A report from the National Audit Office has led to sharp criticism of the Defense Intelligence Service’s (FE) administration of salaries, resulting in FE now being subject to “enhanced supervision.” This was announced by Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen (V) in a briefing to the Defense Committee. The Ministry has asked FE to develop a specific action plan to address the critical issues highlighted by the National Audit Office. The public and the Defense Committee now have access to these issues due to a freedom of information request from Ekstra Bladet, which has sought access to a report from a legally critical review of FE’s salary and employment management. The National Audit Office’s report concludes that there are many inappropriate practices in FE’s administration and that the management is far below the level one would expect from a governmental authority. Some of the information from the report is expected to be made public.
Minister of Defense Troels Lund Poulsen believes it is problematic that FE did not take the initiative to inform the Defense Committee and the political negotiation group about the content of the report, especially given the seriousness of the criticism. He emphasizes that he takes the criticism very seriously. He highlights that even though the intelligence sector cannot be subject to the same level of transparency as other authorities, FE has a special responsibility to ensure good management. However, the specific criticisms of FE are not outlined in the briefing, but they concern salary and employment administration.
Ekstra Bladet has also reported that FE must save over 100 million Danish kroner from their annual budget of 1.4 billion Danish kroner, of which approximately two-thirds go towards salaries. In a written statement to Ritzau, FE has stated that they have gone through a period of significant growth in funding and employees. To stay within the budget, FE has continuously implemented efficiencies and priorities. FE emphasizes that they prioritize their operational tasks and cooperation with partner services, even though they have the same resources available as last year. However, the increased amount of activities requires very tight financial management.