He spoke of a “mistake”. Evangelos Venizelos mentioned in a statement by Kyriakos Mitsotakisin which the prime minister called the surveillance of Nikos Androulakis “legitimate”.

The former President of PASOK stressed the need for “immediate action by the competent criminal justice authorities”.

“We are seeing the whole model of centralized exercise of power reaching its limit with a lot of noise. The mixture of feelings of omnipotence and anger proved uncontrollable. Therefore, the model must be changed immediately. This is necessary for both the current and any future government. No one has the right to plunge the country into the sad moments of the past, distant and near. In matters of democracy and the rule of law there is no comparison, there is an absolute demand and an absolute obligation to respect. I expected the Prime Minister to address this fundamental issue, but unfortunately this did not happen today.

Along with the huge chain of responsibilities of political bodies that we will see, there are equally huge responsibilities of the judiciary in the form of prosecutors with special and exclusive responsibilities, such as the “EYP prosecutor”. This was preceded by an extremely difficult experience of the “corruption prosecutor’s office”. The abolition of these special/privileged prosecutorial positions, which in any case prejudice the principle of a lawful judge, is imperative.

Wiretapping in violation of article 19 part 1 of the Code, either by conventional or advanced technical methods, or by a diabolical coincidence of both, is primarily a criminal offense. There is not even elementary legality when the confidentiality of MEP messages, which has the legal protection of the MEP at the national level, is violated, citing national security concerns.

The parliamentary secrecy of Article 61 para. 3 as a more special provision establishes, directly from the Constitution, additional specific restrictions on the violation of telecommunications secrecy provided for in Article 19 par. 1. Articles 8 ECHR and 7 of the EU Convention strengthen, not reduce guarantees. An MP or MEP, and especially a party leader, cannot be followed for internal or much more “imported” “national security” reasons. Such excuses are as bad and harmful as the act itself.

The prime minister’s position that surveillance was technically legal but politically incorrect is a gross mistake. Is it possible to control politicians, parliamentarians and party leaders on grounds of “national security” if it is weighed by the respective prime minister and approved by the appeals attorney? Of course not. I’m waiting for the Prime Minister to return with an appropriate explanation.

Therefore, in relation to a specific and recognized event, the competent criminal justice authorities must act immediately, without waiting for any parliamentary procedure regarding the criminal liability of persons not covered by Art. 86 Comp.

It is clear that parliamentary oversight must be initiated immediately and effectively implemented, with the first step being the formation of a commission of inquiry or the transformation of the Committee on Institutions and Transparency into a commission of inquiry.

Not only for this particular case, but for the whole issue of how EYP and related services work, with an emphasis on the confidentiality of communications. Parliamentary oversight of these services is a strong international institutional safeguard.

Obviously, the provision of the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure on the role of the Committee on Institutions and Transparency in relation to the EPM does not work effectively and as a deterrent. Immediate revision of both the law and the Rules of Procedure of Parliament is required. Countries need the best and most effective intelligence agencies, but not at the expense of guarantees of democracy and the rule of law.

Political responsibility is ultimately decided through elections. I believe and hope that citizens are required to have a government capable of meeting the great challenges of the moment, international political, economic and social challenges, the first of which is the quality and sustainability of liberal democracy.”