As if nothing could stop the slide into the mud:

• It was preceded in 2008 by the New Democracy Act, which subordinated the EMP to the Secretary of the Interior. It provided for the assignment of a staff prosecutor to the EMP to check the legality of “its special operational activities” (art. 5 part 3 of law 3649/2008). However, in order to remove the secrecy, the second signature of the applicants’ prosecutor was retained. By this law, Mr. Prokopis Pavlopoulos appointed Mr. Dima. Papagelopoulos.

• This was followed in 2018 by the SYRIZA law, which abolished the second prosecutor. From now on, only an “institutional” signature will be sufficient (Article 25, paragraph 3 of Law 4531/2018). What happened; Apparently, Mr. Yannis Roubatis, EYP commander under SYRIZA, was troubled by the daring appellate prosecutor Antonis Liogas’ systematic refusal – sadly now a blessing – to approve a series of surveillance requests that reached his office. In their statement of reasons, Messrs. Gerovasilis, Kontonis, Ahtsioglu, Gavroglu, Skourletis and other ministers of SYRIZA, who lightly signed it, not only did not express any concern, but, on the contrary, assured that the seconded prosecutors “have sufficient service experience in connection with their permanent stay in premises.” EYP and other services in which they were placed. Moreover, according to the same ministers, the “risk of leakage” of the relevant documents is eliminated!

• In June 2019, in the new Criminal Code, SYRIZA changed illegal wiretapping from a criminal offense to a misdemeanor (Article 370A of the Criminal Code). A pending government bill makes it a criminal offense again.

• July 8, 2019, i.e. the day after New Democracy’s election victory, p.d. 81/2019 (art. 5 par. 3) the AMP was transferred to the prime minister. Of course, this has happened before. However, this time, the EMP was subordinated to the prime minister by the first decree of the new government, on the day he was sworn in! He was in such a hurry!

• In August 2019, New Republic law ruled that you no longer need to be a university graduate to be appointed as an EYP administrator; at least ten years of “proven professional employment” anywhere is sufficient (art. 21 par. 2 of Law 4625/2019). The way was opened for the appointment of Mr. P. Kontoleontos, with the only condition that he was the head of a security company.

• In another law, also in August 2019, New Democracy removed the ability of the President of the Data Protection Authority (DPA) to inspect EYP and other electronic records held for “national security activities” (Section 10). part 5 of Law no. 4624/2019). Previously, the president of this body had such an opportunity under its founding law, without, as provided, the possibility to object to any confidentiality (with the exception of the identity of EYP agents, art. 19 par. 1 N 2472/2019). I still remember the surprise I had with Konstantinos Dafermos, the first President of the Office, when we learned in 2001 that the Anti-Terrorism Agency still listed the then Prime Minister Kostas Simitis on the list of possible terrorists!

Everyone agrees that 151 disciplined members of parliament are considered a sufficient guarantee of successful governance. Today we, tomorrow you, this is the main slogan.

• In March 2021, New Democracy, despite strong reservations from the president and a member of the Office of Privacy Enforcement (ADAE), removed the possibility that this independent body was required to inform after the end of the monitoring of individuals, was canceled for reasons of national security (Article 87 part 1 of Law 4790/2021).

• In July 2020, the Center for Technology Support, Development and Innovation (KETYAK) was established as part of EYP. This center, reporting directly to the governor, seeks to carry out “applied research” in cooperation with Greek and foreign organizations (art. 27, par. 2 of Law 4704/2020). As it turned out, according to the decisions of the commander of the EMP, which are not published in the Government Gazette, the staff for this center can be hired on a voluntary basis with project contracts. In this dark mode, the bill under discussion tries to shed some light.

• Finally, last August, in response to revelations about Nikos Androulakis being monitored by the EMP, the government responded with two measures: first, it provided that the person elected by the government to be the commander of the EMP must go through the relevant parliamentary committees · and , secondly, returned the signature of the second prosecutor (or “Prosecutor 3 by 10”, as he was originally called, from the time when he is usually presented with the provisions of the day for the approval of the EMP, i.e. ten minutes before the end of the working hours of judicial officials !) (see already para. 4969/2022).

If we add to the above that, as officially announced, surveillance in our country will hopefully exceed 16,000 per year, that the relevant prosecutorial regulations do not even indicate the name of the person who is being monitored, and, finally, that the ADAE request will not receive necessary credits to digitize her medical history (which remains paperless!), she will understand why the problem that arose this summer was not caused by a minute inaccuracy, much less an unfortunate coincidence. It is a symptom of chronic mismanagement for which all parties in power are responsible. Evil has penetrated so deeply that it would be good if it could be dealt with by a new law alone. In other words, evil is systemic in nature, and in order to fight it, we need to identify its deeper causes.

While I do not downplay the responsibility of those in power in this area—the minister who ruthlessly legalizes, the judge who bows his head, and the official who meekly carries out illegal orders—I believe that the deeper causes of evil spirits are not all that great. in faces. They go even deeper. We will find them in the unshakable conviction of all those who have ruled over us that they know everything about everything and that they can decide for themselves not only the big but also the small matters of day-to-day management. Institutions such as ASEP and other independent bodies are seen as a “necessary evil” imposed on us by “foreigners” rather than organizations that, like party struggles, promote better governance. The same applies to the Council of State, which God knows how managed to maintain its core responsibilities when PASOK and the ND systematically tried to weaken it in the past.

If one were to describe the problem in a nutshell, it would be the atrophy, if not the total absence, of institutional balances. In other words, independent institutions, equipped with the necessary means, acting responsibly and with a professional conscience and able to say “no” even to flagrant lawlessness. There are no such institutions in our country today. On the contrary, whether it is the weakening of the President of the Republic since 1986, or the woefully degraded position of the opposition in Parliament, or the Justice that our politicians boldly want, all contribute to being considered sufficient guarantee of the successful administration of 151 disciplined beans in Parliament. Today we, tomorrow you, this is the main slogan. For what else can Mr. Mitsotakis’ recent disgust of “I am the elected prime minister and accountable only to the people!” mean?

The wiretapping case showed the pitfalls of this mentality. With the rapid development of malicious technology, the measures to contain the evil were weakened. Because apparently the rulers wanted to use this technology on their behalf. Well, some unscrupulous people took the opportunity and stopped at nothing to do their thing, making fun of us all. However, since you want everything to be yours, you risk falling into the trap of mechanisms that you have created to harm your opponents.

New government bill

For those who can’t imagine the bleak picture presented in this article, the government’s new privacy and DPA abolition bill can be seen as a hopeful sign that something is finally changing. Because, without a doubt, this is progress for the government to restore the ability to be informed – albeit belatedly, even under certain conditions – of those whose phones are tapped for reasons of national security. The same applies to the fact that any friend of the Prime Minister or his staff will no longer be able to be appointed head of the EEM. And that without the approval of the speaker of parliament, the phone of politicians cannot be tapped.

On the other hand, there are many points for improvement and they are important. Including:
• Excessive expansion of the concept of national security, even including public health, is not only disturbing, but also contrary to the Constitution.
• ADAE’s only subsequent involvement in the removal of confidentiality by mere informing, apart from the mistake, is also problematic from a constitutional point of view.
• Failure to mention the name of the person being monitored in the relevant court order reinforces an unacceptable practice. What control can two prosecutors exercise when they are essentially only given a phone number?
• The 24 hours within which interested prosecutors and the speaker of parliament (!) must sign the provisions presented to them by the EMP do not allow for serious scrutiny. Let 24 hours be reserved only for urgent matters to be specifically identified.
• Three years from the date of cancellation of confidentiality, which must necessarily elapse in order for the affected person to be informed, is an unreasonably long period of time.
• Is it possible, according to the model of French law, that the maximum limit (ceiling) of permitted monitoring should be set by the EMP for reasons of national security?
• Finally, it is necessary to limit the list of “especially serious crimes” for which the Constitution allows declassification.

* Mr. Nikos K. Alivisatos is an honorary professor at the University of Athens.