Representatives of the parties crossed swords at a meeting of the Committee on Institutions and Transparency, which was convened on an emergency basis at the initiative of the government following the indictment of PASOK-KINAL President Nikos Androulakis for attempting to infect his mobile phone with malware. At the end of the meeting, the focus was on the report of the EMP Commander Panagiotis Kontoleon on the lawful collusion of the service and the requests of foreign intelligence services, which was related to the monitoring by the EYP of the journalist Thanasis Koukakis, who committed by order of the prosecutor. However, sources close to the leadership of the EMP clarified that the corresponding marking does not apply to any specific case. The meeting was not without high tones of confrontation.

From PASOK-KINAL, Haris Kastanidis took the floor, saying that three incidents were recorded – an attempt to lure Androulakis into a corner, the detention of the KKE and journalist Koukakis. The MP stated that we do not have an answer to any of the incidents and asked for answers as the attempt to trap the President of PASOK was discovered by a European organization. According to the information, Mr. Castanidis emphasized that something is wrong, and since the government says that it did not buy the software, then most likely they are private individuals, and we need to know who these private individuals are and how they acquired expensive software by asking EYP for answers. In conclusion, Mr. Kastanidis said that a special innovation support center was established in 2020, which is to be verified by the prosecutor.

The focus was on the report of the commander of the EMP on the requests of foreign services, which was attributed to the Koukakis case.

Mr. Giorgos Katrougalos, for his part, said there were strong indications that surveillance was underway. In December 2021, a report was filed saying there was surveillance by Greek government-backed organizations and asking if the Greek side had taken any steps to talk to them to find out what was going on. The MP from SYRIZA came to the conclusion that the cases of Koukakis and Androulakis are similar. In his statements after the meeting, he accused the government of trying to cover up the information.

From the majority, Kostas Karagounis was the first to speak, who, according to information, accused the opposition of superficial approach and frivolity. Mr. Karagounis said ministers and authorities have already responded that there is no such illegal software in Greece, adding that Europeans such as Charles Michel have been spied on in the past. “Were these made by European governments?” – he asked. The MP from Aetoloakarnania continued by saying that Europe is trying to solve this particular problem and even introduced the GDPR regulation due to which he accused SYRIZA of taking it too long and finally it came in 2019 with this government . In conclusion, Mr. Karagounis said that Greece has the highest guarantees, which are not found anywhere else in the Western world, explaining that the removal of telephone secrecy is carried out by a competent prosecutor. From N.D. Euripides Stylianides also took the floor, focusing on the technological part and stating that Greece should be further protected. For his part, the head of EYP, Mr. Contoleon, stressed that we had 15,700 phone privacy removals this year, a 40% decrease compared to 2021, while stressing that in France, the removal is carried out by an independent body. , in England the Ministry of the Interior, and in Greece the public prosecutor, evidence of greater rigor and a guarantee of security.

At the end of the meeting, government sources commented on the government’s position on 7 points: 1) The Greek state has never purchased illegal software. Neither directly nor indirectly. 2) We have one of the strictest frameworks for legal investments. Stronger than in all EU countries. 3) It was revealed that traces of the Pegasus software have existed since 2018 in our country. During the reign of SYRIZA. 4) Krickel company contracted for SYRIZA in 2016 with Mr. Tosca as minister and never contracted with the current government. 5) The Facebook report says there are seven illegal programs like Pegasus. 6) Problems of detecting illegal software exist throughout the EU. and were found with five ministers in France, with Charles Michel, in Hungary. 7) The Minister of Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, after earlier communication with the Speaker of Parliament, proceeded to draw up a communication security plan for MPs.