By Dimitris Kouvaras,
The Greek government is not unfamiliar with scandals. Despite its continuous grip on power in the last three national elections and the lack of credible opposition, the centre-right government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis has felt its seat of power shaking more than once as insidious delinquencies or suspicious abuses of the state have popped up at regular intervals. After the illegal tapping of a party leader’s phone and the traumatising Tempi train incident, a new scandal is now making headlines. However, this time it is far more than just a national problem, as it involves the misappropriation of EU agricultural funds by OPEKEPE, the state agency responsible for distributing EU farm subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). It is an affair exposing systemic weaknesses in oversight as well as deep entanglements between Greek politics and vested interests, which prompted an investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) that has run for several years.
Between 2016 and 2023, European investigators uncovered a sprawling fraud network: individual farmers throughout Greece claimed aid for pastureland they didn’t farm or livestock they never owned. Some went as far as applying for aid over public land and deceased individuals, gaining sums adding up to thousands of euros per case. However, farmers –or others who pretended to be farmers- didn’t act alone. A 3.000-page dossier, which has been filed by the EPPO to the Greek Parliament, contains critical dialogues implicating administrators from within OPEKEPE and political figures, reaching the top echelons of government. Behind the fiscal abuse, therefore, lay a coordinated network of administrative deception, in which civil servants and prospective swindlers discussed what type of non-existent crops they should declare for aid. Meanwhile, former OPEKEPE president Vaggelis Simandrakos claims that the government officials were not only aware of the illegal scheme but also forced the resignation of members of the agency’s board after he tried to cease the allocation of funds to undeserving applicants, which led to his resignation in 2023.
The ones directly implicated, though both denying allegations, are former ministers of agricultural development Lefteris Avgenakis and Makis Voridis, of whom the latter was the immigration minister when the scandal hit, and belongs to the conservative branch of the governing party Nea Democratia. After indications of their complicity went public, they both resigned from their posts. Alongside them, three deputy ministers and a secretary-general of the party were also implicated, with the government and the prime minister walking on quicksand as their reputation and credibility are once more at risk.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis has denied knowledge of the affair, as he did in the tapping scandal, yet has issued a public apology on social media, admitting to failure on behalf of his government in the fight against what is termed “deep state”. In the same announcement, a list of achievements of his administration served as a counterweight. However, many citizens are far from happy about the apology. The question is whether the government is indeed unwillingly grappling with the ramifications of a hot potato after inheriting a chronically corrupt state apparatus, which is a fact, or has also consciously fostered corruption itself. As for the public, in an MRB survey, 74.5 per cent of those inquired suspected ministerial complicity.
Yet, there is a catch. When it comes to assessing the involvement of politicians in Greece, the national Parliament is the only body capable of investigating them based on the country’s laws, which hinders the European prosecution authorities from unilaterally taking legal action, since ministerial or MPs’ immunity can only be lifted by the Parliament. According to the EPPO, this is a violation of its EU mandate; nevertheless, the Greek Constitution cannot be sidestepped. For now, MPs are in the process of assessing the massive dossier of the case and decisions are pending. With Nea Democratia’s majority, however, radical measures are unlikely to pass the vote.
Meanwhile, the story has created a political avalanche in Athens and Brussels alike. European authorities acted decisively. Τhe European Commission imposed a record fine of 415 million euros on Greece, citing systemic failings and inadequate verification mechanisms. Moreover, future Greek CAP payments have been cut by 5 per cent, a reduction equivalent to nearly 500 million euros over the coming years, meaning that farmers actually in need of financial incentives will be deprived of vital funds. At the home front, Athens has promised structural reform: dissolving OPEKEPE and merging its functions into the national tax authority, to be supervised by international consultants. Furthermore, Prime Minister Mitsotakis has created a task force to investigate the case. Such actions are in line with the demands of EU officials, who caution that Greece must take definitive action lest other measures be taken. German Green MEP Daniel Freund, for instance, has warned that the scandal could impact Parliament’s approval of the European Commission’s entire budget next fall.
Economically, the scandal hurts Greek agrarian communities already grappling with inflation and climate disruptions, likely compounding rural hardship, while politically, it strains Greek‑EU trust. For most Greek citizens, however, it seems to be yet another reminder that trust in politics and politicians is a risky business. In an editorial note, DW observed the scandal has “rocked” the government’s credibility, highlighting that absurd irregularities –such as subsidies for “non-existent banana plantations on Mount Olympus”– underscore institutional collapse. After all, Greece is no stranger to farm‑subsidy scandals. In the 1980s, a similar scheme saw Yugoslav imports fraudulently claimed as Greek to boost subsidies, resulting in an EEC fine. The recurrence of these patterns highlights the challenge of reforming entrenched political clientelism and weak institutional oversight.
Overall, the scandal is more than a bureaucratic failure; it is a symptom of a deeply rooted nexus between politics and patronage whose grip on the state apparatus has lasted for decades and has manifested on multiple occasions. The fallout, on the other hand, from fines to resignations, demonstrates Europe’s growing insistence on accountability. The Greek government portrays the crisis is an opportunity to rebuild legitimacy through institutional overhaul, rule of law, and renewed faith in democratic governance. Nevertheless, some out there question the feasibility, or even the sincerity, of such a promise, as one more scandal would make it void. The rule of law, in essence rather than on paper, is a hard thing to establish. It requires bold political sacrifices and an emphasis on rebuilding the mentalities of citizenship, which need will and time. It remains to be seen if the government has enough of both.
References
- Greek government in crisis after EU subsidy scandal. Deutsche Welle. Available here
- Greek PM vows to investigate €290m ‘fake’ farmer fraud scandal. The Guardian. Available here
- Greek farm scandal triggers top-level government resignations. Politico. Available here
