Greece: justice à la carte – The OPEKEPE scandal and systemic impunity

On Tuesday (29 July) the Greek Parliament, with 166 votes from the ruling New Democracy party, approved Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s proposal to establish an Inquiry Committee to investigate the OPEKEPE scandal, involving mismanagement of EU agricultural subsidies over the past 25 years.

However, the content, timing, and political messaging of this initiative leave little doubt: the government’s approach appears designed to obscure criminal responsibilities, particularly for former New Democracy ministers Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis, directly implicated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in a 3,000-page case file detailing fraud and corruption from 2019–2022.

Political earthquake rocks Greece following the EU agricultural subsidies scandal

The opposition, including PASOK, SYRIZA, and others, argues that the committee’s expansive 25-year scope is a deliberate tactic to dilute accountability by spreading responsibility across multiple administrations, thus deflecting focus from recent allegations.

This decision follows a pattern of political maneuvering seen in cases like the Tempi train crash on 28 February 2023, where former Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis was shielded by parliamentary immunity, the Pylos shipwreck migration tragedy, and the Predator spyware wiretapping scandal.

These incidents reflect a broader strategy of “justice à la carte,” where accountability is selectively pursued, investigated, or covered up based on party expediency and political cost.

Despite the EPPO’s explicit mention of Voridis and Avgenakis, New Democracy’s parliamentary majority blocked a Pre-Investigation Committee, which could conduct a substantive criminal probe into their actions. Instead, the Inquiry Committee, set to begin at the end of August, arbitrarily extends the investigation from 1998 onward, diverting attention from the core issue: which current government ministers are responsible for mismanaging EU agricultural subsidies.

Mitsotakis himself stated before the National Delegation that “there is no evidence of criminal liability on the part of the minister,” a claim in direct contradiction to the EPPO’s findings.

He presented the Inquiry Committee as an “opportunity for institutional cleansing” to address “deep-rooted pathologies.” However, bypassing a criminal investigation and opting for a committee without investigative powers undermines transparency, favouring political compensation over accountability. By extending the probe to include past New Democracy governments (Karamanlis 2004–2009 and Samaras 2012–2014), the government risks obscuring the documented criminal responsibilities of ministers from 2020–2023.

The opposition, led by figures like PASOK’s Nikos Androulakis, SYRIZA’s Socrates Famellos, New Left’s Alexis Charitsis, and KKE’s Dimitris Koutsoubas, unanimously condemned the move as an institutional cover-up. PASOK’s Dimitris Mantzos highlighted that the Inquiry’s findings, due after 6 October – a potential statute of limitations date – could facilitate immunity for Voridis. PASOK’s proposal for a Pre-Investigation Committee, supported by SYRIZA, New Left, and others, was set for discussion on 30 July.

Freedom Voyage endorsed both investigative and pre-investigative approaches, emphasizing their complementary roles in ensuring accountability. (Freedom Voyage is an anti-establishment political party founded in 2016 by Zoe Konstantopoulou, a former President of the Hellenic Parliament and ex-SYRIZA member.)

Mitsotakis’s attempt to shift blame to “decades-long pathogens,” referencing past New Democracy governments, was perceived as political panic, causing discomfort within his party. His “Mitsotakis or chaos” narrative underscores the government’s communication insecurity, redirecting focus from accountability to political survival.

Leaks from the government suggest New Democracy may abstain from voting on a Pre-Investigation Committee to avoid internal leaks, reflecting fears of party disunity and the scandal’s political toll. Government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis claimed the Pre-Investigation is “unnecessary” once the Inquiry is approved, despite their distinct purposes: the Inquiry examines institutional dysfunctions, while the Pre-Investigation targets criminal liability of political figures.

The OPEKEPE scandal is not merely a case of managerial failure but a critical test for Greek democracy and the principle of equal accountability. The government’s reluctance to pursue a criminal investigation, seen in cases like Tempi, Pylos, and wiretapping, reveals a dangerous pattern of prioritising crisis management and political survival over transparency. The parliamentary debates and decisions in the coming days will determine not only the outcome of this scandal but also the state of the rule of law in Greece. The government’s current response remains inadequate and deeply concerning.

The original of this commentary in Greek can be found here.

More Greece coverage here.

Caption: Swearing-in of the new minister and the new deputy ministers, before Greek President Konstantinos Tasoulas (R) and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (2-R), at the Presidential Palace, Athens, Greece, 30 June, 2025. Several ministers have resigned over the scandal involving the Greek Payment Authority of the Common Agricultural Policy (OPEKEPE) on 27 June 2025. Thanos Plevris (4-L) will be appointed Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Haris Theocharis (3-L) will be appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yiannis Andrianos (2-L) will be appointed Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food, and Christos Dermentzopoulos (L) will be appointed Deputy Minister of Digital Governance. EPA/GEORGE VITSARAS