Greek Farmers to Receive Overdue Subsidies Next Week, Minister Says

Overdue cultivation subsidy payments, including those for integrated farming and beekeeping, volition statesman disbursing adjacent week, Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras has announced pursuing delays caused by the implementation of a new, stricter auditing system.

In a bid of media interviews, Mr. Tsiaras said the authorities is present applying rigorous cross-checks mandated by the European Commission to guarantee transparency and forestall the irregularities of the past.

"Payments cannot proceed without thorough and cross-checked audits," helium said, noting it was the archetypal clip specified controls were being applied.

The delays, helium explained, were mostly owed to invalid oregon missing spot recognition numbers connected astir 10% of applications.

The curate besides confirmed that compensation for farmers successful Thessaly impacted by Storm Daniel and for livestock breeders affected by the caller Bluetongue illness outbreak would travel shortly.

He dismissed rumors that €1.2 cardinal successful funds were owed to farmers, stating, "Such amounts bash not exist," and insisted that E.U. funds are not frozen.

Mr. Tsiaras said helium aims to implicit the bulk of payments by the extremity of the year.

The determination to a stricter strategy follows a large fraud ungraded astatine the erstwhile OPEKEPE payments agency, which is presently nether probe by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office. The authorities is moving to reconstruct spot successful the strategy and guarantee that funds are legally distributed.

Regarding the Bluetongue outbreak, Mr. Tsiaras said the ministry has deployed implicit 150 veterinarians and urged farmers to cooperate afloat with biosecurity measures.

"If we don’t each cooperate, we won’t beryllium capable to power the disease,” helium warned.