London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

EU spyware probe has a problem: Spain

EU spyware probe has a problem: Spain

Lawmakers accused of ‘protecting allies’ by inviting criticized scholars to committee hearing.

Spain is proving the most troublesome country to probe in EU lawmakers’ ongoing investigation into spyware use around the bloc. 

The Iberian kingdom is the largest EU country where the use of hacking tools by governments has kicked off a major institutional crisis. 65 figures in the Catalan separatist movement were targeted, as well as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Defense Minister Margarita Robles. As the scandal spiraled, the Madrid government sacked its intelligence chief and launched an investigation. 

European lawmakers involved in the special inquiry committee PEGA — named after the notorious Israeli-made spyware tech Pegasus — are investigating the use of spyware in Europe. In past months they visited key countries enveloped in crises, including Hungary, Poland, Greece and even Israel. But they have yet to secure a visit to Spain.

“Spain is the biggest spyware scandal in Europe ... However, there has not been any strong reaction from the PEGA inquiry committee," said Saskia Bricmont, a Belgian Greens lawmaker and member of the PEGA Committee.

Critics have pointed fingers to the European Parliament's two largest political groups for blocking scrutiny. On the one hand, the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) picked as its coordinator on the committee Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez, Spain's former interior minister in the period when some of the reported spyware security incidents on Catalan opposition were going on. On the other, the center-left Socialists & Democrats group (S&D) includes Spain’s governing party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party. 


Spain's former interior minister Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez

"The biggest political groups have been actively preventing further scrutiny for Spain and Catalonia," Bricmont said.

Zoido declined to comment. The S&D did not respond to POLITICO's questions in time for publication.

Now, a committee hearing about the Spanish crisis, scheduled for Tuesday, has added more fuel to the fire.

Renowned spyware expert John Scott-Railton, whose work has been fundamental in exposing the use of hacking tools across the world, pulled out over claims that the committee had invited speakers who promoted “conspiracy theories.” Those included Spanish academic Jose Javier Olivas and computer scientist Gregorio Martín, who, Scott-Railton argued, undermined respected research like his own and those of like-minded digital rights groups.

“We are in a globally recognized spyware crisis. Amplifying denialists distracts from much-needed solutions,” Scott-Railton told POLITICO. “As a researcher, I welcome debate and scrutiny, but lending credibility to disinformation is irresponsible.”


Members 'protect political allies'


The PEGA Committee last week withdrew its invitation to Olivas after a letter from Citizen Lab and other NGOs, as well as around a dozen researchers including from Google, warned that he and Martín are “non-credible.”

According to the letter, Olivas promotes “conspiracy theories” and false claims about researchers, spyware victims and institutions. Groups also criticized Martín, a Valencia University computer scientist, for his role as academic peer reviewer of a much-criticized paper on the Spanish spyware scandal titled “Uncovering the Citizen Lab — An Analytical and Technical Review Disproving Catalangate," which attempts to debunk research into the Spanish spying scandal but has been widely discredited by researchers in the field.

Olivas has hit back against the allegations, accusing some PEGA members of “colluding with a haphazard attempt of defamation against me,” in an email to MEPs seen by POLITICO.

Initially the Liberal group Renew Europe proposed Olivas, while the EPP invited Martín, according to two people with knowledge of the discussion who spoke on a condition of anonymity.

According to the two people, the committee agreed to ditch Olivas in favor of Andreu Van den Eynde, a lawyer who has been targeted with spyware, following a meeting on Tuesday last week. There wasn’t a majority to rescind Martin’s invite, however, the sources said. Martín is scheduled to speak at the hearing on Tuesday November 29, the program released Monday showed.

The biggest political groups "reduced the place of victims in the hearing to the bare minimum with only one targeted person, and are giving the floor to a known conspiracy theorist,” Bricmont said.

But other members of parliament voiced concerns that expert voices were being "censored."

In an email seen by POLITICO, Jordi Cañas Pérez, a Spanish MEP from the centrist Renew Europe grouping, said it was “very concerning … that a renowned scholar was censored and vetoed.” He echoed Olivas’ call for a full and transparent explanation for the rescinded invitation, with the backing of the S&D group, according to a person familiar with discussions. 

Martín could not be contacted for comment. The Renew group did not immediately respond to POLITICO's requests for comment. The Spanish government declined to comment for this article.

One key Catalan politician said the row over which experts to invite to the hearing means lawmakers are barred from probing Spanish politicians, including some MEPs, about their own role in the Spanish spying scandal. Alba Vergés i Bosch, acting president of the Catalan parliament, accused the largest political groups of “protect[ing] their political allies in Spain.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×