In an ambiance of aggravated tension, today’s gathering of the Plenary Session of the Parliament for the treatment and determination connected the requests for waiver of immunity of 13 members of the Southwestern Party who are referred to the 2 caller files of the European Prosecutor’s Office connected the lawsuit of OPEKEPE.
The statement is scheduled to statesman astatine 12 noon, and the MEPs volition reportedly inquire to talk and reiterate what they argued successful the Ethics Committee.
They volition speech astir the substance of the lawsuit that concerns them, contiguous the facts and reason that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office indictment is flawed arsenic it is based connected fallacious conclusions astir some their transgression engagement and the appraisal of fiscal loss.
At the aforesaid time, they volition telephone connected the different MEPs to ballot successful favour of the withdrawal to assertion their innocence earlier the earthy judge, arsenic different determination is simply a hazard that a connection of cover-up volition beryllium sent out, careless of whether the indictment against them is, arsenic they claim, patently perforated.
What prevented the wide guerrilla
The spontaneous petition of the 13 referred to successful the 2 abstracted indictments appears to person played a catalytic relation successful turning the tide wrong the bluish CO and averting a wide guerrilla enactment by dozens of MPs who were gearing up to ballot against each oregon astir of the prosecution’s requests.
The contacts made successful the past hours by Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis and the caput of the bluish party’s CO Maximos Charakopoulos with persons who were considered “suspected” of differentiation besides had a fire-fighting effect.
However, sources from the bulk campy reason that what would wholly equilibrium the clime successful the interior enactment would beryllium a nationalist connection by the authorities that nary of the radical progressive – existent oregon aboriginal – volition beryllium excluded from the ballot papers without a last conviction, particularly if the alleged offences are of a misdemeanour nature. This issue, however, appears to beryllium deferred to the upcoming important gathering of the CO astatine the extremity of the month.
The suspects
However, determination are cases of ND MPs, specified arsenic that of Makis Voridis, who are considering differentiating themselves based connected their ineligible disagreement with the logic of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, though astatine the important time, they volition instrumentality into relationship the wishes of their 13 colleagues. Based connected the wishes of the persons mentioned, who volition yet vote, Mr Adonis Georgiades insists, however, that the grounds is not sufficient.
At the aforesaid time, George Vlachos and Stratos Simopoulos enactment that they privation to perceive the positions of colleagues and past volition formulate an wide sentiment portion immoderate disagree with the ineligible rationale but bash not privation to travel to a interruption with the Prime Minister, specified arsenic Stelios Petsas, the way of abstention is opened for immoderate of them. Finally, it should beryllium noted that galore of the 13 MPs mentioned are besides oriented to abstain from voting altogether.
The procedure
Today’s process provides for 2 rounds of statement connected arsenic galore arsenic the files requesting the waiver of immunity of 11+2 MPs.
In the archetypal phase, the pursuing volition instrumentality the floor: K. Papakosta, K. Karamanlis, I. Kefalogiannis, K. Skrekas, L. Vassiliadis, K. Tsiaras, D. Varztopoulos, M. Senetakis, Th. Leontaridis, Chr. Boukoros and N. Mitarakis, and past parliamentary representatives oregon governmental leaders from each the parties volition instrumentality the level to travel a akin process for the removal of the X. Athanasiou and T. Hadjivassiliou. The last determination connected each of the 13 cases volition beryllium taken by the members of the nationalist delegation by electronic, roll-call, and unfastened vote. A elemental bulk of the Members contiguous is capable to assistance immunity.
Background
The 2nd signifier of the OPEKEPE lawsuit (the archetypal was successful June 2025 with the lawsuit against Voridis – Avgenakis) emerged successful the nationalist sphere 22 days agone with the announcement by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office 22 days agone that it is forwarding caller lawsuit files to the Parliament.
A full of 14 sitting members of the authorities bulk and different “blue” erstwhile curate (Sp. Livanos) were astatine the centre of the case, with the fig of those progressive reinforcing the consciousness of a wider ungraded that threatens to overturn the established governmental correlations and creates the request for deeper organization breakthroughs.
However, today, pursuing the sending of the files to parliament and a thorough introspection of their contents, a clearer representation is emerging. The accusation included allows for calm but meaningful assessments of some the ineligible inheritance and the real, governmental implications of the case.
As is wide from the uncovering report, which runs to much than 120 pages, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office did not take the way of simply signaling and documenting the facts. It chiefly proceeds to assessments, interpretations and conclusions astir conversations betwixt MPs oregon their associates with the OPEKEPE administration. These conversations day backmost to 2021 but were lone processed successful the past fewer months. Early reports claimed that this worldly was primitively filed arsenic having debased transgression value.
In caller days, however, prosecution sources person attempted to propulsion the shot of blasted astatine the Internal Affairs section of the ELAS, which carries retired the ineligible link-ups, claiming that it had forgotten successful its cabinets astir 120-140 CDs with recorded conversations oregon that it was sorting done cases.
Vartzopoulos’ “Can it beryllium done?” and the no-fault record connected Athanasiou – Hadjivassiliou
In immoderate case, the manipulations of the Greek subdivision of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office notation to a “salamization” of the wide file, arsenic 4 files person already been transmitted to the Parliament, portion a continuation is announced. At the aforesaid time, ineligible experts with cognition of the documentation talk of a “bagging” of disparate cases that contiguous immense discrepancies successful presumption of their transgression inheritance and existent fiscal damage. They accidental that the lawsuit of Katerina Papakosta seems so aggravating successful presumption of substance (i.e. forgery) and the magnitude of harm caused (142,000 euros).
On the other broadside is the lawsuit of Dimitris Vartzopoulos arsenic the prosecution “criminalizes” the operation “whatever documents you request astatine your disposal. Can it beryllium done?” written by the erstwhile minister, accompanying the forwarding of a producer’s request. According to the audit authority, the operation demonstrates “that they knew that the record was empty/illegal and were requesting its extra-institutional, ‘after-the-fact’ regularisation”, however, the survey of the record does not supply immoderate substantiation of the claim. The cases of Tasos Hadjivassiliou and Charalambos Athanasiou are besides characteristic, and this is due to the fact that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office referred them to the European Court of Justice without attributing an offence to them, arsenic the petition they had forwarded was ne'er implemented.
The considerations and the pattern
However, experienced ineligible experts estimation that astir of the cases volition not adjacent spell to the courtroom arsenic the files volition beryllium dismissed arsenic unfounded during the pre-trial proceedings. However, for that to happen, the plenary league would person to o.k. today’s 13 prosecution requests. The different lawsuit record connected erstwhile Rural Development Minister Spilios Livanos and Deputy Minister Fotini Arabatzi follows the process of Article 86 of the Constitution and the Law connected the Responsibility of Ministers, which means that they tin lone beryllium examined by a preliminary probe committee. According to reports, if determination is simply a petition from the opposition, the authorities bulk volition o.k. it truthful that, done fast-track procedures, the 2 officials tin beryllium referred for further proceedings to the Judicial Council.
In immoderate case, the series of events arsenic recorded successful the multi-page worldly of the lawsuit record outlines a familiar, long-standing, and distorted signifier that characterizes galore aspects of the Greek state. Producers judge that they person been wronged successful the calculation of the magnitude of the subsidy to which they are entitled for assorted reasons, either due to the fact that the competent services did not correctly number their onshore oregon livestock (i.e. outer and integer signaling systems are not astatine slightest afloat operational), oregon due to the fact that of the mediocre processing of their applications by backstage centres for the reception of declarations (RRCs), oregon due to the fact that checks person so revealed irregularities.
However, alternatively of going to a section instrumentality firm, they edifice to the section MP to lick their problem. For their part, the MPs look to straight guardant the citizens’ requests arsenic they are a imaginable electoral clientele without being definite whether they cognize that satisfying them is amerciable oregon not.
The oxen of Papakosta
There are for illustration cases specified arsenic Katerina Papakosta wherever it is intelligibly evident that she not lone knew but pressured to change the record of a shaper who portion claiming to ain 70 oxen was recovered to person 58 during an on-site inspection. In bid to forestall the husbandman from being excluded from the subsidy strategy and charged the applicable fine, the Member of Parliament appears to beryllium coordinating an cognition of amerciable involution successful the computerised veterinary database truthful that the yearly declaration could beryllium ‘corrected’.
“Mr. Z. (a veterinary surgeon) went successful and corrected the day truthful that it would look that the simplification of animals was done earlier the audit. So if it was so done, that means determination was nary crushed to object. I conscionable constituent retired to you that due to the fact that helium is simply a precise important person, and we person assured him 99.9%,” appears to accidental to D. Mela. But portion Papakosta’s lawsuit seems powerfully aggravating arsenic to the imaginable committee of an offence, the prosecution appears “inflationary” successful its calculation of damages.
While the MP’s involution concerns lone 1 circumstantial yearly exertion for a subsidy, the auditing authorities, without evident documentation, adhd up each the amounts received by the shaper and the pursuing years until 2024, turning the offence into a felony.
“Malliaras case” for Karamanlis – Lebanon
The lawsuit involving Kostas Ach. Karamanlis and the erstwhile Minister of Rural Development Spilios Livanos successful the files of the European Prosecutor’s Office and adjacent with offences of a felony quality is known successful the Serres portion arsenic the “Malliaras file”.
George Malliaras, is an agronomist decorator who operates a Declaration Reception Centre (RRC) successful the portion of bluish Greece. RRCs are backstage offices that undertake connected behalf of clients – farmers and livestock farmers – to cod the indispensable documents and taxable applications to OPEKEPE for the postulation of subsidies. 37 producers turned to this centre asking to beryllium included successful “Measure 11” concerning integrated livestock farming successful bid to person subsidies ranging from 1,186.75 euros to 20,882.79 euros each.
However, their applications were rejected by the bureau not arsenic incomplete but arsenic retired of time, though the applicants look to person submitted their documents connected time. In searching to find the crushed for rejection they recovered that the CID had temporarily suspended operations owed to an exceptional and superior occupation faced by the owner. Mr Malliaras himself precocious stated that “this precocious submission and the consequent rejection of the payments was owed to existent and proven successful penning unit majeure, owed to a superior wellness occupation of my own, with urgent country and unavoidable treatments that occurred during the minimum delayed play of a fewer days successful question, which I did not wish, but americium forced nether the circumstances, to marque public.”
At that time, the 37 producers, seeking a solution to a occupation they felt they had not caused themselves but which would person caused them fiscal loss, look to person gone to the bureau of their section MP and from determination their petition was forwarded to the applicable ministry. According to the grounds successful the file, determination was nary speech betwixt Mr Karamanlis oregon his associate. What does beryllium are communications betwixt the past Minister’s seconded associates Spilios Livanos and officials of the OPEKEPE successful which determination is speech of the ‘Malliaras case’ which they nexus to the Karamanlis office. However, nary contiguous solution to the occupation was recovered and the 37 were suggested to taxable a hierarchical appeal, pointing retired the crushed of “force majeure” that made their archetypal declarations retired of time.
Eventually, the entreaty was granted, and the producers were paid arsenic had happened successful the erstwhile 2 years. On the different hand, however, prosecutors focusing connected the conversations recorded by the ineligible “bug” springiness a antithetic mentation of the events. They property “persuasive inducements”, “unprecedented organization collusion” and “onerous governmental orders” that forced the past president of OPEKEPE, Dimitris Melas, to o.k. the hierarchical entreaty and the amerciable payments which cumulatively magnitude to 224,686.58 euros, elevating the offence for the 2 governmental figures to a felony.
The “greening” of Tsiaras
Another lawsuit wherever the immunity of an MP is being requested to beryllium lifted not due to the fact that of his idiosyncratic conversations but of his associates, is that of Kostas Tsiaras. The record of the erstwhile Rural Development Minister is characterized arsenic having a precise debased to non-existent transgression assessment, arsenic it is not related to amerciable subsidies and misappropriation of European funds. As helium has publically stated, a workfellow of his bureau attempted to mediate to woody with a lawsuit of a shaper who was astatine hazard of a good of lone 190 euros owed to earthworks carried retired astatine that clip by the Region of Thessaly for the harm caused by “Janos” and affected his property.
His pasture had been included successful the subsidized “greening” strategy and had to beryllium cleanable and short-mowed. However, an on-site inspection by the bureau identified that portion of its embankments was damaged owed to enactment being carried retired connected an adjacent stream, owed to earthy disasters. After involution by the Tsiaras office, the determination bureau of the OPEKEPE spoke to the cardinal office, wherever they were advised to usher the shaper truthful that helium successful turn, could bespeak different parcel of onshore that could beryllium included successful the “greening” scheme.
Eventually the husbandman cleared the archetypal 1.4-acre parcel of onshore with his ain resources truthful that helium would not person immoderate further problems and fines. Mr. Tsiaras commenting connected the decision of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses the authors of “complete ignorance” and explains “The lawsuit record accuses maine of incitement for an magnitude of 22,900 euros. But is that so? The reply is this: this is each the wealth that this husbandman received from each the crops, for each the types of subsidies and for each the parcels of onshore helium had. Not successful this case. This lawsuit refers to thing circumstantial that by regulation, is an autarkic subsidy. The full subsidy that this peculiar shaper received for greening is EUR 2 970. The wealth that would person been deducted if this peculiar parcel was problematic is 190 euros for 1 and 429 euros if it was for each three.”
The seeds that burned Skreka
The sub-file concerning Kostas Skreka includes nonstop conversations with D. Melas, the contented of which – and specifically the notation to “handy” involution – seems to person “burned” him, though it is not definite whether his engagement is owed to impressions oregon whether determination is so incriminating evidence.
As, helium claimed his involution was for a husbandman who had submitted a petition for attraction with each the documents to OPEKEPE, arsenic the agronomist-consultant did not registry each the crops (seed varieties) successful the strategy and arsenic a result, helium was excluded from the coupled assistance scheme. The erstwhile ND caput past called the medication of the bureau to o.k. the petition arsenic the applicable invoices beryllium the reality. For his part, D. Melas appears consenting to accommodate him, sells expropriation, and becomes “inflationary” arsenic to the arduous effort helium volition marque to “run” the petition arsenic different speech reveals that helium himself has asked for different favour from Mr. Skreka who was past Minister of Environment and Energy.
Requests by rotation and the Mitarakis-Bukorou involvement
The contented of the documents besides shows that galore producers, successful bid to lick their problems with OPEKEPE, brought their petition to astir each the offices of the politicians successful their constituency. For example, a mates of young farmers of Magnesia asked for a solution to their occupation not lone from the section MP Christos Boukoros but besides from the erstwhile MP Thanasis Loupis, truthful that contiguous some of them are involved.
This peculiar lawsuit seems to beryllium to the class of cases wherever the beneficiary producers woody with their narration with nationalist services sloppily and frivolously. In this case, a mates of young farmers were excluded from the method solution and nationalist reserve allocation strategy erstwhile successful precocious 2020 the past Minister of Rural Development Spilios Livanos issued a decree that threw retired of the outgo strategy those producers who had antecedently declared pastures with backstage leases.
Indeed, the mates successful question leased the spot from their grandfather, but successful the process, erstwhile helium passed away, they inherited it. However, the authoritative transportation of the spot was delayed and alternatively of appearing successful the OPEKEPE strategy arsenic the existent owners, they chose to articulation the method solution. When this ceremonial omission yet outgo them, they turned archetypal to their distant comparative Christos Boukoros and to Thanasis Loupis, besides a section MP astatine the time.
In their turn, arsenic is evident from the conversations, they called the past president of OPEKEPE truthful that a solution could beryllium found. Their action, according to the European prosecution, constitutes an involution that acted arsenic a catalyst for the young farmers’ mates to “illegally” person the subsidy. On the different hand, however, Boukorou’s situation notes that the colony of the lawsuit was owed to a horizontal regularisation brought by the competent ministry astatine the time, which caught much than 1,000 farmers facing akin ceremonial problems.
Similarly, a livestock husbandman of Chios, erstwhile helium recovered that the OPEKEPE services miscalculated the country of his pasture, resulting successful a smaller magnitude of subsidy, resorted to the bureau of the island’s vigor deputy, Donis Mitarakis, and that of the erstwhile Kostas Mousouroulis. It is simply a communal concealed that governmental offices of each hue, not lone successful the portion but besides successful the basin, are for galore radical thing similar work centres. The shaper presented a survey by an agronomist-forester, which documented the mistake of the enactment and the injustice caused to him portion the recipients forwarded it straight to OPEKEPE.
Especially for Mr. Mitarakis determination is nary recorded speech oregon sms of him oregon his associate.
Third enactment sms
According to the decision of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, determination is nary nonstop dialog of the MP of Pella, Lakis Vassiliadis. The MP appears successful a third-party substance connection to the President of OPEKEPE D. Melas with the pursuing content: “from Vassiliadis Lakis P.S. (i.e., sanction of breeder) VAT No. … FOR ANIMAL CHECK ON ANIMALS TO GO BACK”. However, according to reliable information, the lawsuit for which the MP’s immunity is requested to beryllium lifted did not person a blessed ending for the breeder. The audit was yet carried out, the shaper did not person the subsidy of astir EUR 2 500 that helium was seeking, and the bureau imposed a fine.
Another lawsuit that makes an content from the contented of the dialogues and particularly from D. Mela’s answers is the 1 involving Mr. Maximo Senetakis. The Heraklion MP intervenes to judge a farmer’s amended declaration, and alternatively of 330 sheep that helium had primitively declared to beryllium registered successful the 240 organisation, to warrant the corresponding magnitude of beverage helium would person produced. Melas archetypal states that the administrative modification model is present done electronically and not manually, to past adhd “Now it’s a spot difficult… It’s collateral harm to them, but anyway, nonstop it to maine and spot if I tin get it successful somehow…. Because it’s going in, you know, ram it in.”
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