EU Chief Prosecutor (EPPO) Laura Koveši will reportedly meet with Greek Justice Minister Georgos Floridis on Tuesday, April 22, during a scheduled visit to Athens this week, before taking part in the 11th Delphi Economic Forum the following day. Koveši has been leading an investigation regarding a case related to farming subsidy fraud (OPEKEPE) implicating Greek politicians and has been in the Greek media limelight.
The meeting with the Greek minister comes in the wake of the transmission of the OPEKEPE case files to the Greek Parliament, and a unanimous decision by the College of European Prosecutors in Luxembourg to extend the mandates of three Greek delegated European prosecutors by five years.
Any details regarding the agenda of talks with Floridis have not been made public. The meeting coincides with the parliamentary session where lawmakers are expected to vote on lifting the immunity of members of parliament allegedly implicated in the farming subsidy scandal.
Koveši has not requested meetings with either Supreme Court President Anastasia Papadopoulou or Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Konstantinos Tzavellas, according to reports.
The EU Chief Prosecutor is due to speak at the Delphi Economic Forum on Thursday, April 23, where this year’s theme is “The Shock of the New.”
At the start of April, the EPPO formally requested that the Hellenic Parliament lift the parliamentary immunity of 11 sitting members of the Greek assembly.
The immunity request was submitted in accordance with Article 29 of the EPPO Regulation and applicable Greek national law.
The case centers on an alleged organized fraud scheme involving public officials of OPEKEPE — Greece’s Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aids, the body responsible for administering EU agricultural subsidy payments. The EPPO described the investigation as one of several ongoing probes tied to alleged misconduct at the agency.
