GREECE – EU. The European Commission approved a good of approx. 415 cardinal euros against Greece owed to irregularities successful the system of organisation of cultivation subsidies done OPECPEPE.
The sanctions concern, archetypal of all, insufficient power implicit the organisation of fundsrather than straight identified fraudulent activities of idiosyncratic subsidy recipients. In fact, we are talking astir systemic failures successful the medication of European funds.
What is known astir the fine
According to sources, the bulk of the magnitude is astir €392.2 million – associated with violations successful the organisation of nonstop cultivation payments. The identified problems subordinate to the play earlier 2023.
The probe was initiated, among different things, based connected information European Prosecutor’s Officewhich studied cases of imaginable payments of funds to persons not entitled to them.
New checks
In parallel with this, further inspections person been launched that will impact subsequent years, arsenic well arsenic the activities of the updated OPECPEPE leadership, which is under the power of Ανεξάρτητη Αρχή Δημοσίων Εσόδων (AADE).
It is expected that the results of these reviews whitethorn power aboriginal decisions by European authorities regarding funding.
Political reaction
Against the inheritance of the determination of the European Commission, absorption forces person already made statements astir the request to analyse imaginable abuses and the work of officials.
In particular, representatives ΣΥΡΙΖΑ-ΠΣ stated that there are further issues regarding declaration absorption successful Ministry of Rural Development and Foodincluding an accusation system task costing approx. 651 thousand euros.
At this time, the government’s authoritative presumption connected the caller charges remains limited, and further developments are expected arsenic inquiries are carried out.
What does this mean
The fiscal load of the good ultimately falls connected the state budgetwhich strengthens the nationalist statement astir the transparency of the organisation of funds and the effectiveness of power implicit European programs.
The situation astir OPECPE whitethorn go 1 of the cardinal cases successful the contented of managing European funds successful Greece successful the coming years.
Editorial comment
The situation astir the EU good of 415 cardinal euros erstwhile again raises a achy contented for Greek society: who is ultimately liable for the failures successful the organisation of European funds.
Formally, sanctions subordinate to insufficient power by the state, but successful signifier an evident imbalance arises: financial consequences travel rapidly and autumn connected the budget, while establishing idiosyncratic liability takes clip and does not ever pb to afloat compensation for damage.
This is what forms a stable nationalist perception, successful which errors oregon abuses successful the funds absorption system are paid for by each taxpayers, careless of their information successful what is happening.
This is not the archetypal clip such incidents person occurred.and each clip they are accompanied by akin dynamics: lengthy investigations, partial reimbursement of funds and a constricted ellipse of persons held accountable. This increases distrust successful the effectiveness of power and absorption transparency.
Additional tension is created by the information that funds for paying sanctions are generated from the state budgetwhich whitethorn ultimately impact the tax load and authorities spending.
The cardinal question remains open: will the system beryllium capable not lone to grounds violations astatine the organization level, but besides to guarantee real, and not formal, work for specific individuals progressive successful decision-making, particularly if they were “their ain people?”
Without this, immoderate fiscal sanctions tally the hazard of being perceived by society not arsenic a tool for correcting the system, but arsenic a redistribution of work towards citizens.
Greek (GR) · 
English (US) ·