Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis replaced several officials on Friday after several resignations linked to the growing farm payments scandal.
Investigators allege that the lawmakers tried to illegally obtain subsidies from the European Union to benefit their voter base.
What is the political importance?
Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras and Civil Protection Minister Yiannis Kefalogiannis both stood up, as did Deputy Health Minister Dimitris Vartzopoulos. All three denied any wrongdoing and said their resignations were aimed at facilitating the investigation.
His replacement included the appointment of former European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas as Greece’s new Agriculture Minister.
Opposition parties have rejected the reshuffle and renewed calls for early elections, warning that the crisis could undermine political stability ahead of elections scheduled for next year.
Mitsotakis, who was not in power when the fraud began, has vowed to jail the “thieves” responsible and reclaim the money from those who benefited.
The case is complicated by Greece’s legal framework, under which ministers can only be prosecuted if Parliament lifts their immunity – a process that is often blocked by the governing majority.
This is the second wave of resignations related to the scam after five senior officials resigned last year.
What is the Greek agricultural subsidy scam?
Investigators cited alleged crimes that included breach of trust, computer fraud and making false declarations to obtain unlawful benefits.
The investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has now expanded to at least 20 members of the ruling New Democracy party, including current and former legislators.
The EPPO first released details of the scam last May. It accused aid beneficiaries of making claims to land that did not belong to them and of inflating livestock numbers.
Authorities say the scheme may have involved €23 million (about $26.5 million) in fraudulent payments since 2018. Plans that have been doubted include banana plantations on Mount Olympus, olive groves at a military air base and pastures at an archaeological site.
Most of the fraudulent subsidies were diverted to the island of Crete, where the family of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has held political influence for more than a century. Official figures show that about 80% of the subsidies for pastures awarded from 2017 to 2020 went to Crete. While the number of livestock farmers is declining in Greece, almost 13,000 new farmers were registered in Crete between 2019 and 2025. The number of declawed sheep and goats doubled in the same time frame.
Previous investigations and police actions have already resulted in arrests and fines related to subsidiary mismanagement.
Edited by: Shawn Sinico