Software situation monitoring urgently needs to be clarified in connection with the elections to be held in 2023 in Greece, the draft report says. PEGA committee from European Parliament for spyware.

At a press conference on the draft report and monitoring software, PEGA speaker Sophie In’t’Veld spoke about the European issue.

Both the EMP and the government vehemently deny that Predator ever acquired or used by the Greek authorities. According to PEGA, there does not appear to be a serious search for the source of the attacks on the tracking software.

It is also emphasized that after the revelations of surveillance, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proposed changes within the framework of the EMP.

In addition, PEGA notes that political surveillance is nothing new in Greece, but new spyware technologies make illegal surveillance much easier, especially in the context of seriously weakened security measures. Unlike other cases such as Poland, the abuse of surveillance software does not appear to be part of an overarching authoritarian strategy, but rather a tool used on an ad hoc basis for political and economic gain, PEGA’s draft report says.

However, he adds, it undermines democracy and the rule of law in equal measure and provides ample opportunity for corruption, at a time when these turbulent times call for strong and accountable leadership.

The draft report also notes that the revelations of the EMP’s use of spying and spying software on journalists tell a very disturbing tale of a complex and opaque web of relationships, political and business interests, favors, nepotism and political influence.

Due to the lack of proof of the identity of the purchaser and user of the Predator in the Greek cases, it is not possible to establish with certainty which actor purchased the Predator, PEGA’s draft report emphasizes.

It is also mentioned that the situation in Greece is incomprehensible in its complexity, but there are few individuals and organizations playing a key role.

Finally, the draft report notes that Greece has, in principle, a fairly strong legal framework. However, legislative amendments have weakened critical safeguards, and key political appointments are an obstacle to oversight and accountability.

Dissatisfaction of the EPP members with the work of PEGA

The dissatisfaction of the members of the EPP in PEGA with the speaker of the said committee of the EP Sophie In’t Veldt was expressed by the coordinator of the European People’s Party (in PEGA) Juan Ignacio Zoido, criticizing her actions.

“On behalf of the members of the European People’s Party in the PEGA committee, I would like to express my disappointment that the members of the committee were informed at such short notice of the press conference at which the draft report will be presented. We also regret that members received the draft shortly before the press conference. We find it surprising that he called a press conference before the report was completed. We understand the effort and time spent on such a lengthy report, but we do not believe that the time limit should be an excuse, since we have repeatedly proposed to postpone the deadline, and the speaker has repeatedly refused to extend it. This approach is not in line with the spirit of cooperation that the members of the Commission have been trying to cultivate since the founding of PEGA,” emphasizes Mr. Zoido.

At the same time, he emphasizes that “the same applies to the behavior of the speaker during the final press conference in Athens, where she presented in detail her individual views on the political situation in Greece and beyond, despite the fact that members of the delegation agreed on a joint statement after the talks to show a common position on certain issues. This gave the false impression that it reflected the overall view of the committee.”

“We remind you that the work of the commission is a collective effort and should not be used as a platform for individual political agitation. We hope that during the remainder of PEGA’s term, we will be able to work together with closer collaboration,” concludes Juan Ignacio Soido.

^{Source: RES-IPE}