Mitsotakis: Holding individuals accountable is one thing and a witch hunt is another

Greece does not need more toxicity or penalisation of politics, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday while addressing the Hellenic Parliament. The prime minister was speaking during a plenary session to discuss and vote of ruling New Democracy's proposal for a Parliamentary Investigation Committee to look into the actions of OPEKEPE, the Greek authority responsible for the payment of EU agricultural subsidies.

Mitsotakis said that he was in Parliament to support ND's proposal but also to appeal for "institutional calmness and parliamentary responsibility".

He said that ND "proposes the establishment of an Investigation Committee to examine the operation of the Organisation from its founding to the present day, in order to address deeply rooted dysfunctions and failures across all parties, to identify potential responsibilities, and ultimately to lead to a cleansing process that will pave the way for a new beginning — for the benefit of farmers, livestock breeders, and, ultimately, the country itself. Holding individuals accountable is one thing and a witch hunt is another. That is why, in the current context, the solution of an Investigation Committee is appropriate."

He added that “in the past, the process proved to be a dead end, especially when it was used as a tool for partisan revenge.”

Mitsotakis pointed out that OPEKEPE has for decades been an open wound — an agency originally designed to serve the primary sector, which over time, however, was transformed into a tool for partisan favours: with intermediaries, political and personal acquaintances, technical consultants who created dependencies, and operations carried out through many murky and labyrinthine networks."

"The outcome is already known. A portion of the European agricultural policy funds ultimately did not reach their intended beneficiaries. Local — and to some extent European — inaction allowed many parasites to grow around the organisation," he added.

He noted that the state's mismanagement was, to a certain degree, accepted even by some farmers who had become resigned to this state of affairs.

"That is why I did not hesitate to take responsibility, not only for the actions of the current government but also on behalf of those who came before us. Let me remind you that long before the European Public Prosecutor's Office intervened, many cases related to OPEKEPE were already before the Greek judiciary," he stated.

He added that once he realised the pace of progress was unsatisfactory, he opted for the most decisive solution:

"We have already initiated the integration of OPEKEPE into the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE), in order to eliminate all unnecessary human involvement in determining subsidy entitlements."

Mitsotakis also invited opposition parties to express their views on whether this is the appropriate approach to resolving this deeply rooted issue.

He emphasised that the objective is not merely to identify those involved, but to arrive at a lasting solution — one that cannot be achieved without first posing a series of critical questions that only a Parliamentary fact-finding committee is capable of answering.

Counter to this simple proposal, supported by the facts, Mitsotakis added, the opposition parties are proposing the formation of an hoc Parliamentary Preliminary Investigation Committee and playing political games, seeking to restrict scrutiny of the case exclusively to the years of the present government.

"You are making a mistake and I will explain why. Everybody knows that OPEKEPE had problems from the start," he said while also presenting ND's opinion that the evidence does nor support charges of legal liability against a minister "and this is why we are proposing an Investigation Committee".

He invited the opposition parties to vote for an Investigation Committee and then examine the possibility of a Preliminary Investigation Committee if evidence arises.

"Our country does not need any further toxicity or penalisation. It needs truth about its weaknesses and the courage to find the causes and eradicate them. I repeat that this path can only open via an Investigation Committee," he said.