In his message, the Prime Minister appeared determined not to leave any shadow around the wrong – as he described it – surveillance of Nikos Androulakis’s mobile phone by the EYP and committed to the complete clarification of the case.
Stormy are the developments in the political scene after the intervention of the prime minister for the case of phone surveillancespeeding up its reopening Parliament for August 22 (instead of the 31st), when a battle is expected between the political leaders.
In his message today, Kyriakos Mitsotakis appeared determined not to leave any shadow around the incorrect – as he described it – monitoring of Nikos Androulakis’s mobile phone from EYP and committed to it full clarification of the case. In fact, he assured that even though connection was legitimate with the intended approval of the Attorney General, if he had known he would never have allowed it to happen.
“Although everything was done legally, the National Intelligence Service underestimated the political dimension of this action. It was formally adequate, but politically unacceptable. It should not have happened, causing cracks in citizens’ trust in the National Security Services.”he said characteristically.
However, the prime minister underlined the need to avoid degradation of the critical work of the EYP for national security.
“The National Intelligence Service’s offer is significant. It is emphatically reflected in Greece’s readiness to face challenges such as those in the Evros or the Aegean. In our permanent diplomatic and defense armour. But also in society’s daily battle with terrorism and crime. A slippage, therefore, cannot overshadow a project of measurable national benefit. And you don’t need to be an expert to realize how valuable reliable information is in the complex world we live in.“, he pointed out.
He categorically rejected the opposition’s accusations of abuse of the rule of law and broadcast a message of defense of the Republic and its institutions, but also of shielding against potential enemies.
“There are many enemies of the country lurking around who would like a weak National Intelligence Service. And if some dark forces outside Greece strike any plan to destabilize the country, let them know that Greece is both strong and institutionally shielded. We live in a dangerous world. But we are a Democratic state. And we have a sacred obligation to balance between the security of the country and its citizens and the protection of the fundamental principles that protect the private sphere and the privacy of communications”he added.
At the same time, Kyriakos Mitsotakis tried to put a brake on the toxicity in the country’s political life especially the case of Mr. Androulakis.
“The government immediately agreed to the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry, which will obviously operate under the conditions imposed by the nature of the subject to be investigated.
Because such a responsible process cannot, must not be turned into a spy serial for party consumption. Nor, much more, to be a cause of degradation of the national contribution of the EYP and undermining aspects of national security”. underlined.
Yes, he foretold package of 4 measures to strengthen control and accountability of the National Intelligence Servicewhile he declared himself open to creative proposals from the political forces.
1. Strengthening Parliament’s supervision through the Institutions and Transparency Committee
2. Upgrading the role of the National Security Council for better utilization of information and the EYP
3. Shielding the framework of legal connections for political figures
4. Changes within the EYP to strengthen internal control, transparency, extroversion and training of human resources
In addition, the prime minister announced additional safeguards for EYP monitoringconcerning the reinstatement by the approval and by the Appellate Prosecutor, other than the Prosecutor of the EYP.
The reactions of the parties
Meanwhile, Nikos Androulakis came out in the counterattack blaming him Kyriakos Mitsotakis that with his intervention it appears lot of responsibilitiesseeks to guide developments while casting no shadows.
“Mr. Mitsotakis, I request that the reason for my surveillance be announced immediately by the EYP, which you even describe with too much audacity as legal(…) I will not allow Mr. Mitsotakis to trivialize a case that is pivotal for the separation of powers in our country (…) Prime Minister today tried to buy time. But time is counting down for him. He will soon be faced with the truth.” he pointed out in a written statement.
The sharp tones against the prime minister were maintained by SYRIZA requesting detailed information on the follow-ups during the blue government.
“Mr. Mitsotakis was convinced of one thing with the ill-fated attempt of his televised apology. That he is guilty, but also that he does not hesitate in front of any lie, any hypocrisy, any distortion to save himself. He did not have the courage to do the obvious for every liberal European democracy. That is, to resign. And this is a big political mistake, which is added to the political crime of surveillance“, he said in a statement.
Respectively the KKE criticized the prime minister that “he tries, behind funny excuses, to hide (…) his absolute commitment to the formation of a dangerous institutional framework that leads to the absolute “darkness” of the action of the various centers, mechanisms and services».
Parliament opens on August 22
Yes, O prime minister tried to take the reins accepting the request of SYRIZA to the Plenary Session of the Parliament opens earlier.
The Plenary Session of the Parliament will start its work on August 22when the pre-scheduled debate is expected to take place, which the president of SYRIZA, Alexis Tsipras, requested in a letter earlier today from the president of the National Delegation.
As the government representative, Yiannis Oikonomou, said in a statement, “the government seriously seeks to do what is required at the institutional and parliamentary level to investigate the case of the legal connection to Mr. Androulakis’s phone. The President of the Parliament informed the Government about the request of Mr. Tsipras for the interruption of the summer vacation of the Parliament and the appointment of an extraordinary debate before the agenda on this matter in the Plenary”.
He emphasized that “the Government agrees to the acceleration of the opening of the Parliament on August 22 and the definition of this debate within that week”.
It is noted that the Plenary Session of the Parliament was originally scheduled to start on August 31.
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