Members of the European Parliament’s Green Party called for the signing of the EU-Colombia free trade agreement to be put off until allegations that Colombian security agency DAS wiretapped the parliament have been investigated, reported Colombian media on Tuesday.
The appeal was made by members of the European Parliament (MEP) Barbara Lochbihler and Heidi Hautala – who is also the president of the Human Rights Commission for the European Parliament (EP) – who request that Colombian authorities explain the allegations.
According to a statement by the MEPs, “recent discoveries” show that security agency DAS tried to “influence” the parliament “through illegal means.”
“The Colombian government needs to clarify in what way the DAS acted against non-governmental or political organizations to influence and disqualify decisions made by the Human Rights Commission for the European Parliament,” said the statement.
The MEPs said the European Union should not sign the free trade agreement, scheduled to be finalized on May 18, without first having completely clarified the scandal surrounding the security agency.
The politicians also requested information on whether DAS possessed a list of which members of the EP support the Colombian government.
This follows news last week that leaked reports from the trial against DAS had revealed that the security agency had carried out illegal monitoring as part of a smear campaign against European organizations, including the EU parliament.
According to the files, the European Parliamentary committee on human rights, the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, and certain national governments were deemed a threat to the Colombian government.