The third annual report on the rule of law in the European Union, published today, underlines the need for “national checks and balances” that guarantee safeguards and respect for fundamental rights against the use of espionage programs such as Pegasus.
(Also read: The tentacles in the world of the Pegasus espionage case)
The text “demands that these tools in the hands of the national security services be subject to sufficient control, which fully respects European law, including fundamental rights such as the protection of personal data, the safety of journalists and freedom of expression” , said the vice president of the European Commission in charge of Values and Transparency, Vera Jourová, in a small meeting with journalists, including Efe.
(You may be interested in: Espionage: the cases of famous victims of Pegasus)
This is the third report on the rule of law published by the European Commission since September 2020which includes for the first time recommendations by country and the first to be drawn up in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Attacks on the rise
The report also addresses, for the first time, national controls in the EU in relation to the use of spyware such as Pegasus, among whose objectives included journalists, lawyers, national politicians and MEPs, and focuses on Spain, France, Hungary and Poland.
The latter is the only one of the four countries where complaints were made in which the prosecutor’s office has not initiated any investigation.
(Recommended: What is Pegasus, a program accused of spying on various politicians around the world?)
“This issue has been gaining importance over the last year: while it is linked to national security, there needs to be national checks and balances to ensure the existence of safeguards and respect for fundamental rights,” reads the report. general report on the rule of law.
Although the report concedes that it is the Member States that are competent to guarantee their national security, it stresses that “they must apply the relevant community legislation, including the jurisprudence of the CJEU”.
While linked to national security, there needs to be national checks and balances to ensure safeguards are in place.
The rule of law requires that the use of these instruments by the security services of the Member States be subject to sufficient control that fully respects EU law.including fundamental rights such as the protection of personal data, the safety of journalists and freedom of expression, it adds.
In addition, the use of surveillance means in criminal investigations also has to respect procedural rights, including the rights of the accused.
Therefore, it stresses that “solid institutional checks and balances are needed to guarantee the functioning, cooperation and mutual control of State organs, so that power is exercised by one State authority under the scrutiny of others.”
pegasus
This political scandal broke out last year following a journalistic investigation that revealed government espionage of journalists, opponents, activists and businessmen through the Israeli “spyware” Pegasus, originally marketed for the surveillance of serious crimes and terrorism.
This spyware can be covertly installed on mobile phones and other devices and, without the victim’s knowledge, giving the attacker full control over the device.
In Spain, the use of Pegasus and other equivalent spy surveillance programs has been the subject of an investigation by the Ombudsman and legal proceedings.
The espionage through this program affected the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, several of his ministers and some sixty pro-independence leaders of Catalonia, who filed numerous complaints in Barcelona courts.
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