Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday defended his government after the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) filed criminal charges against four sitting New Democracy lawmakers as part of its investigation into alleged fraud involving European Union agricultural subsidies administered through Greece’s OPEKEPE payments agency.
Speaking at a meeting of the government council for economic policy, Mitsotakis argued that the latest developments had revealed “the full truth” behind the case, noting that of the 13 New Democracy ministers and lawmakers initially investigated, nine had been cleared of wrongdoing while four would face further judicial proceedings over misdemeanor-level offenses.
“I asked three ministers to resign for reasons of political sensitivity,” Mitsotakis said. “Honest politicians were publicly vilified for weeks while some branded us a ‘government of defendants.’ Today, who will apologize for those accusations?”
He accused opposition parties of ignoring the presumption of innocence and also criticized EPPO, saying the European prosecutor had appeared to become involved in Greece’s domestic political scene.
The OPEKEPE affair has dominated Greek political debate for months, prompting cabinet reshuffles, parliamentary confrontations and renewed scrutiny of the management of EU farm subsidies. The government has acknowledged longstanding weaknesses in the subsidy payment system while maintaining that it is implementing reforms, tighter oversight and institutional changes to prevent future abuses.
According to EPPO, prosecutors in Athens have filed charges against 22 defendants, including four sitting members of parliament, several former senior OPEKEPE officials, political staff and subsidy recipients, following an investigation into what prosecutors describe as an organized scheme to defraud the European Union through agricultural subsidy payments.
The four lawmakers charged are Kostas Skrekas, Christos Boukoros, Maximos Senetakis and Katerina Papakosta. Skrekas, Boukoros and Senetakis are accused of instigating breach of trust and illegal management of European Union funds. Papakosta faces the same allegations along with additional charges of instigating false certification and attempted computer fraud.
EPPO said the investigation concerns offenses allegedly committed in 2021 and follows the Greek Parliament’s decision in April to lift the parliamentary immunity of 11 lawmakers to allow prosecutors to pursue the investigation.
At the same time, prosecutors closed the case against seven other sitting MPs after concluding there was insufficient evidence of criminal conduct.
The indictment also targets several former OPEKEPE executives. Charges were filed against the agency’s former president on five counts of breach of trust, the former director general of direct payments on two counts of breach of trust, and two former regional directors on charges including breach of trust and illegal management of EU funds.
According to EPPO, investigators uncovered recurring patterns involving alleged interference in administrative and audit procedures, retroactive alteration of subsidy data after mandatory checks, interference in on-site inspections, concealment or falsification of audit findings and the issuance of false certifications.
Other defendants include a parliamentary staff member, an aide to a former minister, a public-sector veterinarian and several subsidy beneficiaries. They face misdemeanor charges including subsidy fraud, attempted computer fraud and false certification, as well as related instigation offenses.
