A group of 39 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from four different political groups has demanded urgent explanations from the European Commission after revelations that EU and national taxpayers’ money was used to finance companies linked to spyware development.
In a letter sent to senior EU officials — including Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner Michael McGrath, and Commissioner Piotr Serafin — the lawmakers referred to recent investigative reports indicating that companies such as Intellexa, Cy4Gate, Verint and Cognite received subsidies through EU programmes. These firms’ technologies, however, have been tied to unlawful surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders and political figures within the EU, as well as in countries with troubling human rights records.
The MEPs warned that the allegations add to ongoing scandals in Greece, Italy, Poland, Hungary and Spain, deepening concerns that the European Union may be indirectly enabling tools that undermine democracy and the rule of law. They argued that the case exposes a wider problem of weak transparency and oversight in the way EU funds are distributed.
The letter calls on the Commission to explain how it vets companies before awarding them financial support, particularly in relation to their ownership structures, integrity and compliance with human rights standards. The MEPs also want clarity on whether any risk assessments or warnings were issued before grants were approved for spyware firms, why these may have been overlooked, and which exact programmes provided the funding.
They further press for disclosure of the total amounts disbursed, how decisions were made, and whether contracts included safeguards to prevent misuse of public money for surveillance technology.
The lawmakers described the situation as a matter that goes to the heart of EU governance, transparency and accountability. Citing the findings of the Parliament’s PEGA inquiry into spyware abuse, they said it was “deeply troubling” that the Union could be supporting, directly or indirectly, companies whose products have been weaponised against journalists, activists and politicians.
