The Budget Commissioner, Johannes Hahnwanted to emphasize this Wednesday that the illegal use of computer programs to intervene in private conversations “It is a crime that must be punished” but has rejected that the role of the European Commission is to investigate the use of Pegasus in the European Union.
“We all agree that illegal punctures are not acceptable, it is not something that can be taken lightly. It is a crime that should be punishedHahn stressed in a debate in the plenary session of the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg (France) in which MEPs from various groups have criticized the lack of response from Brussels on this matter.
Hahn has insisted on pointing out that the Community Executive does not have the capacity to investigate these issues linked to national security, although it has celebrated that the European Parliament has created its own investigation commission on Pegasus and has pointed to the national authorities as those responsible for investigating each case that occurs in its territory.
The matter was included in the agenda of the plenary session at the request of the Greens/ALE group, of which ERC is a member, after The New Yorker published information pointing to the espionage of more than 60 pro-independence leaders in Catalonia, including several MEPs, such as those from ERC, Diana Riba and Jordi Solé.
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