Deputy European Commission Dombrovskis criticized the Greek government for spy scandal

Commission Vice President EU Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday lashed out at the Greek government for using spyware against citizens, while also saying that the executive branch is still awaiting clarifications about licenses to export Predator spyware to Sudan and Madagascar.

“This kind of spying on fellow citizens and political opponents clearly should not take place. Spyware should be used for legitimate purposes other than law enforcement and security,” Dombrovskis told a meeting of the European Parliament’s PEGA committee, which closely monitors the use of spyware across the bloc. .

Dombrovskis even cited his origins in Latvia, a former member of the Soviet Union, to emphasize that he knows “what it means for the regime to keep tabs on its citizens.”

The commission’s vice president also said that on February 14, the EU executive asked Athens for “clarification” on reports that the government had exported licenses for illegal Predator spyware to Sudan and Madagascar. According to him, the conservative Greek government has not yet responded to the allegations.

The so-called “predatorgate” has been shaking Greek politics for months now, causing bewilderment in Brussels. The government maintains that it never acquired Predator spyware and that the surveillance was conducted through legitimate secret service channels while reporting on the success of the National Intelligence Service (ΕΥΠ) using the above program.

Opposition parties and the PEGA committee insist that there was a parallel use of the Predator and surveillance of the opposition and journalists, to which the results of an investigation by specialists involved by the European Parliament were attached. The PEGA committee’s report on spyware use in Greece will be made public in late April ahead of the May 21 national elections.

Manfred Weber, head of the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), to which the ruling New Democracy belongs, has so far remained silent.

Opposition Syriza MEP Stelios Kuloglou said most EU lawmakers from the EPP would “breathe with relief” if Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis loses the election. “Until now, these MEPs have been in a very difficult position. They had to defend the fraternal party, but at the same time maintain their dignity. It was a very difficult balance with the policies of the New Democracy government,” Kuloglu commented.

History with the program Predator, we have widely discussed on the pages of our publication during the second half of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. It is noteworthy that, despite 100% evidence and data from international experts, the Mitsotakis government has not fully acknowledged the use of spyware to spy on the opposition.

The Predator story eventually went down like water in the sand, without any serious reaction from the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. However, there was a similar reaction to other, no less serious scandals, which in other countries of the “collective West” would be a reason for the resignation of the government. Apparently the patrons of the “New Democracy”, sitting across the ocean, value the current prime minister too highly, constantly supporting him in every possible way and not allowing him to be removed from office.

In the words of US President Franklin Roosevelt (at least this phrase is attributed to him), “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but this our son of a bitch“…

However, after coming to power in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republicans, a “black mark” was already directed towards Mitsotakis, in the form of an accusation of human rights violations.

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