Letter from 17 organizations to von der Leyen on the deterioration of the rule of law in Greece

Brussels – A group of 17 European organizations, in a letter to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, sought to end the deterioration of the rule of law and fundamental rights in Greece. The letter urges the EU executive to take action, thorough investigations and possible punitive measures, on “serious and persistent violations” of what the EU Treaties provide – from a surveillance scandal to government interference in the media to an “overall unsafe” working environment and a criminal justice system used to threaten civil society groups and activists: including the suspension of disbursement of EU funds.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis Grecia — Greek Prime Mininster Kyriakos Mitsotakis

As the letter of the 17 organizations – including the European Federation of Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Greek Council for Refugees, and Reporters sans frontières – notes, for the last two consecutive years Athens has ranked last of the EU Member States (107 out of 180 countries overall) in the World Press Freedom Index, while in the Chapter on Greece of the 2023 Report on the Rule of Law in Europe, the EU Commission expressed concern about the situation of journalists and civil society. However, “we regret that neither the report nor the Commission’s related statements on Greece reflect the severity of the situation,” the signatories wrote, referring, in particular, to “smear campaigns” and “threats and attacks, and the misuse of the criminal law” against defenders of migrant rights “to a shocking degree.”

In addition, there is the scandal of the use of state espionage and surveillance systems of journalists, which “raises urgent privacy and free expression concerns and affects the ability of the press to hold authorities to account.” Although in May 2023, the EU Parliament’s Special Inquiry Committee to Examine the Use of Pegasus and Other Spyware (Pega) indicated to the government led by conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis the need to strengthen institutional and legal safeguards and independent oversight mechanisms, the authorities in Athens instead took “different measures to deliberately reduce levels of transparency and oversight,” thereby limiting the options for redress for surveillance victims.

From left: Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

Although national security remains the responsibility of the Member States, the EU Commission “cannot continue to turn a blind eye when surveillance can lead to abuses of EU law,” the 17 organizations warn on the “violations and maladministration in the implementation of EU law” in Greece. That is why they are urging the EU executive not only to “thoroughly investigate” but to obtain “clear and effective corrective action, openly, and publicly” from the Greek authorities — to be included with a “clear, detailed, and comprehensive” picture of the Rule of Law 2024 report — but above all to carry out an “accurate and impartial” assessment of cases where violations could trigger the “suspension of EU funds to the country.”

The use of spyware in Greece

As of August 2022, the ruling New Democracy party is accused of using spyware against members of civil society, journalists, and political opponents, including MEP and Pasok leader, Nikos Androulakis. Androulakis revealed that it all began when European Parliament President Roberta Metsola decided to react decisively to the CatalanGate scandal involving five Catalan independence MEPs. Since then, the European Parliament services have allowed all MEPs who request it to examine their smartphones to detect spyware. Androulakis used this service in late June as a precautionary measure, and from the first check, a link related to Predator spyware, developed in Israel, was detected.

As with the Pegasus spyware – which has so far involved the governments of Poland, Hungary, and Spain – Predator, at the center of what MEPs define as “Greece’s WaterGate,” exploits flaws in smartphone software to collect information, such as conversations, emails, messages, photos, and videos, about a user’s online activities without their consent. Spyware also allows turning devices into audio and video recorders for real-time surveillance. In addition to the possible use against Greek citizens, the EU Commission asked Athens to “clarify” reports of exports of Predator licenses to Sudan and Madagascar.