EU lawmakers are in Athens for a three-day mission focused on the Greece farm subsidies scandal, amid allegations that EU agricultural funds were misused through OPEKEPE, the country’s former national payments agency for farmers.
The mission will review how Greek authorities managed EU agricultural subsidies and what corrective measures the government plans to introduce. During the three-day mission, which concludes on May 28, MEPs will meet with Greek officials, representatives of the farming sector, and members of the press.
Farm subsidies scandal puts EU funds under scrutiny
Czech MEP Tomáš Zdechovský of the European People’s Party leads the delegation. Other members include Monika Hohlmeier of the EPP from Germany, Lucia Annunziata of the Socialists and Democrats from Italy, and Rasmus Nordqvist of the Greens/EFA from Denmark.
Four Greek MEPs are also taking part in the mission: Georgios Aftias of the EPP, Yannis Maniatis of the Socialists and Democrats, Emmanouil Fragkos of the European Conservatives and Reformists, and Konstantinos Arvanitis of The Left.
The delegation’s program includes meetings with Greece’s Minister for Rural Development and Food, senior officials responsible for agricultural payments, public revenue, transparency, and audits, as well as representatives of the farming sector and members of the press.
The delegation plans to brief the media at 12 p.m. on May 28 at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Athens.
EU delegation calls for transparency and accountability
Ahead of the visit, Zdechovský said the mission aims to assess the state of the investigation in an open and serious manner.
“Our goal is to openly and seriously assess the current state of the investigation and to have a clear discussion about responsibility, transparency, and public trust in the use of European funds,” he said.
The talks will also address the structure of the EU’s long-term budget and ways to strengthen safeguards against the misuse of European funds.
Witness exclusions draw criticism from Greek MEP
The visit has already drawn criticism from SYRIZA (Coalition of the Radical Left – Progressive Alliance) MEP Konstantinos Arvanitis, vice president of The Left group, who alleged that the delegation’s schedule left out key figures with firsthand knowledge of the scandal.
Arvanitis claimed that the final agenda reflected the preferences of the EPP and Greece’s ruling New Democracy party. He cited the exclusion of Dimitris Moschos, a livestock farmer who had filed formal complaints related to the scandal, and Dimitris Bikas, a former employee of the Ministry of Rural Development whom The Left had proposed as a witness.
He also pointed to the absence of George Pitsilis, head of Greece’s Independent Authority for Public Revenue, and Grigoris Varras, the former head of OPEKEPE who later served as an adviser to the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
In a statement to the press, Arvanitis said such practices had no precedent in previous European Parliament delegation visits. He argued that even during missions to Poland and Hungary on rule-of-law issues, no one had tried to control proceedings in order to shield a government.
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