The Minister for External Action and European Union, Meritxell Serret i Aleu, has praised the decision of the European Parliament’s plenary session, which this Thursday approved a report that urges Spain to carry out a “complete, fair and effective investigation” into the Catalangate scandal. “It is a step forward and in line with what the Government of Catalonia has been demanding and working for all these months at the European level,” said Serret from Ljubljana, where she is on an institutional trip this week. The European Parliament today adopted the recommendations to the States and the European Commission contained in the report by the inquiry committee for Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware.

For Serret, the European warning to the Spanish State “reaffirms that all the cases accredited so far – 65, to date – in which Pegasus has been used must be thoroughly investigated” and insists that “the State must devote all its efforts to carrying out a thorough investigation with good European coordination,” even involving Europol, as recommended in the Brussels report.

Precisely within the framework of this trip to Slovenia, the Minister for Foreign Action and European Union was able to talk with the Minister for Justice, Dominika Svarc Pipan, about the need to create a common framework for the defence of freedoms and human rights in the wake of the Pegasus espionage case. The meeting with the Slovenian Minister is an example of the work that has been done by the Government of Catalonia in explaining Catalangate, such as receiving the delegation of MEPs who coordinated the European report and spearheading the Geneva Declaration, an initiative to call for a global moratorium on the use of targeted spyware tools. “Today’s vote demonstrates that good work has been done,” said Minister Meritxell Serret.

Speaking to the media in the Slovenian capital, the Minister went a step further and described it as “essential” that the European Commission “make headway in setting limits on the use of spyware” and called for “a more consensual definition of what is meant by national security, so that it cannot be used to violate the fundamental rights of European citizens.”

Political agenda in Austria

After her visit to Slovenia, Minister Serret will travel this afternoon to Austria, specifically to the region of Carinthia, where she will meet with the President of the Carinthian Parliament, Reinhard Rohr, with members of the executive of the Regional Government and with the Mayor of the city of Villach. Serret will also visit the Infineon plant in Villach, one of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers.

The Minister for Foreign Action and European Union will end her trip to Austria on Friday by taking part in the opening ceremony of the 35th Adifolk Aplec Internacional (International Festival), which aims to raise the profile of Catalan popular culture around the world. As part of the festival, Serret will also open the exhibition “Catalonia meets Carinthia,” which will offer the people of Villach a window onto Catalan society and culture.