The process through which checks will be carried out to detect illegal subsidies and recover misused funds was outlined by the Minister of Rural Development, Kostas Tsiaras, during an interview with ERT News on Tuesday morning (July 2, 2025). According to Tsiaras, the main priority in the OPEKEPE case is ‘how we can recover the money that has been wrongfully received.’
He explained that there will be inter-ministerial cooperation to retrieve these funds, stating that this is the primary objective. ‘A coordinated effort involving various ministries such as the Ministry of Citizen Protection, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Rural Development will be implemented to identify all individuals who have illegally received funds and ensure their prompt return,’ he added.
Tsiaras emphasized that a provision currently under consultation with customs law gives the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) the ability to collect data from OPEKEPE for cross-verification. He also mentioned that ongoing meetings are taking place with stakeholders to finalize the full procedure. ‘The recovery process is already provided for under both national and EU legislation. It will begin immediately, and visible results will emerge soon. The complete process will be made public in the coming days, and all involved parties will be identified — if there are more, they will come to light through investigation.’
Regarding monitoring pastures and livestock, Tsiaras noted: ‘Looking back, we saw double-bookkeeping in the 1990s due to the lack of systems to record activity. Now, thanks to satellite monitoring, cultivated land and crop production — both in the fields and those delivered — can be accurately tracked. Agriculture can now be monitored effectively.’
He further highlighted the importance of real-time data when discussing livestock management. ‘One major gap was the absence of pastureland maps — a long-standing issue due to the lack of cadastre and forest maps. Today, we must base our controls on actual data: whether a farmer delivers milk, provides animals for slaughter, or issues invoices for animal feed. There are reliable safeguards in place to ensure the effectiveness of the inspection system.’