ATHENS – Greece’s Parliament on April 22 will vote on lifting the immunity of 13 lawmakers, a move demanded by European and Greek prosecutors investigating a multi-million EU farm scandal that is rocking the conservative government.
Politicians belonging to the New Democracy ruling party have been increasingly ensnared in the scandal.
Overall, the EU’s European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has announced probes into 20 New Democracy members, including active and former lawmakers.
Those under investigation are reportedly cited in legal wiretaps, allegedly discussing the cases of specific farmers and frequently attempting to intervene on their behalf.
All those involved deny improper acts, and have called for their immunity to be lifted, insisting they will clear their name in court.
Many say their involvement in the cases of their constituents is part of their duties as lawmakers.
“The role of a member of parliament is to take an interest in the citizen and, of course, to intervene in matters that cannot be resolved under the existing legislation,” former agriculture minister Costas Tsiaras, who was among those to resign in April, told state TV ERT on April 21.
According to Greek authorities, the network defrauded at least €23 million (S$40.3 million) since it started around 2018.
Several ministers have resigned in the course of the investigation, including three in April, prompting a government reshuffle.
The EPPO has said the investigation concerns “instigation of breach of trust, computer fraud and false attestation with the intent to obtain for another an unlawful benefit”.
Ministers cannot be independently prosecuted by Greek courts. Any probe must first pass through Parliament in a cumbersome process that is frequently blocked by the government’s majority lawmakers.
Greek police in 2025 made dozens of non-political arrests over the scandal.
Some government members have hit back at the investigation as politically motivated, criticising frequent leaks in the press.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis weighed in on April 19, noting on Facebook that the EPPO “is still taking its first steps” and had “to prove its objectivity and that it can do its job properly. By avoiding selective leaks and staying away from any involvement in domestic political competition.”
EPPO first detailed the scam in May 2025, accusing subsidy beneficiaries of making claims for land that they did not own and exaggerating the number of animals on farms. Some people receiving payments had no link to agriculture.
The scheme started after the EU’s common agricultural policy began calculating subsidies based on land instead of livestock in 2014.
The incomplete land registry at the time made ownership across much of Greece unclear. Farmers were therefore allowed to declare land owned elsewhere in the country to claim subsidies.
Mr Mitsotakis, who notes the fraud began before he came to power in 2019, has vowed to imprison the “thieves” responsible and to reclaim the funds.
Elections are scheduled in Greece for 2027. Mr Mitsotakis’s party leads in opinion polls, but is not expected to secure an absolute majority. AFP