PM Mitsotakis Vows Reform After OPEKEPE Scandal
The controversy surrounding OPEKEPE, Greece’s EU aid-paying authority for farmers, dominated Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s weekly update on Sunday. The prime minister admitted the state’s failure to eliminate clientelist practices within the agency, even those involving members of his own party, CE Report quotes Athens-Macedonia
“Let’s be honest: we failed,” Mitsotakis stated, referencing the “indignation and outrage” caused by recent revelations. He announced the abolition of OPEKEPE, with its functions to be transferred to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE). He emphasized that any misused EU funds would be reclaimed.
Mitsotakis also denounced political practices that resemble vote trading, stressing that such behaviors have no place in a modern European democracy.
The update further touched on international matters, highlighting Greece’s continued commitment to NATO defense spending—exceeding 3% of GDP—and diplomatic gains at the European Council. He reaffirmed Greece’s stance on the illegality of the Turkey-Libya maritime memorandum and called for stronger EU cooperation with Libya to curb migrant flows and human trafficking.
