OPEKEPE scandal: Greek government accuses EU prosecutor of playing politics

The Greek government launched a fierce counteroffensive following the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announcement that nine of the New Democracy officials under investigation had been cleared, while four others face misdemeanor charges in connection with the OPEKEPE agricultural payments agency case. The government is now hitting back at both the opposition and the EPPO itself, going so far as to imply that the institution engaged in political maneuvering. The charge was leveled by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself, who — in a statement demanding that his party’s name be cleared after opponents had labeled them a “government of defendants” — declared that the EPPO “appeared to become entangled in internal party rivalry.”

Read: Mitsotakis on OPEKEPE: “Honorable politicians were dragged through the mud for weeks — who will apologize for this disgrace?” — Sharp words for the European Public Prosecutor’s Office

Mitsotakis on OPEKEPE: Who will apologize for that disgrace?

Speaking at a meeting of the Government Council on Economic Policy on Thursday, July 16, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated: “The EPPO’s announcement brings to light the true scale and full truth of the OPEKEPE case. Thirteen New Democracy ministers and MPs were placed under scrutiny — nine have been proven completely innocent, and four more of our officials will be further examined on simple misdemeanor charges.” He continued: “I asked three ministers to resign as a matter of political sensitivity. Honorable politicians who were dragged through the mud for weeks, while some were calling us a ‘government of defendants.’ Today, who will apologize for that disgrace? This concerns both our country’s opposition, which has shown no respect for the presumption of innocence, and, regrettably, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, which appeared to become entangled in internal party rivalry.”

Voridis: “Careers are being put at risk through public shaming”

The opening salvo, fired by the Prime Minister himself, targeted both the EPPO and the opposition. The four officials still under investigation — Katerina Papakosta, Kostas Skrekas, Christos Boukoros, and Maximos Senetakis — have called for the inquiry to be pursued to its conclusion, while the government, through spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis, is demanding a public apology from the opposition parties. Marinakis specifically insisted that PASOK must apologize over the matter. Meanwhile, Makis Voridis, speaking on Parapolitika 90.1, also leveled sharp criticism at the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Voridis argued that “the misdemeanor charges against the four will collapse 100-0 in court,” and called on the opposition to “apologize for calling us defendants.” Commenting on the EPPO’s decision, he said: “Today, the two ministers covered by the Tycheropoulos report — zero damages. The two MPs, Athanasiou and Chatzivasiliou — cases dropped. Out of 11, seven cases dropped. We’re left with four. And there’s no felony charge.” He warned that “careers are being put at risk through this public shaming,” and challenged the opposition: “What does the opposition have to say to us now?” — adding that they “owe us an apology.”

Georgiadis: “A European institution has been playing political games”

Adonis Georgiadis published a lengthy post in which he recalled that he had always been convinced the cases were “laughable,” and stressed that, at this point, the government is effectively in the clear. He also referenced his past statements in which he had argued that all 11 cases deserved to be dropped, but that “the European Public Prosecutor’s Office would never be able to stomach that” — implying it would need to keep up appearances regarding its investigation. He went further, bluntly accusing the EPPO of playing politics instead of operating transparently, and calling on European authorities to take the matter seriously.

In his own words, Georgiadis stated: “Let us take stock of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office’s actions in the OPEKEPE case involving MPs of New Democracy. They brought us to Parliament to lift immunity for 13 people — we did so to leave no doubt in the public’s mind. Eleven were being investigated by the EPPO itself, and two by the ordinary justice system.

First act: the two handled by the Greek justice system (Chatzivasiliou and Athanasiou) had their cases dropped. That left eleven. Of those eleven, the EPPO itself today dropped seven cases and announced prosecution — at the misdemeanor level — for four.

I, the so-called ‘villain’ and ‘know-nothing,’ said from the very beginning that these cases were baseless and had no merit whatsoever, and that they were fabricated to pressure the Supreme Court’s Judicial Council into accepting the five-year unilateral renewal of the Greek delegated prosecutors’ mandates by Ms. Kovesi. Today we know that the EPPO itself deemed seven of those cases laughable, and is now searching for a misdemeanor charge to pin on the remaining four just to save face. Which is exactly what happened. I even called the numbers — as if I had made the decision myself.

I now tell you with the same certainty that all four will be acquitted triumphantly in court, because the cases are ABSURD. The only thing that must happen is that they be tried promptly, as the law we passed provides, and that we receive a judicial verdict as quickly as possible. After all four are acquitted, I am confident that the Supreme Court will do what is necessary to protect the rule of law in Greece, and that European authorities will seriously examine how they allowed an institution created to enhance transparency and oversight to play political games in a member state.

But that is a matter for the future.”

Hatzidakis: The European Public Prosecutor’s Office must exercise caution

“On matters that create a stir and can affect public life, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has a duty to exercise caution. No one is asking for any wrongdoing to be covered up. But equally, those conducting investigations must understand what they are doing and the consequences of their actions — consequences that affect not only personal dignity and family life, but also the political life of the country. This issue has a European dimension that goes beyond Greece and concerns all other EU member states.”

These were the remarks made by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis in an interview with television channel ONE, commenting on the clearing — by EPPO decision — of nine of the thirteen MPs whose parliamentary immunity had been lifted last April in connection with the OPEKEPE case, including three ministers who had resigned from their posts. “Of the remaining four,” he added, “three face misdemeanor charges in connection with damages to the state that were subsequently calculated at €7,200, while for the fourth, it has not yet been determined whether any harm to the public interest actually occurred.”

Hatzidakis emphasized that the opposition has also exposed itself through its conduct, noting that it exercised no restraint whatsoever. “The usual toxicity and hostility prevailed. There was no care taken with language. The opposition as a whole told us we were a government of defendants. I looked into it and found that since 2019 there have been 89 instances of parliamentary immunity being lifted — 22 of which involved New Democracy members, accounting for 24% of the total, despite New Democracy having the largest number of MPs. In the opposition, the figure is three times higher, involving both alleged misdemeanors and felonies. Could we not have said they were an ‘opposition of defendants’? We did not, because we are not like them. Unbridled fury is not what modern European democracy looks like. It is reminiscent of turbulent times — the period before the dictatorship.”