“The Greek intelligence service underestimated the political dimension of this action,” Mitsotakis also said, adding that “it should never have happened.”
The scandal first broke last week when Nikos Androulakis revealed that he had been informed by the European Parliament of an attempt to hack his mobile phone with tracking software.
He then filed a complaint with the highest court of Greece for “attempted” spying on his cell phone.
Further investigation showed that in addition to the hacking attempt, as confirmed by the Greek Prime Minister, the phone had been intercepted by Greece’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) over a three-month period in 2021.
“I never expected that the Greek government would spy on me using the darkest practices,” Androulakis said in a televised address on Friday.
The head of the EYP resigned on Friday “after wrongdoings discovered during legal wiretapping,” according to a statement from Mitsotakis’ office sent to CNN.
The general secretary of the prime minister’s office also resigned, as reported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Androulakis was elected leader of the third-largest party in the Greek parliament, the centrist PASOK, in December
He urged the Greek parliament to set up an investigative committee to look into possible political responsibility.
The left-wing main opposition party SYRIZA launched a fierce attack on the government, calling it a “Greek Watergate moment”. Greece faces an election year in 2023.
The EYP reports directly to the Prime Minister’s office, based on legislation passed when the current government took office.
In Monday’s speech, Mitsotakis also announced measures to further strengthen the legal framework, monitoring and transparency at the EYP and said that the contribution of the EYP is crucial and cannot be overshadowed by such a mistake.