Incumbent MEP Anna Michelle Asimakopoulou has been removed from New Democracy’s ballot for the upcoming European Parliament election in the wake of a controversy surrounding the mass sending of emails by her office to Greek expatriates in Europe.
Several people took to social media in early March after receiving unexpected emails from Asimakopoulou’s office, following notifications from the Greek interior ministry on the process governing expatriate postal voting in the upcoming EP election. The political opposition in Greece accused the conservative MEP of breaching GDPR by sending unsolicited campaign emails to private accounts without consent, as required by law.
According to sources, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made the decision not to include Asimakopoulou on ND’s ballot for the upcoming European elections due to the incident.
In a recent interview on SKAI TV, Mitsotakis said his government is conducting its own investigation into the case. He emphasized the need for an investigation into the dispatch of the emails to expatriates, stating that it should be pursued by both the independent judiciary and the ministry.
Meanwhile, an internal probe is underway at the specific ministry, with relevant Minister Niki Kerameus clarifying that the latter does not provide citizens’ contact information as per legislation, in backing Asimakopoulou’s statement that she did not obtain a relevant list from the ministry.
Additionally, the head of the Athens first instance prosecutor’s office, Antonis Eleftherianos, ordered a preliminary investigation into the leak of the electronic correspondence data of Greek citizens who register as expatriates living abroad.
Asimakopoulou merely noted this week that competent authorities now have the initiative, with whom she will cooperate to uncover the facts.
