The second act of the political clash over the OPEKEPE case is expected to unfold today in the parliament chamber with the discussion of proposals for conducting a preliminary investigation requested by PASOK and SYRIZA–New Left against M. Voridis and L. Avgenakis.

During the session, starting at 9 a.m., the government majority plans to more strongly support its argument regarding the chronic and cross-party responsibilities for the dysfunctions in the farm subsidies payment mechanism. It will reference the recent revelations about several “green” party officials in Crete who allegedly collected subsidies by declaring grazing lands even at the top of the Agrafa mountains.

It is certain that ND will ask PASOK for explanations on whether members of its own ranks participated in the “criminal organization” that PASOK denounces. At the same time, the majority will highlight PASOK’s contradictions, noting, among other things, that MPs of Nikos Androulakis are requesting criminal prosecution for Voridis and Avgenakis over the “technical solution,” which PASOK itself has described as a “legal procedure” when applied to “green frappes.”

PASOK had stated that “the technical solution provides for the automatic allocation of grazing lands by the system, something that is legally done for thousands of honest livestock farmers,” thus fully “covering” a party official from Rethymno who was declaring grazing lands in Naousa and Agrafa—thousands of kilometers from his activity area.

At the same time, PASOK’s preliminary investigation proposal requests prosecution of Voridis for signing in 2019, as Minister of Rural Development, the decision for the automatic allocation of grazing lands, thus allowing livestock farmers (including in Crete) to declare grazing lands in other regions of mainland Greece.
In short, for PASOK, the “automatic allocation of grazing lands” via the technical solution is legal when it involves its party members, but illegal for everyone else.

Possible Abstention

In this context, majority MPs will reiterate that the case file shows no evidence of criminal acts and that at this stage they will not support the request for a preliminary investigation. They will call on the opposition to withdraw the proposals, explaining that if they fail to obtain the required majority and are rejected, they cannot be revived in the future, even if the upcoming investigative committee uncovers criminal evidence.

According to information, it is quite likely that ND may abstain from the final secret ballot so that, as it will be argued, the opposition takes full responsibility for the definitive “archiving” of the criminal aspect of the case. It should be noted that, according to the Constitution, a proposal for prosecution regarding specific individuals and a specific case cannot be re-submitted to Parliament if it has previously been rejected.

What Voridis and Avgenakis Will Say

Focus also lies on the statements of the two former Ministers of Rural Development and Food for whom the preliminary investigation referral is requested.

Mr. Voridis is expected to limit his remarks to his tenure, stressing that he has done nothing wrong and is accused of signing a ministerial decision already in force since 2015. He is expected to present legal opinions confirming – as he will argue – the legality of his actions. He will also note that he is accused of moral instigation in breach of trust for actions not described in the case file and for which there is no physical perpetrator.

The former minister reportedly also has a series of documents regarding OPEKEPE’s operations during his time in office and evidence illustrating the real motives of certain officials now posing as reformers of the agency. It is unclear whether he will reveal everything in his speech or wait for the investigative committee’s work in September. He is certain, however, to request a confrontation hearing with Grigoris Varas to clarify why his resignation was requested and whether the initiatives to check suspicious VAT numbers took place before or after the call for his dismissal.

Similarly, Avgenakis is expected to emphasize that the case file contains no conversations involving him and that the deactivation of “suspicious” VAT numbers occurred after checks. He will also stress that the then OPEKEPE president E. Simandrakos was asked to resign on 30 October 2023 due to cumulative operational problems and serious errors in 2022–2023 payments, not because of the “blocking of VAT numbers.”
He reportedly also holds documents proving that Mr. Simandrakos’ actions to freeze certain VAT numbers came after the request for his resignation. He is also likely to reveal names of opposition political officials with a strong presence in Crete allegedly involved in grazing-land subsidies amounting to several thousand euros.

Investigative Committee Approved with Broad Majority

It should be noted that the first stage of the OPEKEPE case ended Tuesday night with the approval of ND’s proposal to set up an investigative committee to examine every aspect of the case from 1998 onward.

The investigative committee proposal received a broad majority of 166 MPs, as, apart from ND, Plefsi Eleftherias and 5 independent MPs (G. Kontis, K. Floros, Ch. Katsivardas, P. Sarakis, D. Kyriazidis) also voted in favor.