Question for written answer E-004571/2020/rev.1 to the Commission Rule 138 Antoni Comín i Oliveres (NI), Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó (NI), Clara Ponsatí Obiols (NI), Diana Riba i Giner (Verts/ALE) Subject: Surveillance of political opponents in Spain After the revelations of The Guardian 1 and El País regarding the scandal of political espionage against Catalan politicians, new and relevant proof has come to light. Firstly, Vice 2 magazine has confirmed through sources that the Spanish state has been a client of NSO since 2015. Secondly, The Guardian / El País 3 and El Diario 4 published information about new cyberattacks on Catalan politicians. Ernest Maragall, a former MEP, had his phone hacked and Jordi Puigneró, Minister for Digital Affairs, suffered an attempted cyberattack. Moreover, there is the case of Mr Sergi Miquel Gutierrez, who lives in Belgium and is director of a non-profit foundation. This is particularly relevant as the tapping of his phone by the Spanish authorities was done without the consent or knowledge of the Belgian authorities, and without criminal proceedings ongoing. Such surveillance and removal of personal data represents a clear breach of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as of Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. 1. Is the Commission aware of these facts? 2. Does the Commission believe that the relevant authorities should initiate an investigation? 3. Does the Commission believe that it falls within the limits of its competences to protect citizens against breaches of the GDPR? 1 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/13/phone-of-top-catalan-politician-targeted-by-government- grade- spyware?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1594679597 2 https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pkyzxz/spain-nso-group-pegasus- catalonia?utm_content=1594753950&utm_medium=social&utm_source=motherboard_twitter 3 https://elpais.com/espana/2020-07-14/el-programa-espia-pegasus-ataco-tambien-el-movil-de-ernest- maragall.html 4 https://www.eldiario.es/tecnologia/conseller-generalitat-estrecho-colaborador-puigdemont-atacados- programa-espia-vende-gobiernos_1_6102949.html#click=https://t.co/ixq6edkCnN PE656.921v02-00.