Greece is unhappy because of something that it has just discovered. Who would have thought the EU would stoop that low and perform fraudulent activities? We frequently see hard-working individuals caring for crops and livestock, supplying food for households throughout the continent, when we envision the verdant fields and sunny farms of Europe. To maintain their operations, many of these farmers rely on assistance from the European Union, which provides billions of euros in subsidies annually. But, when large sums of money are involved, doubts might occasionally surface.
The EU is under investigation as Greece wants to get to the bottom of this issue
The Greek parliament has voted in favour of setting up a committee that will investigate a government agency handling EU agricultural subsidies since 1998, following a scandal in which Greek farmers for years faked land ownership to receive the aid. European prosecutors have found indications that farmers and state officials allegedly defrauded the European Union of subsidies for the use of pastureland at least since 2019.
In June, they referred the case to parliament – the only body that can investigate politicians – on suspicion that two former agriculture ministers from the ruling, centre-right New Democracy party, were involved in the case. They have both denied wrongdoing. The case is hurting the popularity of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government, which came to power in 2019 and was re-elected in 2023 with a majority, polls show.
Clientelism—some are saying they are digging into the past
Greek media reports have pointed to clientelism, or the trading of resources for political loyalty, as possibly motivating the fraud. Late on Tuesday, parliament approved the government’s proposal to set up the committee to investigate the agency OPEKEPE, founded in 1998. The government controls 155 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament.
The main opposition, the Socialist PASOK party, which has 33 seats, and other leftist parties rejected the plan, accusing the government of stalling and digging up the past to cover up its responsibility. They want a more powerful committee set up that can directly charge ex-ministers and will focus on the European prosecutors’ case instead of OPEKEPE’s operations over the years.
- Innocent people might be implicated in this crime.
- They will find out that more money was taken.
- It might turn out to be a big issue that could last for years to deal with.
There is pressure on the EU to strengthen oversight
The EU’s system of farm subsidies has been criticised before. Because there is so much money at stake—roughly one-third of the EU’s total budget is allocated to farm support—fraudsters occasionally spot an opening. It can be too simple to file false claims and divert money intended for legitimate farmers due to loopholes, lax oversight, and inadequate record-keeping.
This Greek investigation is now supporting the rising clamour in Brussels for stricter regulations and improved oversight of the use of farm funds. According to some EU parliamentarians, future aid may be subject to more stringent requirements or may be reduced completely if nations are unable to demonstrate that they are appropriately protecting the funds.
Mitsotakis told parliament Greece has paid nearly 3 billion euros in EU fines related to the misuse of the farm subsidies over the past decades, calling OPEKEPE an “open wound” whose ills were timeless. This is bad news because the majority of law-abiding farmers in Greece, who are honest, worry that they stand to lose the most from this scandal. Some are concerned that small family farms may find it difficult to pay employees, buy seeds, or feed animals as a result of payment delays or reductions. However, the goal is to find the rotten rat and get rid of it for the benefit of EU farmers.