Greece’s governing New Democracy party on Friday insisted that a parliamentary inquiry into a wiretapping scandal requires approval by an absolute majority of 151 lawmakers, escalating a procedural dispute during debate in Parliament.
The disagreement arose over a proposed investigative committee into the surveillance affair, with the government arguing the threshold should be higher than the 120 votes cited by opposition parties.
Conservative lawmaker and former minister Makis Voridis said the legal framework governing the National Intelligence Service (EYP) ties its operations to national security and foreign policy, and that under constitutional rules such a committee requires approval by an absolute majority of MPs.
Opposition parties accused the government of procedural manipulation, with PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis calling the prime minister “weak and blackmailed” and saying the government was “abusing democracy,” while announcing a walkout from the debate. SYRIZA leader Sokratis Famellos described the stance as a “parliamentary coup.”
Following a standing vote, lawmakers backed the government’s procedural position, meaning the inquiry committee must now secure 151 votes to proceed.
The case dates back to the summer of 2022, when Androulakis, then an MEP, was informed by European Parliament IT specialists that he had received a malicious text message containing a link. Predator spyware is capable of accessing a device’s messages, camera and microphone. Androulakis also later learned that he had been placed under surveillance by EYP for what were described as “national security reasons.”
