Cypriot lawmakers failed on Friday to secure the 38 votes needed to amend the Constitution on phone surveillance, stalling three key bills on organised crime and terrorism during an emergency meeting of parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee.
After more than two hours of talks, the committee did not reach an agreement on the proposed constitutional change, which would allow the attorney-general to authorise in writing the Cyprus Intelligence Service to monitor phone calls only for reasons linked to the security of the Republic, according to the source text.
AKEL, through MP Aristos Damianou, made clear it would not back the provision as long as the power remained with the attorney-general. He said the party would accept a different arrangement under which approval would be given by a judge or a committee.
With the required two-thirds majority no longer within reach, the article-by-article discussion was suspended. Lawmakers then met behind closed doors, in the presence of the attorney-general, the justice minister and the head of the intelligence service, in an effort to find a formula that would allow the bills to move to the plenary.
During the discussion on the bills in principle, all sides agreed that the authorities should be given tools to tackle organised crime and protect the security of the Republic, the source text said. However, the Cyprus Bar Association, through its president Michalis Vorkas, broke with that part of the proposal that would give the attorney-general the power to grant written approval to the head of the Cyprus Intelligence Service for surveillance in matters concerning state security.
Vorkas said that elsewhere in Europe, such approval is given either by a judge or by a committee, with reference also made to rulings of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Attorney-General Giorgos Savvides said Cyprus might be the only country without such a tool to fight crime and protect state security, and argued that current conditions, public concern over crime and the political situation made passage of the bills urgent. He appealed strongly for the legislation to be approved.
Justice and Public Order Minister Costas Fytiris said the bills, if passed, would give the state extremely strong tools for public safety. He said they should be examined through the lens of state security and organised crime so that Cyprus could stay one step ahead, especially as crime affects the whole of Europe.
Cyprus Intelligence Service chief Tasos Tzionis said the bills needed to pass so the authorities could fight crime and safeguard state security without restrictive terms that would hamper their work. He said the service needed greater freedom to act in time, discreetly and without leaks.