ATHENS — Greece risks losing its EU farm subsidies unless it provides an improved action plan by Oct. 2 on how it will stop funds being siphoned off into corruption, as happened in a massive fraud scandal that has convulsed Athens this year.
Brussels is seeking to combat a scam to defraud the EU of hundreds of millions of euros, in which Greeks received agricultural funds for pastureland they did not own or lease, or for agricultural work they did not perform, depriving legitimate farmers of the funds they deserved. POLITICO first reported on the scheme in February.
Several ministers and deputy ministers resigned over their alleged involvement in the scandal, which is under investigation by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO).
After the fraud was exposed, Greece supplied an action plan on how it would address the often eye-popping abuses of payments from the Common Agricultural Policy, which accounts for a third of the EU budget.
