Greece’s Parliament is set to launch Friday a second round of investigations into 13 politicians implicated in the OPEKEPE agricultural subsidies scandal, ten months after the first case file was referred to the legislature.
Case files for two former cabinet ministers and 11 sitting members of parliament are currently held at the Justice Ministry, with the transmittal order expected to be signed Wednesday evening so documents reach Parliament by early Friday morning.
According to parliamentary scheduling, a plenary session will convene, at which the case file concerning former Agriculture Development Minister Spilios Livanos and former Deputy Agriculture Minister Foteini Arampatzi — both serving in 2021 — is expected to be formally announced under the ministerial responsibility law. That file is being referred to Parliament without any prior judicial assessment.
The case file involving the 11 sitting lawmakers, filed by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, will be accompanied by a formal assessment and forwarded to parliamentary committee chairman Mr. Giorgos Georgandas before distribution to party groups.
A critical deadline looms: the alleged offenses date to 2021, meaning a five-year statute of limitations expires in 2026. Legal sources warn that failure to investigate and prosecute before that deadline risks the cases being time-barred.
Should prosecutors determine that prescription is imminent, a committee session could be convened even during Holy Week. The full plenary retains final authority to lift or uphold each lawmaker’s parliamentary immunity, by open vote.
By Emmanuella Argiti