The Greek Parliament is currently debating whether to launch a preliminary investigation against Voridis and Avgenakis. This follows allegations about mismanagement and potential corruption involving agricultural subsidies distributed through OPEKEPE (the Greek agency handling EU farm payments).

Background

Opposition parties PASOK and SYRIZA have accused the two former ministers of facilitating or turning a blind eye to questionable subsidy practices—such as people receiving money for pastures in unrealistic or unrelated locations (like mountaintops or areas far from where they live).

The ruling party, New Democracy (ND), argues that the issues are long-standing and not limited to one party. They point out that members of PASOK were also involved, and criticize PASOK for calling a policy “legal” when it benefitted their people, but “criminal” when it didn’t.

Makis Voridis’s Response

Voridis defended himself by saying:

• He only agreed to apply a ministerial decision that was legal at the time.
• His name is barely mentioned in the case documents.
• He simply asked a subordinate (Mr. Varra) to resign—something that is not a crime.
• He believes the case against him has no legal basis.

Lefteris Avgenakis’s Response

Avgenakis stated:

• He has never declared any pasture land or received subsidies.
• The case files contain no conversations or evidence involving him.
• His name was only mentioned by the former OPEKEPE president, Evangelos Simandrakos—who he claims had a conflict of interest due to business ties and PASOK connections.
• He called for Simandrakos’ resignation over poor management and “black payments,” not because of any subsidy issue.
• He later ordered an audit of 16,560 blocked tax numbers (AFMs), which led to legal action in 730 cases.

Avgenakis also accused PASOK MP Manolis Chnaras of personally benefiting from questionable subsidies while overseeing the agricultural sector in Crete.

What the Government Says

ND argues that:

• The current case files show no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by the ministers.
• A preliminary investigation would be pointless at this stage.
• If the opposition insists on pushing for a vote, ND may abstain to let them take full political responsibility.

According to Greek law, once a request for investigation is rejected, it cannot be resubmitted—even if new evidence appears later.

Examination Committee Approved

Earlier this week, Parliament approved ND’s proposal to form a broader examination committee to investigate how the agricultural subsidy system has functioned since 1998. This was passed with a wider majority (166 MPs), with support from ND, Plevsi Eleftherias and five independent MPs.

Prime Minister’s Remarks

During the long debate, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged opposition parties to support the examination committee instead of focusing on a legally weak preliminary investigation.

He criticized PASOK leader Nikos Androulakis for double standards and said PASOK today is like a poor version of its 1980s self.