Greece’s agriculture minister on Tuesday promised “full transparency” in the disbursement of EU farm subsidies after a top Greek official was sacked in a fraud probe row with Brussels.
Costas Tsiaras said the Greek authority for the payment of common agricultural policy aid (OPEKEPE) would enter a “new era with full transparency.”
Tsiaras on Friday fired the head of OPEKEPE, retired judge Nikolaos Salatas, following a raid at the OPEKEPE offices in which EU prosecutors said there was a “lack of sincere cooperation.”
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in a statement last week said “gathering digital evidence at the headquarters of OPEKEPE proved particularly challenging and was significantly delayed” until the early hours of the morning.
The prosecutors said “a significant number” of individuals had obtained payment entitlements between 2019 and 2022, mostly by staking false claims on public lands.
“Such illegal practice may have been organised in a systematic manner with the involvement of (OPEKEPE) officials,” they said.
Tsiaras on Tuesday said OPEKEPE distributes over 3.0 billion euros ($3.4 billion) a year, most of which goes to 680,000 individuals.
“It is not so easy to solve (the issue) because there are many layers involved,” he told state TV ERT.
He insisted that any farmers found to have defrauded the authorities would face justice.
The minister insisted the probe would not affect the disbursement of EU funds to Greek farmers.
Source: AFP
