A New Democratic Party official said the party would appeal the decision to Greece’s highest administrative court, the Council of State.
Asimakopoulou sent an email to Greeks living abroad on March 1, and the same day the Interior Ministry sent a separate message to foreigners telling them they could vote by mail in the next election.
Asimakopoulou, who was vice-chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee last term, was unable to explain how he obtained the voter contact data and was voted out of the election later that month.
Authorities discovered that a file containing data on all registered voters had fallen into the hands of a Greek EU lawmaker. This list was sent to Theodoropoulos by an unknown individual, who then forwarded it to Asimakopoulou, who used it to send a large campaign email.
Authorities had previously fined the Home Office €400,000 and Asimakopoulou €40,000 for their respective roles in breaching data protection regulations. Rep. Jeon appealed, saying the fine was excessive.
The leak is also part of a criminal investigation.
A New Democratic Party official said the party had already implemented changes suggested by authorities and that the fine did not mean the ruling party was directly involved in the leak, but that its internal policies did not comply with data protection laws.
