Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffled his cabinet on Friday (3 April) in a bid to contain a growing scandal over the alleged fraudulent use of European Union farm subsidies.
The move comes days after the EU’s Chief Prosecutor asked the Greek Parliament to lift the immunity of at least 11 lawmakers, including ministers, so they can be investigated over alleged organised fraud involving EU agricultural funds.
Agriculture Minister Kostas Tsiaras and Climate Minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis resigned ahead of the reshuffle, along with a deputy health minister, a party secretary and the government’s parliamentary spokesman.
European prosecutors have already charged dozens of Greek livestock farmers with falsifying land ownership to claim millions of euros in EU subsidies, allegedly with the assistance of government officials and conservative politicians.
In September 2025, the Greek government said police had found that hundreds of farmers had misappropriated EU subsidies worth at least €22.67 million (U.S.$26.54 million), after reviewing 6,000 out of more than 800,000 applications.
A few months earlier, the EU fined Greece €392 million (U.S.$455 million) over the mismanagement of agricultural funds by OPEKEPE, the Greek state agency responsible for distributing subsidies.
A minister and four senior officials in Mitsotakis’s New Democracy government also resigned in 2025 over their alleged roles in the fraud.
The fallout from the scandal prompted protests by Greek farmers in Athens in late 2025, after EU subsidy payments were delayed due to ongoing audits of funding applications.
OPEKEPE, which the Greek government is in the process of shutting down, handled more than €2 billion (U.S.$2.31 billion) in EU farm aid annually.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on the s...
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases...
Kyrgyzstan is hosting the sixth World Nomad Games, bringing together thousands of athletes from around the worl...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have concluded talks in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
Iran has reached an understanding with Oman on transit arrangements through the Strait of Hormuz, but the waterway will remain closed until the U.S. fulfils its commitments, a senior Iranian diplomat said on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused U.S. government and Israel-aligned actors of manipulating energy markets to promote the war with Iran.
Russian strikes on the Kyiv region overnight killed 37 people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Zelenskyy added that the Ukrainian capital was under "virtually nonstop attack" from drones.
U.S. forces struck two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, with Tehran responding by launching ballistic missiles at two U.S. bases in Jordan in the first direct U.S.-Iran military escalation in weeks.
Kyrgyzstan is hosting the sixth World Nomad Games, bringing together thousands of athletes from around the world for a celebration of traditional sports, cultural heritage and nomadic traditions.
Pakistan is set to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation after the bloc’s leaders meet in Bishkek. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived on Friday to attend the SCO Council of Heads of State meeting and SCO Plus Summit, which run until 2 September.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has condemned the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra, saying security operations should be handled only by state institutions, including the army and police.
Rescue teams in Nepal, supported by Chinese and Indian experts, worked through the night to reach hundreds of people believed to be trapped inside blocked hydropower project tunnels following last week’s catastrophic Himalayan flood.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 31st of August, covering the latest developments.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment