PEGA committee rapporteur, Sophie In t’Veld, in a “mini parliamentary coup d’etat”, held a press conference presenting her accusations entitled ‘me, myself and I’, with complete disregard to the opinions of her colleagues and standard parliamentary procedure.

As clarified by PEGA Chair, Jeroen Lenaers, the draft presented by MEP In t’Veld is not a final version, and it can, at this point, not be understood as the conclusions or the position of the PEGA committee as a whole.

MEP In t’Veld’s draft is largely based on a publication in Greek media including a list of high-profile persons in Greece allegedly surveyed by spyware. Actually, this is the media outlet whose publisher was linked to Russian oligarch funding to acquire TV channels in Greece. The draft extrapolates using hypotheses and scenarios which lack foundation, truth and factual evidence.

In reality, here are the facts:
From the very first moment, the Greek Government has declared that it has not and does not use spyware.
Also, Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, demanded the resignation of those responsible for the legal surveillance of MEP and President of PASOK, Nikos Androulakis.
Moreover, PM Mitsotakis himself participated in a parliamentary discussion where all political parties had the chance to express their views and question the Prime Minister on the subject. Also, parliamentary hearings and inquiries were held at the committee and plenary level, and a special committee was established that investigated the claims and concluded that there was no malfeasance.
The Greek government will pioneer new legislation on the prohibition of the use of spyware in Greece. It has enacted a second tier of judicial scrutiny of future surveillance conducted by National Intelligence Agency (EYP). The Greek state’s judiciary and independent authorities are conducting their own investigations.
Finally, the Greek Government has been very transparent and has actively assisted all inquiries and provided access to information, through the presence of Minister of State Mr. Gerapetritis, who met with the PEGA Committee members during their recent visit. Greece has been extremely active in supporting all the inquiries in contrast with other Member States.

Greece has a democratically elected government and has gone above and beyond the call of duty to collaborate with EU institutions in matters of the rule of law and will continue to work closely to bring the truth to light in respect to all matters involved.

We cannot and will not tolerate unfounded, slanderous, and insulting accusations against the Prime Minister, the Greek government and ultimately, Greece based on personal or political agendas.