The presidential nominee for the top job at the Foreign Intelligence Service-SIE said on Tuesday he did not know much about the institution he was about to manage but said he had collaborated closely with it in the recent past.

Presidential aide Claudiu Saftoiu made the statement after receiving the validation for the job from the parliamentary commission overviewing SIE activities. His nomination as well as the one of opposition member George Maior are due to be approved by the Parliament today.

George Maior also received a validation before the parliamentary commission today.

Saftoiu said he collaborated with SIE in the case of three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq last year and in debates over new security laws.