The deputies of the Defense Committee of the Congress have once again left the members of the European Parliament committee investigating espionage at community level with the Pegasus programs with their words on their mouths this Tuesday. A delegation from the European Parliament traveled to Madrid last week, on a two-day visit, to meet with different Spanish authorities to address the Spanish case, which especially affects Catalan pro-independence leaders, whose mobiles were attacked by the Israeli company’s software .
The 10 MEPs, members of the mission, met last week with the Secretary of State for European Affairs, with the President of the Generalitat, with a delegation from the Catalan Parliament, with a representative of the Ombudsman, with Amnesty International and with some journalists. They had also scheduled an appointment with the Congressional Defense Committee, but the coincidence with the debate on the motion of censure frustrated the meeting. Both parties were summoned to see each other electronically in the coming days. They met for this Tuesday via videoconference. However, the meeting has again been cancelled.
After a brief start, it has not been able to continue due to technical problems with the translation. The meeting has been postponed again. The European mission has shown its “disappointment”. “It is a shame”, they have affirmed from the Catalan nationalism. A few days ago, the members of the European Parliament commission already complained about the obstacles that, in their opinion, the Government had put up for the Spanish case to be investigated and they asked the Executive for more transparency. The president of the commission of investigation, Jeroen Lenaers, also showed his “disappointment” at not being able to meet with Pedro Sánchez or with any minister of the Spanish Government. «It is frustrating, has affirmed the rapporteur of the Eurocámara report, Sophie In ‘t Veld.
The commission of inquiry was created in the European Parliament based on the cases of Hungary and Poland, but a year ago, after the outbreak of the so-called ‘catalangate’, it also addressed the Spanish case. According to Citizen Lab, an organization of the University of Toronto, 65 pro-independence leaders were spied on with Pegasus in Spain. The CNI only admits 18 of them and under judicial authorization. The President of the Government and the Ministers of Defense and the Presidency were also spied on.
#Congress #replants #MEPs #Pegasus #commission