Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis surprisingly repented. "We have failed", he wrote on Facebook and promised to fight corruption even harder, including against people from his own party "New Democracy" (ND).
The reason is the latest scandal related to the misuse of EU funds in Greece, which is currently being investigated by the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). It concerns agricultural subsidies worth several hundred million euros, which were paid by the Greek agency responsible for this, Opekepe, for non-existent sheep and goats on the island of Crete and even for banana plantations on Mount Olympus. This is alleged to have happened with the knowledge of two former agriculture ministers in the Mitsotakis government: Makis Voridis, responsible for agriculture from 2021 to 2023, and his successor Lefteris Avgenakis, who was in office until 2024.
In March this year, Voridis, who is also known as a good lawyer, became the minister of migration, and last Friday (27.06.2025) he resigned. The same was done by three state ministers involved in the affair.
The scandal is not new
The "Opekepe" scandal has actually been known for several months, and two weeks ago the European Commission (EC) imposed a fine of 415 million euros on Greece. In May, the EPPO filed a formal complaint accusing the Greek authorities on the island of Crete of trying to obstruct the investigation.
However, the Greek government did not respond to the accusations and took no action - until last week, when the prosecutor's office provided the Greek parliament with information about the alleged involvement of ministers in criminal activities. The European Public Prosecutor's Office had to do this because, under Greek law, only parliament can investigate current or former members of the Greek government through a committee of inquiry.
"Criminal organization"
For a week, Greek MEPs have been able to familiarize themselves with the file prepared by the European Public Prosecutor's Office, which, however, cannot be published. It describes a "criminal organization" consisting of Opekepe employees, MEPs and individuals who illegally received EU funds. The dossier names 15 MPs - 13 from the ruling ND and one each from the opposition parties "Pasok" and "Syriza", as well as regional officials and former heads of the state agency. It also describes in detail the way in which the organization operated, especially on the island of Crete.
Despite the publication ban, information has leaked into the public domain - Greek newspapers have published explosive dialogues between officials of the ruling party, worthy of any mafia film. For example, high-ranking officials discuss how, with the help of the Minister of Justice, the European Public Prosecutor's Office officials could not be allowed into the investigation.
While the publication ban is in force, the authenticity of these dialogues cannot be proven. However, Mitsotakis does not seem to doubt their authenticity. "The dialogues that are coming to light are causing outrage and anger", he wrote on Facebook, adding that anyone who is proven to have received European funds to which he is not entitled will be asked to return them. He also announced that the OPEC agency would be closed at the end of the year.
Mitsotakis is under pressure
The Greek prime minister continues to try to present himself as a reformer and a fighter against corruption and political incompetence. But it remains to be seen whether citizens will believe this. Too many scandals have accumulated during his reign, including the wiretapping affair, the fatal shipwreck near Pylos and, above all, the train crash near Tempi. He has always promised that such cases would be properly investigated and those responsible held accountable. But in Greece they are waiting in vain for this to happen.
Every public opinion poll since the beginning of the year shows that Greeks massively do not trust the authorities - 70 percent of the country's population suspects the government of trying to cover up these scandalous cases. Added to this is the unpleasant feeling that, if anything is done in this regard, it always comes from the outside - from the European Parliament or the European Public Prosecutor's Office, and not from the Greek authorities. As in the cases of wiretapping, the train crash or the current scandal with the corrupt agency.
Author: Kaki Bali