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Tension in Cypriot Parliament Over Non-Submission of Donor Information

Published January 28, 2026, 17:15
Tension in Cypriot Parliament Over Non-Submission of Donor Information

Tension arose in the Cypriot Parliament regarding the non-submission of information about the donors of the independent social support organization. The Committee of Institutions reacted strongly to the reply letter from the Accountant General, who refused to hand over the requested information. The Committee Chairman, Dimitris Dimitriou, stated that this refusal potentially constitutes a criminal offense and jeopardizes the functioning of democratic institutions. The Committee of Institutions emphasized that the executive branch is refusing parliamentary oversight, as provided for in the Constitution. Mr. Dimitriou mentioned that Parliament simply requested the information in a classified format in order to effectively exercise its control. He stressed that the refusal to submit information is permitted only in exceptional cases, such as matters of defense, security or foreign affairs. Mr. Dimitriou invoked the European regulation on data protection and the Cypriot law on the protection of personal data, pointing out that data processing is permitted when it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation or to fulfill a duty in the public interest. Also, the law provides that Parliament has the right to receive information within the framework of its powers. AKEL MP Andreas Pasourtidis spoke of an attempt to shrink the powers of Parliament. The Committee of Institutions is awaiting to see whether the executive branch will comply with the legislation and, if not, will take a collective decision on further steps.