel with the role of security and intelligence system in their prevention, identification and suppression. SOA Director cited adjustments the Republic of Croatia made through the concept of homeland security to respond to new security challenges such as hybrid threats. They call for strengthening the resilience of the entire society, close inter-departmental cooperation, involvement of outside actors such as the academia and private sector as well as intense international cooperation, especially through NATO and EU framework. To illustrate disinformation operations, Mr. Markić mentioned the case of fake news spread by the media and certain officials of a neighboring country, claiming that SOA had been encouraging terrorism on their territory. Further details on this case may be found in SOA’s most recent Public Report.

The Symposium also included speeches by Sir Julian King, European Commissioner for Security Union, Dick Schoof, Director-General of the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Services (AIVD), Paraskevi Michou, Head of Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission, Lucille Rolland, Head of Central Service of Territorial Surveillance, Bart Somers, Mayor of the City of Mechelen, prof. dr. David Betz from the London King's College and Gunther H. Oettinger, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources.

European Commission’s Security Symposium is an annual event that brings together representatives of all EU institutions and agencies (EUROPOL, FRONTEX etc.) as well as security experts.

On 5 September 2019, SOA Director Daniel Markić and Polish security service ABW Deputy Director Bernard Boguslawski met with Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle at Europol HQ in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The meeting was part of activities on the EU project of boosting institutional capacities in the area of national security jointly run by SOA and ABW’s Terrorism Prevention Center of Excellence.

Participants addressed current security issues such as international terrorism, organized crime and illegal migrations.

European Police Office (Europol) is the EU law enforcement agency tasked with assisting EU Member States national law enforcement bodies. Europol Executive and Deputy Directors are appointed by the EU Council of Ministers for Justice and Home Affairs.

SOA Director, Daniel Markić was invited to take part at the Aspen Security Forum held in Aspen, USA from 17 to 20 July 2019.

This is the tenth edition of the security forum organized by the Aspen Institute, aiming at responding to current key issues of national and homeland security. Top incumbent and former officials of relevant authorities in charge of national and homeland security, managers of businesses working in the field of national security as well as academia members and journalists are among those taking part in the forum.

This year's Forum was inaugurated by NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg.

SOA and Terrorism Prevention Center of Excellence (TPCoE) of Polish CI service ABW held expert consultations on 9 and 10 July 2019 in Split, as part of their joint EU project of strengthening institutional capacities in the area of national security.

The talks focused on key issues related to the Center's activity at the international and national level as well as related to strategic plans for the future, which include: launching a security campaign, establishment of an e-learning tool and hosting international terrorism prevention conference on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Centre in 2020.

During the meeting, the role of the abovementioned services and institutions in the context of prevention and counter-terrorism was discussed and a scope of counter multi-agency measures in the process of radicalization was analyzed. Furthermore identification of challenges related to illegal immigration were pointed out.

Security and Intelligence Agency (SOA) partnered up with Internal Security Agency (ABW) of the Republic of Poland to carry out the project "Raising capabilities of national security services, public administration staff and research and development centers and developing their cooperation in the domain of national security". The project is co-financed by the European Social Fund.

The Agreement on partnership in this project was signed on 22 May 2018 by SOA and ABW directors, on the occasion of inauguration of The Terrorism Prevention Centre of Excellence of ABW.

Benefiting from transnational experience, the project aims to prepare the public administration for a more efficient identification and prevention of terrorist and asymmetric threats.

To inform the domestic and international public about the project, the Polish side has set up a special site dedicated to The Terrorism Prevention Centre of Excellence of ABW and the project itself - https://tpcoe.gov.pl/cpe

NATO security and intelligence panel on fighting terrorism is being held in Opatija, co-organized by SOA and Slovenian Security and Intelligence Agency (SOVA).

More than 100 experts from about 30 NATO members states and bodies as well as partner countries will take part in two-day discussions on measures and activities concerning the prevention and fight against terrorism.

The Panel welcomes directors of military and civil security and intelligence agencies (from left to right): Goran Vasilevski (Military Security and Intelligence Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia), BG Ivica Kinder (Military Security and Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Croatia), Dejan Matijevič (Military Intelligence and Security Service of the Republic of Slovenia’s Ministry of Defence), Daniel Markić (Security and Intelligence Agency of the Republic of Croatia), Rajko Kozmelj (Slovenian Security and Intelligence Agency), Goran Nikolovski (Administration for Security and Counterintelligence of the Republic of North Macedonia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs), Zoran Ivanov (Intelligence Agency of the Republic of North Macedonia)

On 4 – 5 March 2019, SOA Director Daniel Markić took part in the inaugural session of the Intelligence College in Europe in Paris, France.

The Intelligence College in Europe (Collège du renseignement en Europe) is a platform for the exchange of non-operational information aiming to establish a common, European strategic intelligence culture in the context of global security and geopolitical changes.

SOA Director was one of the four heads of services taking part in the round table, along with directors of the French internal (DGSI) and external (DGSE) security services and director of the Spanish security and intelligence service (CNI).

The round table was closed by the French President Emmanuel Macron, who was behind the idea of establishing The Intelligence College in Europe as put forward in the speech he gave at the Sorbonne in September 2017, discussing the "united and democratically sovereign Europe".

Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency Daniel Markić took part in the 55th Munich Security Conference from 15 to 17 February 2019.

This year, the Conference focused on issues such as the strength of the European Union, the trans-Atlantic cooperation as well as possible repercussions of the renewed competition between world powers.

Director Markić also took part in the part dedicated to the security and intelligence work as well as a series of bilateral and multilateral meetings.

Meeting between Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. The two discussed continuing cooperation within NATO, celebrating its 70^th anniversary this year, the Republic of Croatia’s contribution to the global security and the situation in neighboring countries (photo source: Twitter Vlada RH)

On 29 January 2018, as part of his visit to Zagreb, the European Union's Counter-terrorism Coordinator, Mr. Gilles de Kerchove visited the Security and Intelligence Agency where he met with the Director, Daniel Markić and his associates.

They discussed issues such as a comprehensive EU approach to preventing and combating terrorism and radicalization in Europe, terrorist threats and radicalization in southeast Europe as well as the role of EU institutions and security intelligence agencies in the fight against terrorism.

On 12 April 2018 as part of his visit to Croatia, the Commissioner for Security Union Julian King also visited the Security-Intelligence Agency ant talked to Director Daniel Markić and his associates.

European Commission’s delegation accompanying Mr. King consisted of Branko Baričević, Head of the European Commission in the Republic of Croatia and Joanna Deka, member of the Commissioner King's Cabinet.

Main discussion topics of the meeting were current security threats and challenges to the European Union such as terrorism, organized crime and cyber criminality.

Commissioner for Security Union is in charge of the implementation of the European Agenda on Security and identifying where the EU can help the cooperation between member states, and improving information and intelligence sharing, including a stronger role for EU agencies.

Domestic Policy and National Security Committee of the Croatian Parliament accepted at its closed session held on 15 March 2018 the Report on the Work of the Security and Intelligence Agency for the year 2017.

Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency Daniel Markić presented the report to the members of the Committee.

The Annual Report contains an overview of the work of all the segments of the Security and Intelligence Agency and represents one of the ways in which the Croatian Parliament, through the Domestic Policy and National Security Committee, conducts oversight of the work of the Security and Intelligence Agency.

Pursuant to the Security and Intelligence System Act, the Security and Intelligence Agency also submitted the annual report on its work to the President of the Republic, Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, President of the Government of the Republic of Croatia and Head of Office of the National Security Council.

Director of the Security and Intelligence Agency Daniel Markić attended the 54th Munich Security Conference on 16-17 February 2018.

This year's conference focused in particular on the role of the EU as a global actor and its ties with Russia and the United States. Also discussed were the growing threat to liberal international order, a number of conflicts in the Middle East and the political developments in the Sahel region in Africa.

Director Markić participated in the work of a special round table dedicated to intelligence work "Dare to Share vs. Need to Know: Globalizing Intelligence" and held a number of bilateral and multilateral meetings.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Mr. Damir Krstičević chaired a regular session of the Council for the Coordination of Security Intelligence Agencies.

The session gathered Minister of Interior Mr. Davor Božinović, Heads of Security Intelligence Agency, Military Security Intelligence Agency and Institute for the Information Systems Security, as well as the Chiefs of Police and General Staff and Head of the Office of the National Security Council.

The session participants adopted the proposed Annual guidelines for the work of security- intelligence agencies for 2018 and discussed the data on current security situation in the Republic of Croatia, assessing it as stable and satisfactory. The Minister of Interior informed the Council members on the elements of envisaged structural and functional changes within MoI aiming towards enhancing antiterrorist capacities.

The Council also discussed a number of topics concerning the functioning of the security-intelligence and defence systems in the effort to optimize investments into capability development and use of< material, human and organizational resources of state institutions intended to protect the security of Croatian citizens.

On 3 Nov 2017 a round table with civil society organizations’ representatives was held in SOA HQ.

It gathered representatives of civil society organizations dealing with human security issues, asylum seekers’ international protection, human rights and transparency.

The topics discussed included considering the role of the Security Intelligence Agency in procedures of granting international protection in the Republic of Croatia and dissemination and reliability of information appearing in public space in contemporary societies.

On 26 Sept 2017 Director of the Security Intelligence Agency (SOA) Mr. Daniel Markić and his associates were officially received by the Director General of OSA BiH (Obavještajno-sigurnosna agencija BiH) Mr. Osman Mehmedagić in Sarajevo, following media reports on alleged covert surveillance of Croatian state officials and businesspeople by OSA BiH.

The hosts assured their guests that Croatian state officials and businesspeople are not the subject of OSA BiH’s measures of covert surveillance and that their agency is not working against political and
economic interests of the Republic of Croatia.

SOA noted OSA BiH’s assurances with the belief that the legality of OSA BiH’s actions, if they decide to take any, will be confirmed by the appropriate bodies of oversight in Bosnia and Herzegovina in accordance to the proscribed procedure of democratic oversight of the security intelligence sector. As part of its counterintelligence activities, SOA will continue to follow the development of this issue< and its dialogue with OSA BiH.

During their meeting, the Directors also commented on SOA’s 2017 Public Report. OSA BiH confirmed statements and information published by SOA in the Public Report pertaining to the security situation in Southeast European countries.

SOA i OSA BiH are partners in preventing and combatting threats and challenges faced both by Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, such as terrorism, extremism and organized crime. SOA will continue to actively work on developing this partnership, bilaterally, as well as the EU and NATO Member State. These efforts will include its support in reaching Euro-Atlantic work standards.