Mitsotakis on OPEKEPE scandal: Special audit team formed – "I take responsibility on behalf of all who failed to reform the state"

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced the formation of a special audit task force to investigate the unjustified agricultural subsidies paid through the Greek Payment Authority of Common Agricultural Policy Aid Schemes (OPEKEPE). The task force will include members of the Financial Police and the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE).

“I expect swift results. We will investigate the cases thoroughly, in line with both national and EU law. Since OPEKEPE failed to carry out this responsibility, the central state will now step in,” the Prime Minister stated during a cabinet meeting.

Mitsotakis also made a bold political statement, assuming responsibility for the state’s long-standing inefficiencies:

“I will not hesitate to take responsibility – not only for the present but also on behalf of all those who governed and failed to reform a state that desperately needs change.”

He emphasized the need to abandon clientelist practices, asserting that public administration must be governed by a new political ethos. He added that the citizen-government relationship is being rebuilt through the gov.gr digital platform, which represents a cornerstone of his government's modernization efforts.

Regarding the OPEKEPE case, the Prime Minister acknowledged that similar issues exist in other European countries but stressed that the scale of the problem in Greece was larger, highlighting the state’s failure to function effectively.

“We tried to fix it, but we couldn’t fully restore it,” he admitted.

Mitsotakis rejected calls for political score-settling or mutual blame, saying:

“We cannot fall into the trap of political trade-offs. Citizens elected us to correct long-standing injustices. They demand a new model of political conduct.”

He concluded by affirming Greece’s cooperation with EU institutions to modernize the agricultural subsidy system.