While Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras briefed New Democracy MPs on the “hot issue” of farmers, Serres MP Foteini Arabadjis – who also participated in the briefing – gave an exclusive statement to parapolitika.gr insisting on the issue that has emerged with Measure 23, clarifying that “the state must act institutionally,” while taking aim at the leadership of the Agriculture Ministry.
Foteini Arabadjis: We ask for the obvious – pay the real beneficiaries of Measure 23
“We are not asking for preferential treatment or political favors,” the New Democracy MP initially emphasizes. “We ask for the obvious: pay the real beneficiaries of Measure 23. Producers who were inspected, as provided for by both national and EU legislation, with administrative, on-site and cross-checking controls, until June 30, 2025, as stipulated by the Ministerial Decision. People who were definitively judged as beneficiaries with an official decision by the Secretary General of the Agriculture Ministry on October 30, 2025,” she continues.
Foteini Arabadjis: The state has spoken, and when the state speaks institutionally, it must act accordingly
“Legality, therefore, is not disputed. The state has spoken. And when the state speaks institutionally, it must act accordingly. Regarding the alleged haste in our announcement, as the Minister characterized it, allow me to say that rather the Agriculture Ministry and OPEKEPE were late to respond. It has been customary for years and is obligatory, at the end of each payment for the ministry and OPEKEPE to issue an announcement about the payment progress. This was not done, ‘leaving in the dark’ thousands of excluded producers, who I repeat, have been definitively judged as beneficiaries,” Ms. Arabadjis adds.
Meanwhile, commenting on the briefing provided earlier by the Agriculture Ministry leadership to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Ms. Arabadjis maintains: “Regarding the Prime Minister’s briefing by Mr. Tsiaras, which you refer to, it can only be evaluated positively. It is crucial that the Prime Minister is immediately informed and prioritizes the agricultural issue.”
