Proposal to create parliamentary fact-finding com’t to probe Androulakis wiretapping approved

A proposal to establish a parliamentary fact-finding committee tasked with investigating the wiretapping of PASOK-KINAL leader Nikos Androulakis by Greece’s national intelligence service (EYP) was approved on Monday by all opposition MPs.

Deputies of ruling New Democracy (ND) party, who hold a majority in the 300-MP Greek legislature, voted “present”, thus allowing the opposition lawmakers to decide the issue.

The committee will also investigate a separate attempt to bug Androulakis’ mobile phone with spyware, as well as allegations that the Communist Party’s (KKE) switchboard at its headquarters was bugged, beginning in 2016.

Specifically, 142 MPs voted in favor of the proposal, while 157 ND deputies voted “present”.

A trio of independent MPs – expelled by their respective parties over the past three years – also voted in favor.

A constitutional revision in 2019 allows the establishment of such an investigatory Parliament committee with less than 150 deputies.