The majority of the parliamentary inquiry committee investigating OPEKEPE rejected the opposition’s request to summon Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Georgios Mylonakis, sparking a heated confrontation between the two sides. The ruling party’s rapporteur Makarios Lazaridis emphasized that while the majority has nothing to hide, they should not be led into a political trial “for the pleasure of those who want to criminalize the country’s political life.”
Rejecting the opposition’s requests to summon the prime minister and a series of ministers, including Georgios Mylonakis and Kyriakos Pierrakakis, Mr. Lazaridis spoke of an opposition pattern that “presses a button and demands Mitsotakis be called. The agricultural subsidies wound goes back more than 30 years. If you want Mitsotakis to come, why don’t you also request the other prime ministers?” he wondered, while noting that the aforementioned ministers have no connection to OPEKEPE, as they do not exercise supervision or administration of the Organization. However, he agreed with PASOK’s proposal that OPEKEPE officials should testify first.
PASOK’s rapporteur Milena Apostolaki emphasized an exclusion imposed by the majority, which sends a clear signal of an attempted cover-up of the OPEKEPE case. “New Democracy proposes to call Anastasios Lekkas and Georgios Seferiades to testify. I was informed that they are not among us, that they are… deceased. And the prime minister won’t be called?” she wondered, arguing that the prime minister “by irrefutable presumption, since Varras was his personal associate, was absolutely informed about the case and has institutional responsibility himself, therefore he must appear before the inquiry committee. He knew,” as she maintained, insisting on summoning Kyriakos Mitsotakis as well as the deputy minister to the prime minister.
Milena Apostolaki: How is it possible that Georgios Mylonakis won’t be examined regarding the OPEKEPE case?
“How is it possible that Georgios Mylonakis won’t be examined, when it’s obvious that explanations are owed? We observe a common thread of para-state operation. We experienced this with the wiretapping scandal, we’re experiencing it again now. How is it possible that Mr. Boukoros won’t be called? Mrs. Semertzidou? Xilouris and Stratakis?” noted Milena Apostolaki.
The opposition also insisted on summoning the prime minister and the deputy minister to the prime minister, with SYRIZA’s Vasilis Kokkalis stating that “Georgios Mylonakis knew about the telephone connections. He must come to the inquiry committee. ‘Frapes’, ‘Chasapis’ and Mrs. Semertzidou must also come,” he emphasized.
