The government’s use of the Pegasus Spyware against pro-independence Catalan politicians was not justified as there was no threat to the country’s security, a preliminary report drafted by the European Parliament found.
According to the report published Tuesday “it is not possible to establish” an alleged threat to national security invoked by the Spanish government to justify the use of the Pegasus spyware against pro-independence Catalan politicians.
The document is a first version of the conclusions reached by the Parliamentary Committee on the use of Pegasus, drafted by Dutch Liberal MEP Sophie in ‘t Veld.
However, the draft will be amended, as some Spanish members of her own liberal group (Ciudadanos/Citizens) do not feel “comfortable” with the tone of the text, sources in the Spanish parliamentary group told EFE.
The text highlights the scandal dubbed “CatalanGate” and also the spying on Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and two of his ministers. Spain is one of the five member states, along with Greece, Cyprus, Poland and Hungary, that has its own specific chapter in the report.
The Spanish section, which attributes the spying case to the Spanish and Moroccan governments, assesses factors such as the Spanish legal framework and the responsibility of the Spanish National Intelligence Centre and the scrutiny of its activity and warns that certain legal safeguards to the right to privacy of communications in Spain date from a time when surveillance was much less advanced than it is today.
“The Spanish government was probably the first EU client of the NSO Group”, the company that owns Pegasus, the report states, based on a press report.
About the specific case of spying on pro-independence Catalan politicians, the report speaks of a “clear trend” of attempts to infect devices, which “coincide” with politically relevant moments such as court cases, public rallies or communications with supporters of an independent Catalonia who were outside Spain.
“Given that the (Spanish) authorities have only acknowledged 18 of the 65 (spying cases with Pegasus) and that the applications for those cases have not been made public, it is not possible to establish in what way (the cases) would have had an immediate impact or constituted an imminent threat to national security or the integrity of the (Spanish) State,” the report reads.
“I understand that this is sensitive, and I would warmly invite the Spanish authorities to give us more information so that we can assess the situation,” In’t Veld told a press conference in Brussels following the report’s publication.
One of the recommendations made in the report concerns the definition of “national security” as a reason to justify spying and points out that in addition to being mentioned as such, it must be demonstrated that there is a danger to national security.
“There is a need for a common European definition of ‘national security’, determining what legal regime applies in these matters, as well as a clear demarcation of the area in which such a special regime could apply”, In ‘t Veld stressed.
The publication of this report now opens a new stage in the European Parliament’s Pegasus committee, set up in the wake of revelations about the use of spyware in EU countries.
The next step will be creating a debate group on the draft report published on Tuesday, followed by a period in which all members can table amendments and a final vote on the text’s final form, which will contain non-binding recommendations to governments and EU institutions.
(Dani Rovirosa and Laura Zornoza | EFE)
Source: euractiv.com
