EPPO is pursuing dozens of cases in which Greek citizens received EU agricultural funds for pastureland they did not own or had not leased, or for agricultural work they never did, depriving real farmers of the cash they deserved.
Last month, the Greek government announced it would shut down OPEKEPE, the state agency under investigation. European Chief Prosecutor Laura Kövesi, in comments to POLITICO, vowed to press ahead with an inquiry into the fraud scheme despite what she described as “attacks” and “intimidation” against her staff.
“The vilification of our country continues and its credibility vis-à-vis the European institutions is plummeting,” Greece’s main opposition leader Nikos Androulakis said in a statement.
According to the decision, dated June 11, the European Commission has imposed a flat-rate correction of 5 percent on all Greek direct subsidies over a lack of effective supervision.
For specific categories such as young farmer schemes from 2018 to 2020, that correction rises to 10 percent. The two largest annual penalties, €79 million and €76 million, target area-based payments made in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
The fines affect several different subsidies, including direct payments, small farmer schemes, eco-schemes, and voluntary coupled support measures. All were found to suffer from insufficient compliance with EU criteria.
