Wiretapping: The developments in the surveillance scandal are stormy as the European Parliament's PEGA decided to summon Christos Rammos, the President of ADAE, and Konstantinos Menudakos, the President of the Data Protection Authority.
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Specifically, PEGA president Jeroen Lenaers stated that it was decided to invite the president of ADAE and the president of the Personal Data Protection Authority for an "exchange of views in the committee.".
PEGA's ten demands from Mitsotakis on wiretapping
The draft of the European Parliament's PEGA inquiry committee on the surveillance scandal, which was prepared by the committee's rapporteur Sophie in't Veld and which provides recommendations to the European Commission and the Council of the European Union, has been made public. The text contains harsh references to the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis regarding wiretapping and the use of spyware, while it asks the competent European institutions to demand the satisfaction of ten urgent demands.
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The Commission's ten demands for Greece are as follows:
- Urgently restore and strengthen institutional and legal safeguards, including effective ex ante and ex post controls as well as independent oversight mechanisms.
- Urgently revoke all export licenses that are not fully aligned with the Dual-Use Regulation and investigate allegations of illegal exports, including to Sudan.
- Ensure that authorities can move freely and unhindered in investigating all complaints about the use of spyware.
- To urgently withdraw amendment 826/145 of Law 2472/1997, which abolished the ability of ADAE to notify citizens of the lifting of the confidentiality of communications.
- Restore the full independence of the judiciary and all competent supervisory bodies, such as the Ombudsman and the Data Protection Authorities, to ensure that all supervisory bodies have full cooperation and access to information, providing full information to all victims.
- To repeal the 2019 legislative amendment that placed the EYP under the direct control of the Prime Minister.
- Immediately implement the Directive on whistleblowers.
- To ensure the independence of the leadership of the NRA.
- To launch an urgent police investigation following the alleged use of spyware and the seizure of physical evidence through intermediaries, brokers and spyware suppliers linked to spyware infections.
- To invite Europol to the investigations.
The findings of the PEGA rapporteur
The text submitted by the Dutch MEP notes the data that emerged regarding Greece and the Mitsotakis government regarding the wiretapping case. For PEGA, these findings that lead to the ten "I want" take into account the above facts:
- Predator targeting of "members of the Greek parliament, opposition MPs as well as New Democracy (ND), ND supporters and journalists.".
- "Many of the individuals targeted were also under official surveillance by the Greek secret service EYP.".
- "It is very likely that the Predator was used by or on behalf of individuals very close to the Prime Minister's office.".
- "The Greek government has admitted to granting export licenses to Intellexa to sell Predator spyware to authoritarian governments.".
- The fact that "the government responded to the scandal with legislative amendments that further reduce the target's rights to be informed after surveillance.".
Source of information: koutipandoras.gr
