By answering seven key questions on agricultural issues, the Deputy Prime Minister, Kostis Hatzidakis, speaks about the amount of €3.82 billion that has been paid to farmers this year, an increase of 13% compared to last year, and wonders whether there are other motives behind their refusal to engage in dialogue.

The relevant statement by Kostis Hatzidakis:

“€3.82 billion were paid to our farmers in 2025 by OPEKEPE, the Ministry of Finance, and ELGA. This amount is the largest of recent years and 13% higher than the €3.38 billion paid in 2024.

With the intervention of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the audits by OLAF, the investigations of the Financial Police at OPEKEPE, and the months-long negotiations with the European Commission, what was achieved was not self-evident. For this reason, I owe public thanks to everyone involved from the Ministry of Rural Development, OPEKEPE, the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), and my own office in this demanding effort.

Several important questions may already have arisen. Let us answer them:

1. Were there delays in 2025? Yes, there was a one-month delay. Instead of the end of October, the first payments were made at the end of November. Moreover, they began only eight days after the green light was given by the European Commission on 19/11. This was by no means a given.
2. Will you finally acknowledge your responsibilities regarding OPEKEPE? Of course we do. New Democracy is, in fact, the only party that acknowledges them. No one else who governed over the last 45 years admits responsibility. If it suits the narrative that only New Democracy is to blame, fine—we close the matter and move on.
3. Then why was there turmoil in recent months? Because fines were imposed and negotiations took place with the Commission for a new system—hybrid for 2025, definitive and digital from 2026. However, for some, the government was blamed not only for the fines imposed but also for the effort, through negotiations with the Commission, to introduce a new, transparent system and avoid new fines in the future. For them, the government loses both ways.
4. With this new system, will the country receive the same funds? Yes—exactly the same funds from Brussels for direct agricultural subsidies and income support for farmers (the rest concerns support via ELGA, de minimis programs, etc.). The difference is that these amounts will be distributed more fairly in favor of real producers. Anyone who does not want this should come out and say so. One can, of course, understand the reaction of those who may have engaged in over-declarations. It is no secret that for several thousand cases the data have been seized by the Financial Police, while several thousand tax identification numbers have also been referred for further cross-checks. The vast majority, however, will benefit from the new, fairer system.
5. Why was it necessary to absorb OPEKEPE into AADE? AADE has shown, even during the coronavirus period, that it can operate as a large, reliable national payments authority. It enjoys credibility both in Greece and in Brussels and can put an end to a chapter of doubts and fines. This transition is a very important reform.
6. But do you dispute that certain sectors—livestock farmers, cotton producers, grain producers—face major problems? Of course they do, and the government treats them as a priority. For 2,500 livestock farmers who lost livestock due to sheep pox, an average of €33,600 per farmer has been paid so far for the loss of capital and the related income for one year. An additional €80 million will also be distributed to livestock farmers—funds from Brussels that remained unused following the implementation of the new payment system. Cotton and grain producers will receive an additional €80 million through the so-called eco-schemes, also from unused subsidies due to the new system. It should be noted that cotton producers have seen international cotton prices fall, while production has increased significantly compared to previous years. Add to this the payment, for the first time, of €177 million through the so-called Measure 23 for farmers who experienced a major reduction in production due to climatic conditions.
7. But these are not the only problems. A list of 27 demands has been submitted. Indeed, of these, 16 have been satisfied and an additional 4 are under consideration as to how they can be met. Some others are beyond fiscal capacity or outside the European framework. Add to this that in previous years we have reduced taxation for farmers, lowered VAT on animal feed, fertilizers, and agricultural inputs, and now refund the excise duty on agricultural diesel. Naturally, compensation was also given and continues to be given to farmers in Thessaly due to Daniel.

Now let me pose a question in turn: Assume that none of what I write is true. Why do the agricultural union leaders at the roadblocks refuse to engage in dialogue with the government, when they have even been invited by the Prime Minister himself? They would have the opportunity to present their positions to the government, as has happened in previous years, to explain them better if they have not been understood, and to expose the government if it is indeed following an inflexible and unfair stance toward them. When you set up roadblocks, you inevitably cause difficulties in the country’s economic and social life, and at the same time refuse to engage in dialogue with the Prime Minister, any reasonable third party is entitled to feel great perplexity about this stance. Could there be other motives? I believe Greek citizens deserve an answer.

At this stage, we are all facing our responsibilities: both the government, for upholding legality—having undeniably shown a tolerant stance that causes other social groups to protest—and the agricultural union leaders, who cannot both continue the roadblocks and refuse dialogue. This, I believe, is a matter of simple logic.

And one final observation: Clearly, agriculture and livestock farming are not only about European subsidies. They also involve agricultural cooperatives with their problems, producer groups that are not as widespread as elsewhere, issues of fragmentation and small farm size, insufficient training of young farmers, and inadequate competitiveness of the agricultural sector in certain areas. These are major, long-standing problems, for which responsibility lies both with those who have governed over recent decades and with various leaders of the agricultural sector over time. It would be good for all of us to acknowledge our mistakes and attempt—even belatedly—to address them together. The cross-party committee proposed by the Prime Minister in Parliament is a great national opportunity that we must seize. Because above right-wing, centrist, and left-wing divisions, we are Greeks.”

The relevant tables presented by Mr. Hatzidakis regarding payments to farmers