A corruption scandal involving Greece’s use of EU agricultural funds is expected to play a significant role in the European Parliament’s discharge of the Commission budget later this year, according to German Green MEP Daniel Freund.
A major scandal surrounding Greece’s use of EU agricultural funds is poised to influence the European Parliament’s decision on whether to approve the European Commission’s budget later this year, says Daniel Freund, co-chair of the Parliament’s Intergroup on Anti-Corruption.
The so-called "fake farmer" fraud scandal has led to political turmoil in Greece and cast doubt on the management of EU agricultural subsidies. The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) announced in May that it is investigating an alleged organized fraud scheme involving agricultural funds and corruption by public officials at Greece’s Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aids (OPEKEPE).
Five high-ranking Greek government officials, including a minister and three deputies, resigned on Friday after being implicated in the case, which centers on the alleged mismanagement of EU subsidies for agriculture between 2019 and 2022. According to the EPPO, a "significant number of individuals" received subsidies based on false claims of owning or leasing pastures that were actually public land.
“In September 2024, Greek authorities placed OPEKEPE’s accreditation on probation, and an action plan was designed to address the deficiencies identified,” a European Commission spokesperson told Euronews, adding, “The Commission is working closely with the Greek authorities in this context.” The Commission declined to comment on ongoing EPPO criminal investigations or trials.
Freund called on the Parliament’s budget control committee to examine whether the alleged fraud points to deeper structural problems in Greece’s management of EU funds. “This issue will for sure play a role into the discussion on the discharge of the Commission's budget after the summer,” he said.
Under EU law, only paying agencies that meet minimum standards for managing Union funds may be accredited, and agencies that fail to do so must be placed under probation or lose accreditation.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has acknowledged the scandal as “evidence of the state’s inadequacy” in fighting corruption and has pledged to establish a special taskforce for a swift and thorough investigation. “Clientelism cannot govern the way we conduct business,” Mitsotakis told his cabinet, adding, “since OPEKEPE didn’t manage to do its work, the state will do it centrally.”
In June, the Athens-based EPPO referred information to the Hellenic Parliament regarding the alleged involvement of two former Ministers of Rural Development and Food in criminal offences. The Greek Constitution mandates that only Parliament can investigate and prosecute current or former government members, forcing EPPO to split its investigation. EPPO has reported this issue to the European Commission, arguing that national legal protections for ministers could limit its competence and breach the EU’s prosecutorial framework.
Former agriculture minister Makis Voridis, who was serving as migration minister until recently, was among those who resigned. Freund said, “I hope that the Greek Parliament lifts the immunities of MPs involved, in order to allow a proper investigation.”
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