The EU Commission has given Greece a deadline until Oct. 2 to submit a new framework for doling out agriculture-related subsidies in the country.
The deadline was cited in a letter reportedly sent by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI) and signed by Elisabeth Werner, the directorate’s director-general.
Contents of the letter were revealed by a local media outlet (Skai 100.3 radio) on Thursday.
The development comes in the wake of a major farm subsidies scandal that erupted in Greece this year. Fraudulent reimbursements to beneficiaries, many “farmers” and “stockbreeders” in name only, are calculated to have reached up to 350 million euros.
An investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Athens led, among others, to the disbanding of the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aids, known by its acronym as OPEKEPE. The latter’s activity and responsibilities were subsequently shifted to the independent tax service (AADE).
In the letter, which was posted and is in Greek, the relevant service maintains that the plan proposed by Athens is not sufficient to restore the shortfalls and is not compatible with the Union’s provisions.
The letter also carries the warning that if Greece does not comply a possible suspension of monthly and interim payments may be decided.
Speaking on Skai 100.3, the relevant minister of rural development, Kostas Tsiaras, confirmed that the relevant deadline expires on Oct. 2, although he explained that the government is “cooperating” with the
Commission to integrate the now defunct OPEKEPE into tax bureau, and to prevent any loss of Community funds.
