AKEL MEP, George Georgiou, was elected today, Vice President of the new special committee of the European Parliament, which was set up to examine the facts regarding the Pegasus software.
The committee is made up of 38 MEPs from all political groups, who are called upon to investigate allegations of breach of EU law in the use of monitoring software. They will also look at existing national surveillance laws and whether Pegasus software has been used to track the mobile phones of politicians, officials and journalists in the Member States of the Union.
The assumption of the position of Vice-President by MEP G. Georgiou is of particular importance as, in the context of the investigations of the new committee, Cyprus will also be placed under the microscope, in order to determine whether it has complied with the procedures provided by EU law regarding The Pegasus Committee will submit its final report to Parliament within 12 months, making any recommendations it deems necessary to protect the EU from spyware.
The issue of the use of Pegasus software by EU Member States against individuals and the violation of fundamental rights was at the heart of the work of the European Parliament Plenary last week in Strasbourg. p>
During the discussion of the issue, George Georgiou focused on the fact that their use is not limited only to authoritarian regimes but also by democratic governments. Which “chase” politicians, activists, journalists, political dissidents, Their use, he stressed, “undermines the very pillars of our democratic life: freedom of the press, the presumption of innocence, the right to privacy, the right freedom of expression and trade unionism. “
At the same time, he suggested that the European Parliament, together with the international community, take action to curb the global spyware industry. Through a moratorium on their sale and transfer until a global regime with transparent requirements based on the rule of law is established. At the same time, giving victims of this software the right to sue governments and companies involved in the surveillance industry.
