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Sunday - June 29 - 2025
High-profile minister resigns over OPEKEPE scandal
eKathimerini.com
High-profile minister resigns over OPEKEPE scandal
[InTime News]
Constantine Capsaskis
Newsletter Editor
Welcome to the weekly round-up of news by Kathimerini English Edition. Four cabinet members and several government officials resigned this week as a criminal investigation dossier into the embezzlement of millions of European Union agricultural subsidies was submitted to Parliament.
The highest profile resignee is Makis Voridis, a leading member of the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who had been serving as Migration and Asylum Minister. Voridis, who had been named in the dossier compiled by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), had previously served as Agriculture Minister for eighteen months between 2019 and 2021.
The case dossier alleges several efforts by government officials to interfere and obstruct efforts to investigate systemic irregularities in subsidy allocation as early as 2020, with European prosecutors claiming that Voridis had been warned twice by the then-head of Greece’s agricultural payments agency of the situation before the minister pushed for the latter’s resignation.
According to government sources available to Kathimerini, the case of Voridis was particularly sensitive due to his prominent role, especially as Minister of State, in the cabinets of Kyriakos Mitsotakis. They stress that the resignation is “purely a political move”, and not an admission of guilt. However, with the opposition parties almost certainly set to call for an investigative committee into his actions, his position as minister would have become untenable.
The other officials who have so far resigned are Deputy Foreign Minister Tasos Hatzivasileiou, Deputy Minister of Rural Development Dionysis Stamenitis, Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Christos Boukoros, and Secretary General of Rural Development and Food Giorgos Stratakos. Additionally, the Secretary of New Democracy’s agricultural organizations Andreas Karasarinis, and Yiannis Troullinos, a member of the party’s political committee, have also resigned. In their aftermath, the prime minister has called for a cabinet meeting on Monday.
The opposition parties have attacked the government, with main opposition party PASOK stating that it is “collapsing under the weight of scandals it created”. It added that, following four cabinet resignations, the government cannot continue. SYRIZA leader Sokratis Famellos decried the government as one of “scandals and corruption”, stating that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is personally responsible for the scandal. “His close associates are involved in the OPEKEPE scandal, an organized criminal affair that even targeted the European Public Prosecutor”, he stated.
Greece has been fined 415 million euros for the scandal, with the state likely to cover the majority of it.
Spotlight
Developments in Libya continue to be very high on the agenda of the Greek government. Increased migrant and refugee flows from the North African country towards Crete have raised fears of a new corridor, with more than 2,550 people arriving on three administrative regions of the island just this month compared to a total of 4,935 for the entirety of the island in 2024. On Monday Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced his intention to dispatch Hellenic Navy vessels to patrol near Libya’s territorial waters to monitor the situation, however New Democracy MP and former EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos publicly shared his reservations over the deployment. The prime minister stated that his decision was “a precaution and always in cooperation with the Libyan authorities and the other European forces, [so that] we can send a message that [migrant] smugglers will not dictate who enters our country”. Mitsotakis also raised the issue during Thursday’s European Council meeting, along with Italy which also shares Athens’ fears. However, diplomatic tensions with authorities in Libya remain over the country’s null and void MoU over maritime delimitation with Turkey, something that the breakaway government in Eastern Libya now also alleges is valid. This difference was further emphasized following an MoU this week between Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) and Turkish state oil company TPAO to conduct exploratory surveys in four offshore areas. While these four areas are below the mid-point between Greece and the Libyan coast, diplomatic sources in Athens were keen to stress that “in any case, Greece will not accept any violation of its sovereign rights”.
Greece faced a severe heat wave this week, with temperatures in the capital region of Attica climbing above 40 degrees Celsius. The high temperatures, combined with strong winds, led to several regions across the country being placed on the highest fire alert, including Attica, Crete, and several Aegean islands. Several fires tore through homes and forests across the country, with most of the damage last week being centered on the island of Chios where several fires burnt though more than 4,000 hectares of land. The blaze, which threatened homes near the island’s biggest city, burnt for several days, with the island declaring a state of emergency. The fire on the island is particularly destructive, as it overlaps areas that had already been severely damaged by previous fires in 2012 and 2016 and threatens reforestation efforts. The latest blaze, and the ensuing environmental disruption, also further threaten the island’s production of mastic, a resin uniquely produced on the island and which is exported to more than 55 countries.
Tom Ellis
Editor-in-Chief, Kathimerini English Edition
Trump’s meetings at the NATO summit
[Yves Herman/Reuters]
Beyond the intricacies of the way Donald Trump was welcomed at the recent NATO summit by the Alliance’s secretary general and many of the leaders, the meetings the US president chose to have sent out some clear messages.
One of them directly concerns Greece. On the sidelines of the summit, the first of his second term, Mr. Trump met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom they discussed a wide range of issues of concern to the US and Turkey, on both the bilateral and regional level.
In contrast, the contact with Greece took place at the level of foreign ministers, between Marco Rubio and Giorgos Gerapetritis. This in itself says a lot.
The development is not surprising; on the contrary, it confirms what we have seen unfolding in the months since Trump returned to the White House.
The Turkish president is attempting, with some success, to appear as a “player” with a role in the wider region, from Syria and Libya to the Balkans, and the present US president seems more than willing to embrace his effort.
For its part, Greece is recognized – by the current American administration, as was the case under the previous one – as a reliable factor of stability, but the different approach compared to Turkey is evident.
It has been repeatedly pointed out that the puzzle is obviously complex. Greece is among the first countries in terms of defense spending and in this light, it satisfies the goal that the American president persistently puts forward.
Also, Greece’s strategic cooperation with Israel and the stabilizing role it plays in both Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, have their own added value, and this also concerns the energy sector in which major American interests are involved.
However, the scene is clearly not what it was until recently. The balance in the US’ regional strategic assessment has certainly shifted.
In this light, Greece will continue to project its role as a steadfast reliable ally and important regional player, while highlighting its geopolitical added value in a critical location
CHART OF THE WEEK
The shadow economy of Greece is believed to amount to approximately 16% to 18% of the country’s GDP according to the coordinator of the State Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), with its value being approximately 40 billion euro based on data from 2023. This estimate would be compatible with the data on declared income (110 billion euros) and consumption (151 billion euros) from that year. It also is near estimates by the IMF (16%) and Finance Kyriakos Pierrakakis (15%). While still at very high levels, the percentage of Greece’s shadow economy has fallen significantly from the 30% of GDP recorded in 2013. With government efforts to reduce tax evasion, the contraction of the shadow economy is linked to the increase in VAT revenues and overall tax revenues, with the PBO estimating that VAT gap may now be below 10% of GDP.
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ECONOMY IN A NUTSHELL
“The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) general index closed at 1,877.03 points, up 4.16% from last week.”
“Data recorded through the use of the digital labor card continue to show massive hikes in recorded overtime, with the tourism sector in particular seeing an increase of 1,105% year-on-year. The measure is expected to extend to over 35,000 businesses in a variety of sectors.”
“The real estate market on the Cycladic islands has proven to be among the most dynamic in Greece, along with the urban centers of Athens and Thessaloniki. According to Spitogatos Insights, the average asking price on the islands have increased by more than 50% from 2018, largely driven by foreign buyers.”
WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA
02/07/2025
T-Bill Auction: The Greek state will auction off 13-week treasury bills (expiring October 3) with a total value of 500 million euros.
03/07/2025
FM Briefing: Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is set to brief the Standing Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs of the Greek Parliament on the latest developments in the Middle East.
04/07/2025
Epidaurus Festival: The Athens and Epidaurus Festival will continue next week with Sophocles’ Electra, directed by Dimitris Tarlow.
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PODCAST
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Turkey stokes Aegean tensions with new map
Turkey’s latest move to submit a new so-called maritime spatial plan to UNESCO laying claim to half of the Aegean Sea is once again putting the spotlight on its revisionist Blue Homeland doctrine and raising questions about its commitment to maintaining calm in the region. Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs and a professor of international relations at the American College of Greece, joins Thanos Davelis as we take a closer look at this development, breaking down what it means for Greece and the sense of calm that has prevailed over the past few years in the Aegean.
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