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Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou

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Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou
MEP
Member of the European Parliament
for Greece
In office
2 July 2019[1][2] – 16 July 2024
Personal details
Born (1967-03-27) 27 March 1967 (age 57)
New York, New York, U.S.
NationalityGreek/American
Political partyNew Democracy (Greece)
Alma mater

Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou (Greek: Άννα-Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου, born 27 March 1967) is a Greek lawyer and politician who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019.[3]

In March 2024, she became embroiled in a significant email leak stemming from her use of Ministry of the Interior resources to reach out to Greek voters across Europe. The scandal led to her resignation from her candidacy as an MEP in the same month.[4]

Biography

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She was born in 1967 in New York, the firstborn daughter of nuclear physics professor Panagiotis Asimakopoulos, who hailed from Pylos in Messinia.[5] Panagiotis Asimakopoulos was a classmate at the Anavryta School with the former King Constantine, who later became the godfather of Anna-Misel along with his wife, former Queen Anne-Marie. She spent her early years in Palaio Faliro, Attica, and later moved with her family to Ioannina when her father was appointed professor of Nuclear Physics at the University of Ioannina.[5]

She studied Economics at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, United States, and Law specializing in International Legal Relations at Cornell University in New York.[6] She further specialized at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom, at the Law School of the University of Madrid in Spain, and at the Institut d'Études Françaises d'Avignon in France.

Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou worked as a lawyer in New York, specializing in financial transactions and international banking law, and she continues to be a member of the New York Bar Association.[7] She returned to Greece in the early 1990s, where she directed the non-profit EGNATIA IPIROS Foundation in Ioannina,[6] focusing on Regional Development, Information and Communication Technologies, and European Programs. Additionally, she worked as an expert for the European Commission, evaluating European Programs, and in the private sector for consulting firms in Brussels and Luxembourg.

Political career

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Anna-Misel Asimakopoulou began her involvement in public affairs in 2007 when she was elected Municipal Councilor of Ioannina with the coalition led by Nikos Gontas. During her term in local government, she served as Deputy Mayor for European Programs, Press Officer of the Municipal Authority, and Vice President of the Municipal Regional Theater of Ioannina. She also sat on the Board of the Municipal Water and Sewage Company of Ioannina and represented the Municipality of Ioannina at the Center for Traditional Crafts of Ioannina.[8]

In the parliamentary elections of June 2012, she was elected as a Member of Parliament for Ioannina with the New Democracy party, becoming the first female MP ever elected in the prefecture.[9] She was appointed in 2013 by the then Prime Minister and President of New Democracy, Antonis Samaras, as the Press Officer of New Democracy and Head of the Political Ideology Production Committee at the 9th Congress of New Democracy.[8]

In the elections of January and September 2015, she was elected as a Member of Parliament for the 2nd Athens constituency with the New Democracy party.[10] During her first year as MP for Athens B, she served as Shadow Minister of Fiscal Policy. Later, under the presidency of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, she assumed the responsibilities of Shadow Minister for Development and Competitiveness (January 2016 - November 2016), and recently took over the new portfolio of Digital Policy, Telecommunications, and Information for New Democracy.

On April 25, 2019, she resigned as MP due to her candidacy in the 2019 European Parliament elections.[11]

In the European Parliament, Asimakopoulou has since been serving on the Committee on International Trade and the Committee on Petitions (2019-2020). In 2020, she also joined the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age.[12] In addition to her committee assignments, Asimakopoulou has been part of the parliament's delegation for relations with Israel since 2021.[13] She is also a member of the European Internet Forum,[14] the European Parliament Intergroup on Disability[15] and the MEPs Against Cancer group.[16]

Controversies

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She has been embroiled in several feuds with other MEPs in the European Parliament, particularly during discussions concerning the quality of democracy, rule of law and the wiretapping scandal in Greece,[17][18] which she vehemently denies ever occurred.[19] On several occasions, she engaged in altercations with Sophie in 't Veld, a Dutch MEP.[20] Asimakopoulou has criticized in 't Veld multiple times, accusing her of being "anti-Greek" and of "contradicting the will of the Greek people". According to her statements, Prime Minister Mitsotakis secured 41% of the electorate in the 2023 election, which, according to her, is a fact that suggests Greek people are unconcerned about the state of the rule of law.[21][22]

GDPR breach scandal

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On March 1, 2024, she was accused of a substantial GDPR breach involving thousands of email addresses, following revelations that she utilized the Ministry of the Interior's database to identify and target eligible Greek voters residing abroad.[23][24][25] In response, she dismissed the allegations as "conspiracy theories", asserting that they are primarily aimed at "harming" the postal vote reform of the Greek government.[26] On March 3, 2024, following her earlier response, she acknowledged that the contact details of the voters did, in fact, originate from her political party and not from the Ministry of the Interior.[27]

Following the revelations and estimates indicating that thousands of addresses are being used without users' authorization, the Athens prosecutor’s office launched an investigation into the leak.[28] Additionally, Greece’s Data Protection Authority (DPA) initiated an investigation into the allegations.[29]

On March 15, 2024, she announced that she would no longer be running as an MEP in 2024. Her party, New Democracy, provided her with the opportunity to step down in light of the email leak.[30][31] It was later revealed that the email lists were indeed leaked by the Ministry of the Interior, with General Secretary Michalis Stavrianoudakis and New Democracy’s Secretary for Diaspora Affairs, Nikos Theodoropoulos, being named as responsible for delivering her the contentious data file.[32] The former announced his resignation, while the latter was ousted on the same day. In an email sent to all affected parties, she later acknowledged that the communicatio was lawful, as based on her legitimate interest to inform them about the Greek government’s reform of postal vote from their place of residence. She also informed the data file originated from Nikos Theodoropoulos but sidestepped taking any responsibility or issuing an apology for the GDPR breach which was under judicial investigation.[33][34] Following an administrative hearing conducted on April 29, 2024, it was proved that she had received the data from New Democracy party sources and has used them without mentioning the data sources, an omission that she subsequently rectified by providing data subjects with all necessary information. In May 2024, she was ordered to destroy the voters’ data, that she immediately did as per the ISO 27001 safe destruction standards, and pay a fine of €40,000 for this formal violation, that she will challenge before the Greek Council of State as unfounded and disproportionate, based on her constitutional freedom of expression right to communicate with the voters, enshrined in Greek and international Conventions. The Greek state (Ministry of Interior) was fined €400,000 for lack of appropriate technical and organizational measures while the  DPA refrained from issuing a ruling against the New Democracy party, and its former secretary due to new evidence about their role subject to further investigation.[35][36][37][38]

Nikos Georgiadis case

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In 2019, former New Democracy MP Nikos Georgiadis was sentenced to 28 months with suspension for sexual assault against minors, with Asimakopoulou testifying as a defense witness.[39] In a majority decision, Georgiadis was found guilty of systematic and continuous sexual assault against minors over the age of 15 for remuneration in Moldova. Additionally, the Court imposed a fine of €20,000. Her involvement in the case garnered negative attention in the Greek media.[40][41][42]

Other activities

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  • Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees (since 2020)[43]

References

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  1. ^ "Key dates ahead - European elections results" (in English and Greek). European Parliament. 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019.
  2. ^ "Will MEPs get pensions and other frequent questions". BBC News.
  3. ^ "Άννα-Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου: Οι μετατάξεις είναι οι τελευταίες σπασμωδικές κινήσεις ενός τελειωμένου Πρωθυπουργού". www.news247.gr (in Greek). 7 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Do voters care about Qatargate?". POLITICO. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Αννα-Μισέλ: «Ο άντρας μου ήθελε να με τελειώσει πολιτικά»". ProtoThema (in Greek). 11 August 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Curriculum vitae: Anna-Michelle ASIMAKOPOULOU (27-03-1967, New York)". www.europarl.europa.eu (in English and Greek). European Parliament. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  7. ^ "EPP Group in the European Parliament". www.eppgroup.eu. European People's Party Group. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Η Άννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου νέα εκπρόσωπος Τύπου της Ν.Δ." (in Greek). News 24/7. 17 April 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Ποια είναι η βουλευτής Αννα-Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου που καμαρώνει δίπλα στην τέως βασίλισσα Αννα-Μαρία". iefimerida.gr (in Greek). 17 April 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Ασημακοπούλου Άννα-Μισέλ". vouliwatch.gr (in Greek). Vouli Tileorasi. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Η Άννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου παραιτήθηκε από βουλευτής". www.lifo.gr (in Greek). LiFO. 25 April 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  12. ^ Members of the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in a Digital Age European Parliament, press release of July 9, 2020.
  13. ^ Mia Bartoloni (May 7, 2021), Movers & Shakers The Parliament Magazine.
  14. ^ "European Internet Forum, Political Leadership for Network Society - Political Members". European Internet Forum. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  15. ^ "Members of the Disability Intergroup - EPP". edf-feph.org. European Disability Forum (EDF).
  16. ^ "MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) Interest Group in the 2019-2024 legislature". European Cancer Organisation. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020. More information are at the MEPs Against Cancer
  17. ^ "MEPs voice alarm over 'worrying' rule-of-law decline in Greece". euronews. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Ευρωβουλή: Θερμό επεισόδιο Ασημακοπούλου με την Ολλανδή Ιντ Βελτ". ProtoThema (in Greek). 17 January 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Υποκλοπές: Επίθεση Ασημακοπούλου στην εισηγήτρια της PEGA για το προσχέδιο". in.gr (in Greek). In.gr. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  20. ^ "MEPs voice alarm over 'worrying' rule-of-law decline in Greece". euronews. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Ευρωβουλή: Θερμό επεισόδιο Ασημακοπούλου με την Ολλανδή Ιντ Βελτ". ProtoThema (in Greek). 17 January 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  22. ^ "Ευρωβουλή: Καυγάς Ασημακοπούλου - Σόφι Ιντ' Βελτ για το κράτος Δικαίου στην Ελλάδα". The TOC (in Greek). 18 January 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  23. ^ "Ασημακοπούλου: Καταγγελίες για email σε απόδημους και παραβίαση προσωπικών δεδομένων - Τι απαντά". Reader (in Greek). 1 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  24. ^ "Σάλος με email που έστειλε στους απόδημους η Άννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου - Τι απαντά η ίδια". in.gr (in Greek). In.gr. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  25. ^ "ΣΥΡΙΖΑ: Δώρο της ΝΔ στην Ασημακοπούλου τα προσωπικά δεδομένα αποδήμων - Τι απαντά". News 24/7 (in Greek). 1 March 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  26. ^ Ψαράκη, Νεκταρία (1 March 2024). "E-mail της Ασημακοπούλου στους αποδήμους: Οργή για παραβίαση προσωπικών δεδομένων- «Μόνη μου τα συγκέντρωσα σε πέντε χρόνια», απάντησε". The Press Project (in Greek). Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Άννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου: "Τα mail αποκτήθηκαν με νόμιμους τρόπους" - Όσα δήλωσε". News 24/7 (in Greek). 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  28. ^ "Prosecutor to probe Asimakopoulou's alleged GDPR breach". www.ekathimerini.com. Kathimerini. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  29. ^ "DPA to investigate alleged data breach by conservative MEP". www.ekathimerini.com. Kathimerini. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 5 March 2024.
  30. ^ "Αννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου: Αποσύρεται από το ευρωψηφοδέλτιο της Ν.Δ." www.kathimerini.gr (in Greek). Kathimerini. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  31. ^ "Ευρωεκλογές: Αποσύρεται η Ασημακοπούλου - Πλήρωσε το σκάνδαλο των email". News 24/7 (in Greek). 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  32. ^ "Fallout from data breach scandal escalates". www.ekathimerini.com. Kathimerini. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  33. ^ "Η Ασημακοπούλου «καρφώνει» τον τέως γ.γ. Αποδήμου Ελληνισμού της Ν.Δ. – Ελλιπείς εξηγήσεις, χωρίς συγγνώμη" (in Greek). Ta Nea. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  34. ^ "Υπόθεση Ασημακοπούλου: Ωρολογιακή βόμβα πίσω από το email-gate" (in Greek). To Vima. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  35. ^ "Decision 16/2024 of the Hellenic Data Protection Authority" (PDF). www.dpa.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Data Protection Authority. 27 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Former ND MEP appeals fine in data leak scandal". www.ekathimerini.com. Kathimerini. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Greece's ruling party fined over 'email-gate'". www.ekathimerini.com. Kathimerini. 22 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Αρχή Προστασίας Προσωπικών Δεδομένων: Πρόστιμα 40.000 ευρώ στη ΝΔ για την διαρροή e-mail στην Άννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου" (in Greek). Proto Thema. 22 October 2024.
  39. ^ "Για ασέλγεια εις βάρος ανηλίκων καταδικάστηκε ο πρώην βουλευτής της ΝΔ, Νίκος Γεωργιάδης". CNN.gr (in Greek). 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  40. ^ "Η Άννα-Μισέλ στο πλευρό του Νίκου Γεωργιάδη στη δίκη για σεξουαλική εκμετάλλευση ανηλίκων". www.documentonews.gr (in Greek). 28 January 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  41. ^ "Νίκος Γεωργιάδης: «Προϊόν δικαστικής πλάνης» η καταδικαστική απόφαση" (in Greek). Ethnos. 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  42. ^ "Η Αννα Μισέλ Ασημακοπούλου προσπαθεί να μαζέψει τα ασυμμάζευτα για τον Ν. Γεωργιάδη". www.dimokratia.gr (in Greek). 14 March 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  43. ^ "Friends of Europe appoints 29 new members to its Board of Trustees (press release)". Friends of Europe. 25 June 2020.
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