Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – MEPs will receive disposable phones due to security concerns, highlighting fears of surveillance and foreign hacking amid Azerbaijan’s repressive environment.
European Parliament delegation to COP29 travelling to the Azerbaijan capital Baku for upcoming UN climate discussions will be issued with disposable phones amid worries of hacking by foreign agents, the Green MEP Michael Bloss has indicated.
What security risks do MEPs face in Azerbaijan?
“Security advisors have cautioned us that our devices are likely to be penetrated—a precaution based on first-hand experiences with surveillance and reprisals in the area,” Bloss said. Even as MEPs, we can’t communicate freely without fearing state monitoring.” MEPs will be given with “burner” phones, Bloss’s office verified, using a term that usually refers to affordable, anonymous, pre-paid handsets that can be used briefly and then dumped.
While not identifying which states were thought to present a security threat during the COP29 summit, Bloss – in line with the Greens as a group – made no secret of his qualms about the choice of Azerbaijan as host of this year’s talks. “To me, it’s clear: Azerbaijan suppresses critical voices and uses the COP as a platform for image management, rather than for genuine dialogue,” the MEP stated.
What precautions are being taken for COP29 delegates?
According to sources from the European Commission it was standard procedure for delegations to be issued with burner phones and laptops formed just for the period of foreign visits, which are given back to EU security services upon return. “There is always a security threat assessment,” stated the ex-senior EU official.
Moreover, difficult negotiations at COP28 in Dubai last year concluded with a global agreement, to the relief of many, to “transition away” from fossil fuels and “accelerate steps towards the phase-down of unabated coal power”. Although no end dates were established and questions were asked about the importance of the term “unabated”, the symbolic importance of the move – along with a concrete pledge to triple global renewable energy production by 2030 – was seized upon by many at the time as a major breakthrough.
