SYRIZA – Progressive Alliance submitted a request to the Ministry of Rural Development and Food demanding that it immediately present to the Commission of Inquiry all the data on the livestock rates and them quantities of milk delivered per Regional Unit, from 2015 until today.

As SYRIZA comments, New Democracy is attempting to bury a case involving fictitious declarations, false herds and illegal subsidies of millions of euros. From 2019 to 2022, the “blue” administration of OPEKEPE inflated numbers, favoring mothers and harming honest farmers and breeders.

It is recalled that, under the SYRIZA government, by Joint Ministerial Decision, all producers of sheep and goat milk were required to obtain an electronic approval code from ELGO-DIMITRA and to submit quarterly statements of milk deliveries to the ARTEMIS application, even if they themselves process all and/or part of the milk of their livestock farm.

SYRIZA-PS clearly states: the cover-up is over. The political responsibilities of the Mitsotakis government for the glut of European funds will not remain in the dark. We demand full transparency and accountability for those who cheated the farming world.

SYRIZA’s request in detail

To the President of the Examining Committee

“for the investigation of all the issues that have arisen regarding the operation of the Organization for Payments and Control of Community Aid Guidance and Guarantees (OPEKEPE), with a view to highlighting any responsibilities and restoring the reliability of the agricultural aid payment system, so that it is a reliable, efficient and fair mechanism for all the country’s producers”, Mr. Nikolakopoulos Andreas

AITHMA
The members of the examination committee

Kokkali Vassiliou (Rapporteur SYRIZA PS)
Alexander Meikopoulos
Constantine’s boat

Communicated to the members of the examination committee

SUBJECT: “Request for the Ministry of Agricultural Development & Food to provide all the data showing the percentages of livestock and the amount of milk delivered per Regional Unit for the years 2015 to date”

within the framework of the competences of the investigative committee under Articles 146 and 147 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, as well as of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the committee has the right to request the production of documents, the attendance and testimony of witnesses, as well as oral and written information from public authorities, from legal entities of public or private law, as well as from ordinary citizens.

In this case, the task of the present constituted investigation committee is to investigate data on the pathologies in general and the unreliability of the payments carried out by OPEKEPE, with the aim of restoring them.

In the context of the generally chronic dysfunction, the reports of the witnesses to the committee to date must be the subject of investigation, as well as the data concerning the excessive increase in livestock observed in the period 2019 to 2022 and linked to the fact that a significant number of people falsely presented themselves as young or new farmers, owners or mainly tenants of large areas of pasture, with the aim of obtaining aid rights from the national reserve.

In particular, the explosion of fictitious numbers in animals, is observed in the year 2019, and indeed in some areas of the country which is allegedly fictitious. In the following years, until 2024, beneficiaries allegedly submitted false declarations of livestock and requested the availability of the corresponding public land to activate and maintain their rights and grant them larger subsidies.

It is noted that the census of the number, by species and category, of the sheep and goats of a livestock farm, in accordance with the provisions of KYA 263493/2004 (Government Gazette B΄ 1253), as amended and valid, is done by submitting the Register of Sheep and Goat Farms by the breeders to the Veterinary Services of the Regional Units, in the months of November and December. This census has been recorded electronically in the Veterinary Database of the Ministry of Rural Development and Food since 2013 and is taken into account for the allocation of public pastures to farmers and for the payment of EU subsidies since 2015. In fact, since 2015, farmers have also been given the opportunity to submit the census of sheep and goats them electronically (via the website https://e-services.minagric.gr/), without having to come to the Veterinary Services of the Regional Units.

In addition, according to KYA 838/51008/2019 (Government Gazette B’ 964) “Milk market control measures”, all sheep and goat milk producers are required to obtain an electronic approval code from ELGO-DIMITRA and submit quarterly milk delivery statements to the ARTEMIS application, even if they themselves process all and/or part of their milk their livestock exploitation. In addition, in accordance with YA 1629/64708/2017 (Government Gazette B΄ 2127) and YA 270/170279/2023 (Government Gazette B΄ 3702) for the “Determining details of the granting of the linked aid in the sheep and goat meat sector” as amended and in force, for goat and sheep farmers to receive the union subsidy of the linked support in the sector of sheep and goat meat must declare the produced quantities of sheep and goat milk to ELGO-DIMITRA and in order to calculate the eligible sheep and goats that will be subsidized in the linked support, the minimum ratio of quantity of milk – number of eligible sheep and/or goats is taken into account, which must be 100:1.

Because the alleged fraudulent allocation of payment entitlements from the national reserve has harmed honest farmers and ranchers.

Because, in order to highlight any responsibilities and restore the credibility of the payment system for agricultural aid, all the pathologies of OPEKEPE over time must be investigated, and undoubtedly all the “suspicious” payments of OPEKEPE, including the ones mentioned, since the case file is already expected from the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Because Thessaly, Central Macedonia and other regions of Mainland and Insular Greece suffered significant financial losses from the waste of EU subsidies, which are linked to pastures, and this fact should be taken into account by the Government, in order to restore this injustice, especially at this time when our livestock farmers are seriously affected by goat and sheep pox.

Because, carrying out the work and drawing up the findings of the members of the investigation committee of all parties, without the evaluation of the above elements, which will highlight an already looming scandal with fraud against the interests of the EU, will be insufficient and incomplete, and in any case unsafe, especially in the part of the acts and omissions of management officials and politicians, which causally contributed to the creation of pathologies in the agricultural aid payment system.

WE ASK

As granted by the Ministry of Agricultural Development & Food all the necessary data that demonstrate the percentages of livestock, in which livestock there is and the distinction of female goats and sheep above the year and under the year respectively, but also the delivered quantity of milk per Regional Unit for the years 2015 to date.

WITH PRICE