The Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) of the European Parliament has requested and will meet the former Corruption Prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki on Monday, as part of a mission in Athens to discuss issues related to the rule of law, EURACTIV Greece has learnt.
“The Committee for Civil Liberties (LIBE) requested to meet Eleni Touloupaki and discuss issues of rule of law in Greece”, a source close to the matter told EURACTIV Greece.
EU lawmakers led by centrist MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld from Renew Europe will be in Athens on a mission from 6 to 8 March.
The MEPs will meet with Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou and other state and non-state stakeholders and will focus on issues and complaints regarding the state of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and freedom of the press.
It’s not clear yet whether Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet the EU lawmakers.
The source described as “highly symbolic” move the MEPs’ decision to invite Touloupaki for a meeting.
Touloupaki was the chief anti-corruption prosecutor who investigated the so-called “Novartis gate”, involving Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis.
The Novartis investigation in Greece was launched in mid-December 2016 with evidence of bribery of thousands of state officials and doctors in order for Novartis to get preferential treatment in the market.
Touloupaki was the top investigator of the Novartis case but after the government changed, she wasprosecuted by the Greek authorities.
In an interview with EURACTIV in May 2022, she said her prosecution was a retaliation against what, according to her, was a “disruption to the political-economic system of the country”.
Former Greek anti-corruption chief: Novartis scandal has harmed EU budget
The scandal involving Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis in Greece has affected the health budgets of other EU countries and the bloc’s finances, Greece’s former anti-corruption prosecutor Eleni Touloupaki told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
On Sunday, a Greek court found Touloupaki innocent putting an end to her prosecution.
“The acquittal of Mrs Eleni Touloupaki is a resounding slap to the ‘untouchables’, i.e. the powerful of the economy and politics,” her lawyer Ioannis Matzouranis said in a statement.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
