Two of the most prominent MEPs on the commission to investigate Pegasus espionage in the European Union pledged this Wednesday, ahead of the vote on their final recommendations, that they will hold the pressure about the European Commission and Member States for clarification how Pegasus spyware has been used so far, and regulate its use.

At the press conference, the chief negotiator for the report and the president of this parliamentary committee, Jeroen Lenars and Sophie in’t Veld, respectively, agreed that they hope the European Commission take their recommendations “seriously” and submit a legislative proposal address their concerns about using “software” like Pegasus in the EU.

In’t Veld hopes that tomorrow the plenary meeting of the European Parliament will vote for broad support for these recommendations on the use of spyware in the Community after revelations about its use to monitor political opponents, journalists or activists in different states Members of the EU.

In Spain, the guidelines point to two categories of spies: one that includes Prime Minister and several ministers in which they consider Morocco “potentially responsible”, and another with 65 cases identified by Citizen Lab about the surveillance of pro-independence Catalan politicians, 18 of them by court order, and which this commission attributes entirely to Spain.

“When we vote on our recommendations tomorrow, many in the capitals will breathe a sigh of relief because we have stopped our pesky investigations, but we will continue the investigation, clickasking questions and supporting those who investigate and expose the actions of our governments“I assured In’t Veld at a press conference.

In the debate on the text this afternoon in the House, some members will defend amendments to the compromise reached in the Parliamentary Commission; Such is the case with the greens Saskia Brickmont and Hanna Neumann, who will demand European ban on highly invasive spyware.

The chief text negotiator insisted that no investigation had been opened in any of the countries mentioned in the report.which sheds all the necessary light on what happenedand warned that these programs are “another tool in the toolbox” of those who violate the core values ​​of the European Union.