‘Real’ Greek farmers fume over EU subsidies scandal

Thessaloniki husbandman Anna Aivazidi’s humor boils when she thinks of the immense sums siphoned disconnected successful a large EU workplace subsidy scandal.

“I gain 300 euros successful subsidies a year. I struggle to nutrient each day. I consciousness highly wronged,” the 40-year-old told AFP.

“Subsidies should spell to existent producers,” she said.

Aivazidi is among thousands of Greek farmers who accidental they were penalised for years while others profited, successful a monolithic scam allegedly assisted by authorities officials.

The strategy began pursuing a alteration successful the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy, which successful 2014 shifted subsidies from livestock to land.

Greece’s onshore registry astatine the clip was woefully incomplete, however, meaning ownership implicit overmuch of the state was unclear.

To facilitate them, farmers were allowed to state onshore owned elsewhere successful Greece to assertion a stock of the subsidies. Non-farmers with governmental connections got successful connected the action, lured by the imaginable of casual money.

“The fraud fundamentally progressive the process of appropriating oregon declaring nationalist pastures by individuals who were not genuinely progressive farmers and who didn’t ain animals to use them,” said Moschos Korasidis, erstwhile vice-president of OPEKEPE, the authorities bureau that handled the EU payments.

Genuine farmers mislaid an estimated 70 cardinal euros a year, helium said.

“The strategy was well organised… it was a transgression organisation which people required governmental cover,” said Giorgos Drosos, 65, a wheat and fabric grower successful Thessaly.

Greek authorities estimation astatine slightest 23 cardinal euros successful EU workplace subsidies went to fraudulent claimants. But the afloat outgo could beryllium adjacent greater, according to the European nationalist prosecutor’s office.

“Our subsidies were slashed by 70 per cent while phantom (farmers) pocketed thousands of euros,” said Pavlos Spyropoulos, a 49-year-old fabric husbandman from Trikala.

False declarations

An EU probe has shown widespread maltreatment of funds handed retired by OPEKEPE, which, according to the government, annually disbursed much than three cardinal euros successful subsidies to 680,000 farmers.

“Such amerciable signifier whitethorn person been organised successful a systematic mode with the engagement of (OPEKEPE) officials,” the European nationalist prosecutor’s bureau said successful a statement successful May.

The probe is chiefly focusing connected the play aft 2019 under the blimpish medication of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Mitsotakis has said that the fraud began successful 2016, and has insisted that two agriculture ministers appointed by him, who are under investigation, carnivore nary transgression responsibility.

Sheeps successful their barn astatine the workplace of Giannis Panagiotidis proprietor of Biologic workplace with goats, sheep and producing dairy products, successful Stivos, a village adjacent Thessaloniki. Photo: Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP

“We person been wide connected this — nary transgression responsibilities arise”, the premier curate told Antenna TV recently.

One high-profile lawsuit is the blimpish party’s erstwhile coordinator for EU funds, who resigned successful August. She denies immoderate wrongdoing.

In a further stroke to Mitsotakis, the EU probe has recovered that astir of the allegedly fraudulent claims came from the land of Crete, where his household has held governmental power for implicit a century.

According to OPEKEPE, astir 80 percent of total subsidies granted from 2017 to 2020 for pastures ended up successful Crete.

While the fig of livestock farmers crossed Greece is decreasing, successful Crete, 13,000 caller farmers were registered betwixt 2019 and 2025, with the fig of declared sheep and goats doubling implicit the aforesaid period.

Mitsotakis connected Wednesday stressed that state auditors had seized 22 cardinal euros from 1,000 spurious tax accounts.

“You can’t telephone that a small sum. And the checks spell on,” helium told Antenna.

He added that it was “obvious” that members of his New Democracy enactment would beryllium progressive successful an “extensive corruption case” due to the fact that “we are the biggest party”.

Mount Olympus bananas

Eye-catching cases under probe are pastures declared successful archaeological sites, olive trees successful a subject airport, and banana plantations connected Mount Olympus.

“They acceptable up a store with European Union money. The politicians knew. It was a business,” said Nikos Kakavas, caput of the federation of geotechnical civilian servants.

“If the European Prosecutor’s Office hadn’t intervened, thing would person happened. We’ve been shouting astir this for years, but nary 1 listened,” Kakavas said.

There was nary lack of reddish flags, argued Athanassios Saropoulos, caput of the Greek geotechnical chamber’s Macedonia branch.

In the Chania region, spot of the Mitsotakis family, successful the archetypal 8 months of the year, astir 1 cardinal registered sheep and goats produced 12 times little beverage than successful the Larissa region, helium said.

“This cannot beryllium explained by immoderate technical oregon technological terms,” Saropoulos said.

Source: Agence France-Presse