EU slaps Greece with record fine over agricultural subsidy fraud

The European Commission has fined Greece €392.2 million for mismanaging EU agricultural subsidies between 2016 and 2023. The penalty relates to serious oversight failures by OPEKEPE, the now-dissolved agency overseeing Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds, including payments for fictitious pastures and fake farming activities.

Brussels applied a 5% cut to future subsidies to reflect what it described as systemic issues and poor supervision. For payments to young farmers between 2018 and 2020, the penalty rises to 10%. The largest fines target land subsidies from 2021 and 2022, totalling €79 million and €76 million respectively.

The fine is expected to be paid from the Greek state budget, as no individual farmers were found liable and inspections were lacking. The government is trying to avoid a blanket 5% cut to all farmers, which would be politically costly.

Greece was set to receive €1.9 billion in direct subsidies next year, but this will now drop significantly. Experts warn more penalties may follow. In March, the EU Court dismissed a Greek appeal against an earlier fine, ordering Athens to pay legal costs.

via Ekathimerini