Following Parliament’s approval of the bill integrating OPEKEPE into AADE, Marinakis described the vote as “the beginning of a new era of transparency and legality for the agricultural subsidy system”. He added that the position of the smaller opposition parties, which also voted against the bill, “requires no further comment”.
Marinakis focused his criticism on PASOK, questioning “why PASOK would say no to a legislative intervention that would result in legal farmers and livestock breeders receiving more money”. He also argued that PASOK’s vote contradicted its public criticism of delays and failures in subsidy payments.
He reiterated his claim that Androulakis “fell into the ‘best man trap’ he set for himself” and is, in Marinakis’s words, “exposed” by his party’s stance.
PASOK responded sharply, accusing the government and its spokesperson of trying to present themselves as guarantors of transparency while “bearing full responsibility for the current collapse of OPEKEPE’s credibility”.
The party said it voted against “the hypocrisy and the attempt by New Democracy to call a cursory administrative transfer a ‘reform’”, arguing that the government’s move aims at managing impressions rather than genuinely consolidating the organisation. It rejected government claims that the reform follows the European model.
PASOK argued that the same government now speaking of a “new era” had tolerated practices such as virtual agricultural land leases, annual transfers between tenants and owners, declarations with no real agricultural activity, and the acquisition of luxury cars by individuals declaring negligible income. It stressed that these activities occurred “under the supervision of AADE, which the government today presents as an ‘incorruptible saviour’”.
The party added that necessary cross-checks were not conducted, tax and property inconsistencies were ignored, and the subsidy scandal was uncovered not by the Greek state but by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
PASOK said Marinakis preferred to attack the opposition because he cannot answer “who is responsible for the fact that this mechanism for circumventing agricultural subsidies was created and operated during the New Democracy government”.
It concluded that it would not legitimise political choices that transfer problems “from one service to another without a clean-up, without a plan and without respect for the people of the primary sector”, adding: “The crisis of credibility in OPEKEPE has a name, and that name is the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.”
______________________________________________
Are you seeking news from Greece presented from a progressive, non-mainstream perspective? Subscribe monthly or annually to support TPP International in delivering independent reporting in English. Don’t let Greek progressive voices fade.
Make sure to reference “TPP International” and your order number as the reason for payment.