BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament’s inquiry panel looking into how the governments of the bloc use surveillance spyware claimed on Tuesday that the EU’s executive branch and member states are failing to adequately address a surveillance scandal that has targeted journalists and opposition politicians.
The committee looking into Pegasus claimed in a draught report that national governments and the European Council “are practising omertà,” or a code of silence, and regretted that the European Commission only “reluctantly and piecemeal” disclosed information about spyware attacks on its own employees.
A Commission spokesman retorted that any attempt by national security agencies to gain unauthorised access to citizen data “is unacceptable” and insisted that the Commission has already begun taking steps to protect journalists from the use of spyware.
The Pegasus spyware from Israel and other intrusive surveillance tools are being used by governments, and the Parliament committee is looking into them because they are seen as a threat to democracy in the 27-nation bloc.
Pegasus is a mobile phone hacking tool created by Israel’s NSO Group that can access mobile devices and extract a wealth of information from them, including text messages, passwords, locations, and recordings from the microphone and camera.
The company markets the technology as a tool to target criminals, but many cases have been discovered worldwide of governments using it against dissidents, journalists and political opponents.
EU legislators claim that the NSO Group has sold its goods in at least 14 different EU nations.
“Spyware has been illegally used in at least four member states, including Poland, Hungary, Greece, and Spain, and there are concerns about its use in Cyprus,” they claimed, adding that Cyprus and Bulgaria act as the spyware export hubs.
The invitation to work with the PEGA committee has been largely rejected, according to lawmakers.
“While some governments flatly refused to work together, others were cordial and courteous but failed to exchange any useful information. Even a straightforward questionnaire about the specifics of each member state’s national legal framework for the use of spyware has hardly gotten any in-depth responses. ”
The committee also deplored that Europol, the EU’s crime agency, did not start an investigation into the matter.
“Only after being pressed by the European Parliament, it addressed a letter to five Member States, asking if a police inquiry had started, and if they could be of assistance,” lawmakers said in their draft report.
The committee’s final recommendations will be put to a vote the following year after discussions with political groups in the Parliament and any potential amendments.
Lawmakers claim that the EU is ignoring the phone surveillance scandal.
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