The European Parliament’s Crime Investigation Committee demanded greater transparency and faster progress in the investigation of surveillance cases in Greece. spyware (PEGA) during a hearing attended by Greek journalists and officials on Thursday.

Participated in the first panel Thanasis Koukakis as well as Stavros Malihoudisjournalists who were attacked by spyware and described their experiences, and the journalist Eliza Triantafillou, which investigated cases of surveillance. They stressed the need for credible investigations into spy companies such as Intellexa and Krikel.

For their part, members of the commission of inquiry agreed that the investigation of spy companies should be a priority, pointing out that delay in the investigation entails the risk of destroying evidence, showing a particular interest in issuing licenses to export such software. to Greece and Cyprus. At the same time, MEPs highlighted the negative implications of the surveillance issue for democracy, freedom of the media and freedom of speech, stating that the events in Greece matter to all Member States, as well as to the European Parliament itself.

The second panel of hearings was attended by Athanasios Staveris, Secretary General of the Ministry of Digital Governance, Panos Alexandris, Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, and Christos Rammos, President of the Independent Communications Privacy Authority (ADAE). Greek officials provided clarifications on the national security strategy, compliance with Greek privacy, family life and data protection laws, and efforts to integrate European cybersecurity legislation. They also talked about the severe restrictions imposed by law on the disclosure of confidential information. These restrictions, however, should not affect ongoing investigations and the independence of the judiciary through public comment on these matters, they added.