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The government will propose the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry committee to investigate the case of OPEKEPE, Greece’s agricultural payments agency, Government Spokesman Pavlos Marinakis announced during Monday’s regular press briefing.

“By decision of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and after a thorough review of the case file, the New Democracy parliamentary group will propose the formation of an inquiry committee,” Marinakis said, adding that the committee’s work will be “free of partisan motives” and focused solely on “establishing the truth and cleaning up the subsidy system.”

Marinakis clarified that the inquiry will cover the entire period from the founding of OPEKEPE in 1998 to the present, in order to identify chronic dysfunctions, detect systemic issues, and ensure full transparency for the benefit of producers.

He cited seven key reasons for the decision:

1. A long-standing issue with major implications

“OPEKEPE distributes around €2.5 billion in subsidies annually to 645,000 producers. The issue is not new,” Marinakis said. The inquiry will have full authority to examine all developments since 1998, with no exclusions. “Responsibility must be established based on facts—not partisan expediency.”

2. Billions in EU fines demand answers

Greece has been fined more than €2.7 billion by the European Union over subsidy mismanagement since 1998. Marinakis stressed the importance of identifying the causes behind these financial corrections and closing the systemic loopholes that triggered such significant penalties.

3. Examining the decisions of past administrations

The inquiry will investigate the actions of all OPEKEPE leaderships since 1998, including their recommendations to political authorities and how those were addressed. It will also look into which ministers referred suspected fraud cases to judicial authorities, and how the agency responded to “red-flag” taxpayer IDs flagged by internal audits.

4. Transparency in cross-checking and oversight

Key questions to be addressed include: who requested and conducted cross-checking procedures, what the outcomes were, how long they lasted, and where gaps in the system may have existed. The inquiry will also examine the role of the agency’s technical advisor and whether there were any undue influences or internal audit failures.

5. The “technical solution” for livestock subsidies

The longstanding use of the so-called “technical solution” by successive governments to address pastureland subsidy allocations for livestock farmers will also be reviewed, along with how this practice became entrenched.

6. Unimplemented Grazing Plans

The committee will investigate why national Grazing Management Plans have yet to be implemented, and how this is connected to the forest registry, land registry, and OPEKEPE’s other digital infrastructure tools.

7. No grounds for a pre-investigative committee

Referring to materials recently forwarded to Parliament by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office concerning two former agriculture ministers, Marinakis clarified that the evidence—as it stands—does not meet the constitutional threshold for forming a pre-investigative committee. Furthermore, no charges have been filed against any non-political figures involved in the case.

“We are putting forward a proposal for a full parliamentary inquiry—not to score political points, but to address a deep-rooted problem that spans decades,” Marinakis emphasized.

“The aim is full transparency, without cover-ups, to get to the truth and restore integrity to the subsidy system,” he said.

Marinakis concluded by urging all political parties to rise to the occasion and vote in favor of the inquiry, “so that every aspect of the OPEKEPE case—from 1998 to the present—is thoroughly examined.”