Greece - June 2025

A scandal over the misuse of EU agricultural subsidies has rocked Greece, with the European Commission on 11 June imposing a record fine of EUR 392.2 million and reducing agricultural subsidies by five per cent. The Commission cited oversight failures by the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aids (OPEKEPE), which failed to monitor fraudulent claims for fictitious livestock and crops and how hundreds of millions in funds were distributed. On 19 June, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) submitted evidence to the Greek Parliament—authorised to investigate and prosecute current or former government members—alleging the involvement of two former ministers. The fine came amid an ongoing investigation, including May raids in Athens and Crete by the EPPO. Authorities have since dissolved OPEKEPE. The scandal triggered senior resignations, prompting Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to acknowledge systemic failures and pledge stronger anti-corruption efforts.

Update: On 29 July, the Parliament approved a government proposal to establish a committee to investigate OPEKEPE’s broader oversight failures, past mismanagement and possible political complicity. 

Sources: European Public Prosecutor’s Office (1), European Public Prosecutor’s Office (2), eKathimerini, EU Insider, Deutsche Welle, Associated Press, Neos Kosmos, Reuters

On 24 June, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in the case of Sagir and Others v. Greece that the Greek authorities’ refusal to register the Cultural Association of Turkish Women of the Prefecture of Xanthi violated Article 11 on freedom of association and assembly of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court stated that Greek courts should permit the case to be reopened if the applicants request it, and ordered authorities to pay each of the applicants EUR 3,000, and EUR 4,677 jointly for costs. In 2010, the association was denied registration by the Xanthi Court of First Instance, which argued that its name—referring to members as ‘Turkish’ rather than “Muslim Greeks”—could cause confusion about its identity. The ECtHR found that the refusal sought to differentiate between the recognized Muslim minority and the unrecognized Turkish one, but lacked justification based on public order or any pressing social need. 

Sources: European Court of Human Rights (1), European Court of Human Rights (2), eKathimerini