ENGLISH SECTION
30/06/2025 | 18:28
Hatzidakis: The government will demand the return of all unjustified subsidy payments
“The intention of the government is absolutely clear: the money that various opportunists received in the form of unjustified agricultural subsidies will be demanded back.
There will soon be announcements to this effect,” Deputy Prime Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said in an interview on radio Parapolitika on Monday.
“Already, independently from of the actions of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, trials are underway on a national level and, wherever necessary, legislation will be made stricter,” he added.
Hatzidakis said the public, at this time, chiefly cares about the money being returned and for an end to what was happening at the OPEKEPE payments authority through its absorption by AADE. Regarding the fines imposed by the EU for the system’s administrative weaknesses, he said that a case will be brought before the European Court.
“The prime minister could, as we all could, cite the fact that similar problems exist in other European countries also, that they existed under the previous government and that significant efforts were made at OPEKEPE under the present government. Instead, he chose something cleaner, and said that we failed. A phrase that has not been said by any government previously, for much more serious mistakes. This also sends an absolutely clear message, that from now on there can be no more delays, no more mistakes,” Hatzidakis added.
Questioned about the possibility of early elections, Hatzidakis replied that the government had a four-year mandate and will be judged on its performance as a whole, while citing improvements brought about under its term and the fact that the cabinet will be presenting a string of new European programmes worth 8-10 billion euros.
“Consequently, with the same honesty that we talk about our mistakes, we talk about the modernising steps that have been taken,” he noted.
The deputy premier pointed out that these new programmes will start to provide financing between 2026 and 2032 and were “one answer” to what will happen when there is no longer money coming in from the Recovery Fund.
Commenting on the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum, Hatzidakis said that there was an “answer through actions to all these plans, which is Chevron’s intention to search for fossil fuels south of Crete”.
“There is also a maritime spatial plan and a common defence policy which, as you saw, was not joyfully greeted by Ankara. Therefore, what remains at the end is that, through our policy in foreign affairs and defence, the country is becoming stronger,” he said.
Source: ANA – MPA
