Speaking to ERT, the Greek public broadcaster, Georgiadis dismissed several of the charges in the case file as exaggerated or unfounded and questioned the impartiality of the European Delegated Prosecutor.

Dismissing the charges

Georgiadis sought to downplay the substance of the accusations against New Democracy MPs, citing the case of Notis Mitarakis as an example:

‘Mr Mitarakis is accused, for example, because his secretary forwarded a five-page email from a fellow resident of Chios, a former forester, in which the forester explains, citing various laws and circulars, why OPEKEPE had made a mistake in a decision, and Mr Mitarakis’ secretary takes this email and sends it to the minister’s email with the phrase “please see the attachment”.

‘If this act carries criminal penalties, we had better build walls on the border and turn the whole country into Alcatraz.’

He added that the cases involving MPs Vartzopoulos, Vasiliadis and Boukoros were similar in nature and did not, in his view, justify criminal prosecution.

Accusing the prosecutor of targeting New Democracy

Georgiadis said he was surprised the case file had been sent to parliament, framing it as deliberate targeting:

‘The fact that the European prosecutor chooses to send this case file about Mitarakis that we were talking about before to parliament, doesn’t it surprise you? Here, it is clearly targeting a member of parliament, slandering him, causing him political and personal damage, for something that is clearly impossible to stand up in court.

‘Let’s get to the heart of the matter. Do we agree among ourselves that forwarding a citizen’s email to the minister’s email cannot be a criminally punishable act?

‘The fact that the prosecutor decides to smear Notis Mitarakis in order to target New Democracy through this act, does this raise any reasonable questions?’

‘We owe no special respect to this institution’

Responding to criticism that he was showing selective respect for the judiciary, Georgiadis argued that EPPO is a new institution still on probation:

‘First of all, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is not Greek justice. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office is a new institution; it was only created in 2021. I hear some who make the argument: but don’t you respect the European institutions? It is an institution completely on trial, which is why five European countries have already not accepted it and some European countries are already asking to leave it. It is a completely new institution, and it remains to be seen over time whether it will finally take root or not.

‘We do not owe any special respect to this institution. We judge this institution in practice: whether it is ultimately needed and works, or not.

‘So those who are now European prosecutors, in the first phase of implementing the institution, will ultimately be responsible for whether the institution itself will last.’

He added that Greece’s participation was based on good faith: ‘The New Democracy government and the prime minister supported this reform. Several European countries did not support the reform of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. Greece, and specifically Mitsotakis, supported this reform. We are not against the institution. We say there must be judicial control, and European control. (…)

‘This decision of the Hellenic Republic is based on a relationship of good faith and trust. It was not a self-evident obligation for the Greek state to do so, nor was it obligated to do so. It wants to contribute to European integration, and here a relationship of trust is established between us and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. What is the essence, the basis of this relationship? That this institution, by God, will not play political games.

‘This institution must be politically neutral.’

Claims of selective treatment

Georgiadis stated categorically that he believed there was political interference in the case, ‘in this case, I personally consider it 100%’, and argued that the case file targeted only New Democracy MPs while excluding opposition figures:

‘So here Mrs Papandreou has also committed the following additional act. She has singled out New Democracy MPs, she has targeted New Democracy MPs, and she has excluded opposition MPs. Obviously, MPs from all parties, not just from New Democracy, deal with OPEKEPE.’

He further accused EPPO of leaking to the press: ‘A second element that proves political interference is that it has been leaking for several months about what it intends to do in the future. A serious prosecutor and a serious prosecutorial institution do not leak to the press, especially about something so politically sensitive, because the process is violated, which is a criminal offence, but what’s worse, it draws the institution into the political arena. So it harms it.’

Predicting the cases will be dropped

Georgiadis predicted that the cases would not survive in court: ‘Personally, I am risking a prediction. Here we will be, and we will have to wait and see what will happen with these court cases, when everyone is acquitted, which is what I say will happen, or they will be shelved, because half of them will be shelved by her herself. She cannot take these cases to court. She cannot take Mitarakis to court. She cannot take Vartzopoulos to court. She will shelve them herself.’

Political cost and the reshuffle

On the political fallout, Georgiadis acknowledged the damage but questioned why the prosecutor should care about it: ‘We are paying for it politically, right. And now comes the question. What does the European prosecutor care if we pay for it politically?’

Regarding the cabinet reshuffle prompted by the scandal, he said the prime minister acted out of political prudence rather than any belief in guilt: ‘Mitsotakis never said that his ministers are guilty. Mitsotakis said something very correct. Because I am a politician and I have the responsibility of the country and the party before me, if I do not act, people will start saying in cafés that Mitsotakis is covering for them, and this will multiply the damage to politics. So what is Mitsotakis saying? I will show the people that I have no dependence and nothing to fear, in order to remove the conspiracy theory that politicians are covering for each other. I will send them all to justice so that no-one can say that I am doing some kind of cover-up, knowing their innocence and knowing that I am doing them wrong. And he said this in his message.’

Calling for EPPO to be abolished

Georgiadis concluded by questioning whether the institution should continue to exist: ‘I supported the institution of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, but I am beginning to believe that I have made a mistake and ultimately the institution is immature to exist in European states. European states are not yet ready for this institution, and we should probably abolish it. Because if we suddenly allow such political games to be played in our democracies, they will be blown to pieces. The people who take this power into their hands must be whole, irreproachable, above all suspicion, leaving no room for misinterpretation.’

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