Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece and head of a government on the ropes amid a massive scandal. This latest scandal is focused on the fraudulent and repeated capture of European Union (EU) farming subsidies. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is conducting an investigation into alleged embezzlement and misuse of agricultural funds. This case stretches as far back as 1998, representing a deeply troubling pattern of financial wrongdoing. This state of affairs at the very least calls into question the integrity of Greece’s agricultural stewardship. It further calls into question the quality of oversight provided by state agencies.
The scandal involves the fraudulent inflation of livestock numbers in Crete. Farmers reportedly padded their sheep and goat counts in order to receive large amounts of money. Between 2016 and 2022, Cretan farmers reported having significantly increased the island’s sheep population, doubling it if not more. This distortion has had dire consequences, such that today, Crete represents one-half of Greece’s sheep flock. The Greek agricultural balance sheet has transformed completely. For one, as the FT noted, now local farmers are free to scam millions in subsidies from Brussels.
The Greek state agency charged with allocating EU farming subsidies, OPEKEPE, has been targeted. Given that they receive about €2 billion a year from the EU in agricultural subsidies, the economic incentives are huge. The scandal’s impact is, unfortunately, already evident. Brussels has hit the Greek government with a massive €415 million fine for these irregularities.
Laura Codruța Kövesi, the chief of EPPO, personally spearheading the probe. It exposed deep and disturbing ties between senior officials and alleged corrupt acts. Mitsotakis’s government is under serious suspicion of complicity. There are allegations that some ministers were even blackmailed due to their complicity in the scandal. Not surprisingly, two former Greek ministers are charged with embezzling EU agricultural funds for years.
In reaction to this increasing pressure, a cabinet minister and four deputy ministers have resigned in the midst of the continuing investigation. The smoldering scandal is unearthing major systemic failings in the governance apparatus of Greece. We’ve been treated to appalling spectacles, such as military airfields converted into olive groves and pastures overflowing onto marine territory.
“What applies to every landowner applies to him as well.” – A government spokesperson
Farming is a way of life, but we have to treat all landowners the same, said a government official. They are punished for what they do. This current scandal sheds light on a deeper structural disconnect in Greece’s agricultural sector. There is a huge chasm between policy and practice.
The fallout from this scandal goes deeper than just future financial penalties for Greece. Today, one-third of the EU budget is spent on subsidizing agriculture in individual member states. This allocation is key to preserving confidence in the European financial system. While investigations do proceed, citizens can’t stop asking how orchestrated fraud like this could go on for years and years without being detected.
The public reaction to the scandal has been one of profound rage and disillusionment. No wonder many taxpayers are outraged, for it is the people like you and me who end up paying the price for these scams. It is the potential loss of billions in EU funding caused by Greece’s corruption that constitutes the biggest threat to the country’s economic survival. This new reality will deal a crushing blow to law-abiding farmers.
Even as we learn more about the EPPO’s investigation, their focus raises troubling alarms. Such a scenario would still force both Greece and the EU to demand more comprehensive oversight and transparency for the funding allocated to agriculture. This is especially the case now that the ongoing Woonsocket scandal is likely to push regulators toward tougher requirements. This would demand a rethinking of how we track and allocate these dollars moving forward.