EPPO is pursuing dozens of cases in which Greek citizens received EU agricultural funds for pastureland they did not own or had not leased, or for agricultural work they never did, depriving real farmers of the cash they deserved. The multi-year, multimillion-euro scam was the subject of a POLITICO investigation earlier this year.
The Greek government said in a statement that the farm payments — along with the related checks and controls — will be conducted via the Independent Authority for Public Revenues, where the staff of OPEKEPE will also be transferred.
“After efforts to modernize OPEKEPE internally, which did not yield the expected results, the government, in cooperation with the European authorities … is proceeding with determination to address the problem once and for all,” it said.
The goal is to have full integration completed in the second half of 2026; the relevant legislation will be submitted by July.
OPEKEPE has been under EU supervision since September 2024 because of noncompliance with operational standards and risked losing its certification to manage EU funds in July when EU authorities visit Athens to monitor progress.
