The Plenary Session of the Parliament has started – It decides on the publication of the list Giorkatzi (Live)

The debate in the plenary session of the Parliament is currently in progress, which is called to decide on the publication of the Giorkatzi list. Except for the unexpected, the Parliament is expected to vote unanimously on a draft decision held by “P”, which authorizes the Speaker of the Parliament to make public the list of Giorkatzi “in any way he wanted to be duly determined”.

It is reminded that the only way of publication is to be posted on the relevant website of the Parliament as a continuation of the practices observed in the plenary while it is expected that the list will be accessible to the public tomorrow morning. However, it is not ruled out that, as soon as it may fall into the hands of MPs, some information may be leaked even earlier than the moment the decision for publication is made.

The Speaker of the Parliament, Adamos Adamou, requested that the issue of the list from ninth in a row be discussed first. DISY MP Annita Dimitriou read to the MPs the Draft Decision for the Giorkatzi list, as decided in the Ad Hoc committee.

Continuous updates:

– Anna Theologou was in favor of the publication.

-From the Solidarity Movement, Michalis Giorgallas stated that his Movement is unreservedly in favor of publishing the list. To get to the truth, he noted, the committee should be strengthened and the process in the Institutions Committee should move forward quickly so that there are strict laws for effective control so that all government officials are audited for their tax situation and verification of Pothen data. “We want the investigation to continue and to identify the politically corrupt,” said Mr. Giorgallas, among others.

-The MP of the Cooperation of Democratic Forces Angelos Votsis stated that all three votes of the Cooperation are in favor of the publication of the list. The society is waiting for actions and results, said Mr. Votsis. He reminded that the initiative of the Auditor General is expected, who stated that he would have the investigation for 14 politicians who were granted a favorable arrangement of their loans.

– ELAM MP, Linos Papagiannis, stated that for reasons of transparency and clear depiction of reality to society we have an obligation to give the right to the world to know what the image is. ELAM is in favor of publishing the list It is possible that some people should not have been on the list. “But I'm sure some on the list have their nests soiled.” It must continue to operate as an ad hoc committee.

-On the podium, the MP of Ecologists Cooperation Citizens George Perdikis stated that the movement is in favor of publicity.

Decision of the Parliament

Yesterday's session of the ad hoc committee for the loans of the RIP took place in the presence of the three lawyers recruited by the Parliament to address the issue of the Giorkatzi list, who clarified that what is made public in the Parliament and in its bodies, is constitutional.

Read the full decision below:

BECAUSE the area under investigation of the established Ad Hoc Parliamentary Committee to Investigate Issues Concerning Loans to Politically Exposed Persons includes, inter alia, issues concerning the so-called “Giorkatzi List” (hereinafter referred to as the “List”),

AND BECAUSE in particular, a major and controversial issue has at times been the issue of the publication of the List itself, in order to satisfy the prevailing general feeling of society,

BECAUSE the competent committee, in its meeting held on January 20, 2021, judging that the publication of the List continues to be the subject of intense public debate, proceeded to reconsider the issue of the need to publish the List,

BECAUSE during the review of the whole matter, the members of the committee, expressing the parties represented in it, were in favor of the publication of the List as it is, so that it becomes accessible,

AND BECAUSE in order to implement the expressed will of all the parliamentary parties represented in the competent committee, it is deemed that here the Plenary Session of the body is required again under the provisions of Article 78 of the Constitution, which authorizes the President of the Parliament. as above,

AND BECAUSE during the above decision by the committee, various factors were taken into account and weighed, which on the one hand advocate the publication of the List for reasons of urgent social need and on the other hand do not prevent the House of Representatives from exercising its institutional role. taking such appropriate political decisions as it deems appropriate at the present time,

BECAUSE, in reaching this Decision, the Commission has weighed a balance between the objective pursued and the means to achieve it, taking into account, inter alia, the relevant case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on various aspects of the matter, namely that

1. First of all, the publication of the List is a major legal decision, which is part of the principle of transparency and is a necessary condition for the accountability of public figures, especially elected officials, and therefore a parameter of the institutional obligation of the Parliament. contribute to the provision of the necessary information to society through access to the information in question.
2. the publication of the List in order to satisfy the expressed pressing social need, will do its utmost to restore the general image of public life, which has been crucially and, for the most part, irreparable from the long discussions about the possibility or expediency of publishing the List and about all aspects of the subject.
3. In view of the relevant case law of the ECtHR on the right to privacy enshrined in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the publication of the List is deemed necessary in a democratic but proportionate society, given the strong and pressing social demand to the House of Representatives to proceed with its publication. (ECtHR , Handyside v United Kingdom, 12.1976).
4. In this way, the interference with the constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy is offset in particular by the intense public interest in the information disclosed regarding Politically Exposed Persons (RIPs), which, in any case, have an obligation to be accountable, but also an obligation of increased tolerance towards any criticism, and in this respect the intended purpose and in this case the specific means to achieve it, ie the satisfaction of the strong social demand for information through publication of the List, is considered to be a reasonable and proportionate measure in a democratic society. (ECtHR, Handyside v United Kingdom , 7.12.1976).
5. the publication of the List, in the circumstances, constitutes a reasonable measure, given the fact that neither the status nor the safety of the persons contained in this document is threatened in any way, since apart from names and / or names there is no other identifying element included in the List, such as addresses or ID numbers. (ECtHR, LB and Hungary , 12.1.2021).
6. The reputation of a politician, although legally protected, nevertheless any interference with fundamental rights, balanced by the general interest of the public debate, places the politically exposed persons (WFPs) in a wider than usual context of acceptable public opinion. making them obligated to show greater tolerance for criticism. (ECtHR, Lingens and Austria , 8.7.1986),
7. The publication of the List at this stage is required by serious reasons dictated by the intense pressure from society to reveal information regarding WFP, which as public figures must know in advance the limits within which as such they must act. (ECtHR, Fernandez Martinez and Spain , 12.6.2004).
8. The list contains personal data, nevertheless and in accordance with the provisions of the implementing law of the General Regulation on Data Protection [1] [Law No. 125 (I) of 2018], the processing of personal data, in accordance with provisions of Article 5 of the relevant implementing law, is lawful when exercised by the House of Representatives within its powers and in addition is executed in the public interest, which in this case is imposed by the pressing requirement of society to be aware of the information contained in the List in relation to RDP,

For all the above reasons, the Plenary Session of the body with its present Decision, which is taken under the provisions of Article 78 of the Constitution, authorizes the Speaker of Parliament to proceed with the publication of the List as it is, in any way it has duly determined, as soon as this Decision is published in the Official Gazette of the Republic pursuant to the provisions of Article 82 of the Constitution.

[1] Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46 /FROM.