The European Parliament’s PEGA committee is expected to call on the Greek government to protect the independence of the authority responsible for privacy issues (ADAE) and shed light on the so-called “Greek Watergate”, a wiretapping scandal which has shaken domestic politics for months.
On Tuesday, the EU Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) will present its draft recommendation to the Commission and EU Council.
Regarding Greece, EURACTIV was informed that the EU Parliament would call on the government to ensure the independence of the authority responsible for privacy issues (ADAE) and particularly its president.
The chief of the authority, Christos Rammos, a senior judge whose insistence on shedding light on the case has disturbed the government, is determined to come up with results in a scandal that analysts estimate will poison the country until the upcoming elections.
The opposition says the centre-right New Democracy government (EPP) and the leadership of justice are trying to block ADAE from scrutinising telecommunication companies to find out how many politicians, businessmen and politicians have been under surveillance by secret services.
Things got even more complicated recently after Greek chief prosecutor Isidoros Ntogiakos ruled that ADAE cannot conduct such audits, causing a wave of reactions.
Rammos ignored the prosecutor’s opinion and continued the audits, saying his authority’s independence is explicitly described in the country’s Constitution.
Chief prosecutor puts Greece’s rule of law to the test
Greek chief prosecutor Isidoros Ntogiakos caused shockwaves on Tuesday after he ruled that the independent authority responsible for privacy issues (ADAE) cannot conduct audits to telecommunication companies to find out who is under surveillance by Greek secret services.
Meanwhile, Renew Europe MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld again criticised the European Commission for its radio silence over the “Greek Watergate”.
“The European Commission has a duty to ensure that EU law is applied throughout the EU. Just pointing at the member states is not good enough. If national governments violate EU law, the Commission has to act. The truth is that the Commission shamefully fails to act as guardian of the Treaties,” the Dutch EU lawmaker tweeted.
EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and Greek Vice-President Margaritis Schinas – both belonging to the same European People’s Party (EPP) political family as Mitsotakis – have been silent over the “Greek Watergate”.
EU Commissioner for justice Didier Reynders irritated the opposition in Greece after he replied to a question from MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis over the matter.
Reynders said on Monday the EU executive “does not deal with individual cases of data protection, which normally fall within the competence of national data protection authorities and courts”.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
