Members of the European Parliament are looking for answers as to why the European Union is underwriting spyware companies. 

Ina letter sent on Tuesday to European Commission officials, the parliamentarians cite recent reporting from the publication Follow the Money documenting how a state-owned Italian bank and the European Union’s Defense Fund, among other state entities, are subsidizing spyware companies. 

The outlet’s investigation showed that member states and the EU as a bloc have funded the Intellexa Alliance and Cy4Gate, whose products have been found targeting members of civil society.

For example, Follow the Money reported, Cy4Gate received at least €3.8 million  ($4.4 million) in EU money, including from the European Defense Fund, over a four-year-period concluding in 2024.

Cy4Gate reportedly said the funding was “intended exclusively to support research and development of cybersecurity technologies applicable to both the civilian and defence sectors.”

A coalition of 39 members of parliament directed their letter demanding answers about the spyware funding to Henna Virkkunen, European Commission’s executive vice-president for Tech sovereignty, security and democracy; Michael McGrath, commissioner for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection; and Piotr Serafin, commissioner for budget, anti-fraud and public administration. 

Mercenary commercial spyware has been found on phones belonging to several members of Parliament in recent years. The body proactively checks members’ devices for signs of snooping, underscoring how serious the problem has become.

“Entities such as Intellexa, Cy4Gate, Verint and Cognyte – whose technologies have been

linked to unlawful surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders and political actors in the EU, as well as in third countries with dreadful human rights records – have benefitted from public financing, including EU programmes,” the letter says.

“This raises serious questions about the governance, transparency and accountability of the Union's funding mechanisms. … It is deeply troubling that the Union is directly or indirectly enabling tools that erode democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law.”