Archive · 30 Jul 2025
Greek Parliament to Probe Agency Over EU Farm Aid Fraud
Imagine some farmers in Greece were pretending to own land they didn't, to get money from the European Union.
The EU gives money to farmers to help them out.
Some Greek officials might have helped them cheat the system.
Now, the Greek government is setting up a special group to look into this.
This group will investigate an agency called OPEKEPE, which manages the EU money.
The opposition parties think the government is trying to hide something.
They want a different kind of investigation.
This has caused issues with the Prime Minister's government.
The EU has also fined Greece nearly 3 billion euros related to these misuses.
Greek parliament approved a committee to investigate OPEKEPE, an agency handling EU agricultural subsidies.
The investigation follows allegations of fraud related to EU farm aid, including faked land ownership.
European prosecutors have found indications of fraud dating back to at least 2019.
Opposition parties accuse the government of stalling and seeking to cover up its responsibility.
The scandal is reportedly affecting the popularity of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's government.
- Who
- Greek parliament, the government, opposition parties, and OPEKEPE are involved.
- What
- Greek parliament voted to investigate a government agency handling EU agricultural subsidies following a fraud scandal.
- When
- The parliament vote happened recently. The fraud has been ongoing at least since 2019.
- Where
- Greece.
- Why
- To investigate alleged fraud related to EU agricultural subsidies and address concerns about misuse of funds.
Opposition's Perspective
Government's Perspective
Purpose of Investigation
Opposition's Perspective
The government is stalling and trying to cover up their own involvement.
Government's Perspective
The government wants to investigate the agency to address the issue.
Scope of Investigation
Opposition's Perspective
They want a more powerful committee to directly charge ex-ministers and focus on the European prosecutors’ case.
Government's Perspective
The government wants to create a committee to investigate OPEKEPE's operations over the years.
- Agency
- OPEKEPE
- Founded
- 1998
- Parliament Vote
- In favor of investigation
- Fraud Allegations
- Faked land ownership to receive aid
- EU Fines
- Nearly 3 billion euros
- Ruling Party
- New Democracy
- Opposition Party
- PASOK