BRUSSELS (AFP) - Spyware has been used "illegally" in at least four European Union countries - Poland, Hungary, Greece and Spain, according to an interim report issued by the European Parliament on Tuesday, calling for a "stop using" the technology.

"The abusive use of spyware in member states of the European Union constitutes a serious threat to democracy in the entire continent," Dutch parliamentarian Sophie Entveld (Renewal of Europe) said during a press conference.

"In a democracy, putting people under surveillance should be the exception... It should not be used for political or partisan purposes," she added.

She pointed out that in many cases, the governments of Member States refused to share official information with the European Parliament's Investigative Committee, which had to rely on other sources, especially journalistic investigations, in its work.

"In Poland and Hungary, we see the Pegasus spyware as an essential part of a system designed to control and even suppress citizens who criticize the government, members of the opposition, journalists and whistleblowers," she said.

In Greece, where the Parliamentary Committee called on the government on Friday to "conduct an urgent and thorough investigation" into the wiretapping scandal through the Predator program, "we see evidence (...) of systematic and widespread use within the framework of a clear political strategy."

In Spain, there are "strong indications that political figures and others unrelated to a clear and imminent threat to national security have been spied on," she said.

She added that the parliamentary commission of inquiry should focus more on the case of Cyprus, citing "indications" that these technologies were being used to monitor citizens, saying that the country was "a platform for exporting spyware".

And Sophie Entfeld stressed, "We must realize that all member states have spyware programs even if they do not admit it," and suggested in her report to "stop the sale, possession, transfer and use" of these technologies.

It said that the ban could be lifted "depending on the country" if four conditions related to monitoring the use of these programs are met, and also called for regulation and a common definition of the concept of "national security".

This report is supposed to be discussed and amended within the European Parliament's commission of inquiry by the various political groups, and its final version must be submitted for a vote in the European Parliament in March 2023 or in June.