The arrival of inspectors from OLAF, the European Anti-Fraud Office, at OPEKEPE (the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid) offices has caused further concern within the government. Officials fear that payments may be delayed this week, while farmers and livestock breeders are anxiously waiting to “see the color of money.” Nevertheless, despite the tight European constraints, it appears that a first wave of payments—about €40–45 million—will begin today, mainly for “old organic” subsidies.

“In the coming days, the remaining 2024 basic support payments will be made, along with subsidies for wine, organic farming, and organic beekeeping; later, payments for the ‘Daniel’ storm debris and animal feed will follow. The fact that OLAF has come and is investigating back to 2014 objectively makes our work more difficult,” said Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis (SKAI 100.3), who has been appointed by the Prime Minister’s office to manage the crisis and communicate with the European Commission.

Mr. Hatzidakis heads a daily videoconference involving the Ministry of Rural Development, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), the acting president of OPEKEPE, and others, during which all emerging issues are analyzed. The government’s main concern is to proceed with payments soon, even though farmers have until October 20 to submit corrected OSDE declarations to OPEKEPE. Given this, the hope is that the advance payment for the basic income support will be made in the second half of November.

Despite these efforts, concern remains strong among New Democracy ministers and MPs, who are receiving numerous complaints from rural communities. Mr. Hatzidakis has reportedly informed the Prime Minister both of the objective difficulties and of Brussels’ deep mistrust toward the Greek subsidy system.

However, this does little to ease the pressure on ND MPs, who are facing growing dissatisfaction in their constituencies. At the same time, the central government feels somewhat trapped, realizing it cannot move forward without the European Commission’s approval for OPEKEPE’s next steps.

The Meeting with Tsiaras

In this climate—and given that farmers and livestock breeders are considering protest actions even before Christmas, something highly unusual—the meeting scheduled for today between ND MPs from agricultural regions and Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras is expected to be difficult.

In coordination with ND parliamentary group secretary Maximos Charakopoulos, who represents Larissa and has firsthand knowledge of the growing tension, Mr. Tsiaras will face pressing questions at 14:00 today about the next steps, upcoming payments, and management of the sheep pox outbreak. Mr. Tsiaras, who has long served as MP for Karditsa, is well aware of the situation.

Politically, the government faces pressure ahead of the October 28th national parades. According to the analysis of the 2023 election results, 48% of farmers voted for New Democracy, but pollsters now observe a notable decline in the governing party’s support in rural areas—outside of major urban centers.