Farmers across Greece stage road blockades over unpaid subsidies, sending messages to the government while tensions rise with authorities and new protests are planned nationwide

Protesters cite severe delays in payments owed by the agricultural payments agency OPEKEPE, along with soaring production costs and persistently low market prices for their goods.

The Ministry of Rural Development notes that this year’s subsidy advance is 25% lower than last year’s because it was calculated strictly on the basis of verified data.

Producers say low prices and rising costs leave them no choice as they prepare nationwide tractor demonstrations that may shut down key highways, even as overdue subsidies begin to be paid out

Farmers across northern Greece block roads and clash with police as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tours Rodopi, announcing diesel tax relief while facing growing anger over unpaid subsidies and livestock losses

Former agriculture minister Makis Voridis told Parliament’s investigative committee he never intervened in subsidy cases, rejecting claims of pressure, favoritism, while accusing the opposition of a political witch hunt as the OPEKEPE inquiry deepens

Former minister Lefteris Avgenakis denied wrongdoing before Parliament’s OPEKEPE inquiry, as the government seeks to restore credibility in Greece’s farm subsidy agency and regain EU trust

From Athens to Beijing to Canberra, the same truth endures: ethical leadership is the cornerstone of public trust. Scandals may differ in scale or style, but they expose a shared moral crisis—the distance between transparency and virtue, between law and conscience

The Economic Police and forensic experts seized electronic files from OPEKEPE’s IT department as part of an ongoing probe into suspicious agricultural subsidy applications for 2025

The European Commission has sent a warning letter to Greece, demanding a new framework for farm subsidy payments by November 4 or risk suspension of €600 million in EU agricultural funds.

Ioannis Kaimakamis has stepped down from his role as vice president of Greece’s OPEKEPE agency. The resignation, effective from October 16, was accepted by the Minister of Rural Development and formally published today in the government transparency portal Diavgeia

The alleged leader of a criminal network accused of defrauding Greece’s agricultural payment agency has been jailed, bringing the total number of pre-trial detentions to ten. The case involves 37 defendants accused of illegally claiming EU farm subsidies

The number of suspects held in pre-trial detention has risen to eight as judicial questioning continues in Greece’s OPEKEPE subsidy fraud case involving an alleged network accused of defrauding millions in EU farm subsidies through Greece’s OPEKEPE agency

Eleven defendants in a Greek agricultural subsidy investigation were released with restrictions after denying wrongdoing. Authorities continue hearings, with remaining accused scheduled to testify over the weekend

After overnight questioning in Thessaloniki, 34 of the 37 suspects in the major OPEKEPE subsidy fraud case were transferred to Athens under tight police escort.

Police in Greece have detained 37 suspects in a major OPEKEPE fraud probe, alleging a network used false claims to obtain millions in EU farm subsidies

At the OPEKEPE trial in Athens former president Dimitris Melas and ex-director Athanasia Reppa stand accused over farm subsidy audit irregularities

Ex-president Grigoris Varras has accused political and corporate figures of pressuring him to resign, while new testimonies and delays in hearings show the inquiry is still unfolding

Ex-OPEKEPE president Grigoris Varras told a parliamentary inquiry his dismissal was ordered under pressure from a private contractor and executed by then minister Makis Voridis.

The inquest on Tempe has finished and we can expect a trial date to be set for the coming months. The Agricultural Subsidies Agency (OPEKEPE) is in court, and the first convictions are coming through