Parliament rejects surveillance probe
After a stormy parliamentary session that signaled mounting political tensions in Greece, lawmakers on Friday rejected a PASOK proposal to establish an investigative committee into telephone surveillance allegations.
The proposal failed after 155 lawmakers voted against it. Only six voted in favor.
The debate opened in an explosive atmosphere after ruling New Democracy lawmaker Makis Voridis argued that because the issue involved the National Intelligence Service, or EYP, and therefore matters of “national defense or foreign policy,” the proposal required at least 151 affirmative votes to pass.
Opposition parties, led by PASOK, reacted sharply.
They argued that parliamentary rules and the revised Constitution allow the opposition to successfully request an investigative committee with support from at least 120 lawmakers.
Opposition parties also noted that in 2022, when a committee examining the same issue was established, the government had not raised the issue of an enhanced majority requirement on national security grounds.
Voridis and Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis responded that no new evidence had emerged since then to justify another investigation.
They also argued that the government’s earlier decision not to demand an enhanced majority did not create a legal precedent.
Opposition leaders intensified their criticism of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before announcing they would withdraw from the process, saying they would not legitimize what they described as a “parliamentary coup” and an “institutional deviation.”
“The core activity of EYP concerns national defense and foreign policy,” Voridis said.
“Parliament can decide on such oversight, but it will do so with the majority defined by the Constitution,” he stressed.
PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis accused the government of “abusing democracy to maintain power.” SYRIZA leader Sokratis Famellos warned, “We will make your lives unbearable.”
Communist Party leader Dimitris Koutsoumbas accused the government of routinely covering up scandals.
Voridis defended the intelligence service, saying EYP remained “critical for the country” and essential to national security.
Kathimerini
