Intervention by MP Zeybek on the surge of private pasture declarations in specific regions

Hüseyin Zeybek, MP for Xanthi and Head of Rural Development for the New Left party, submitted a parliamentary question concerning the dramatic and unexplained increase in declared eligible areas of private pastures in certain Greek regions. He calls for transparency and scrutiny, citing inefficiencies in current oversight mechanisms and requesting detailed data on any tax numbers (AFMs) that were blocked or excluded from receiving aid.

Based on official data from the Greek Payment and Control Agency for Guidance and Guarantee Community Aid (OPEKEPE), Zeybek highlights a staggering increase in eligible private pastureland in regions like Crete within a short timeframe. Specifically, the eligible pasture area in Crete rose from 8,000 hectares in 2017 to 105,000 hectares by 2020, with 93,000 hectares lacking any livestock presence.

Zeybek warns that this spike, especially in land lacking livestock, raises concerns about ownership verification and potential abuse of the eligibility criteria for EU subsidy entitlements drawn from the National Reserve. According to his statement, there has been a fivefold increase in entitlement value via pasture declarations in Crete within just two years.

The MP further criticizes the lack of published consolidated results from OPEKEPE’s cross-check audits on the 2020 Single Aid Application. He argues that the suspicious growth in declared areas continued unchecked.

In his formal inquiry to the Ministers of Rural Development & Food, National Economy & Finance, and Environment & Energy, Zeybek poses the following questions:

1. What explains the explosive growth in eligible private pasture areas between 2017 and 2020?
2. What were the results of OPEKEPE’s audits during that period? How many declarations were found to be inaccurate or annulled, and how many entitlements were withheld or revoked due to irregularities?
3. What did the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) find in its 2020 cross-checks via land parcel ID numbers (ATAK)? How many AFMs declared land they did not own, or had inconsistencies in land ownership records?
4. How many AFMs or entitlements were suspended or excluded from 2020 payments due to these findings? Are there data on criminal or administrative penalties issued?
5. What were the results of cross-referencing declared owned or leased plots with databases from the Ministry of Environment and Energy regarding public land?
6. How many payments were initially blocked due to audit findings but eventually released later, and what was the total amount paid in such cases?

Zeybek’s intervention underscores growing concerns over transparency, fairness, and resource allocation in Greece’s agricultural subsidy system, especially in light of potential systemic abuse.