The Hellenic Data Protection Authority, an independent watchdog in Greece, on Tuesday announced the imposition of a 40,000-euro fine against ruling New Democracy (ND) party for failing to properly protect personal data.
The case stems from numerous emails sent in March 2024 by staffers of then MEP Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou to Greek citizens living in various EU countries, all ahead of the European Parliament election in June. The email addresses were allegedly leaked from an interior ministry cadre affiliated with ND, causing an uproar that ended Asimakopoulou’s campaign for re-election.
The watchdog announced that although New Democracy is not directly involved in the leaking of the email addresses, a fine of 30,000 euros was imposed because the party failed to safeguard personal data protection and another 10,000 euros because one of its cadres, former secretary for expatriates Nikos Theodoropoulos, appeared as implicated.
The latter was also fined 10,000 euros for allegedly sending a file with the personal data to the Asimakopoulou camp, but in his capacity as a private citizen and not as an officeholder or appointee, with the latter decision taken in a 5 to 2 vote by members of the Authority’s board.
In a latter “indirect” reply, namely, via unnamed sources, said the fine imposed by the Authority against New Democracy does not involve the actual leak of personal data, but a parallel investigation over omissions that the Authority claims exist in the party’s procedures for compliance with legislation on the protection of personal data.
The same sources said the ruling center-right party will take legal recourse to the Council of State (CoS) to revoke the fine.
Conversely, main opposition SYRIZA party issued a statement charging that “…now that for the first time in history a ruling party is directly involved in a scandal and is fined by an Independent Authority, we’re now awaiting to learn the extent of this scheme and the number of violations during the Mitsotakis government’s tenure.”
