Parliament is set to debate and vote on the establishment of a Committee of Inquiry into OPEKEPE, following a proposal submitted by 60 MPs from the ruling New Democracy party. The aim is to investigate possible responsibilities of all Greek governments from 1998 to the present.
The proposal requires only a government majority to pass, effectively excluding from scrutiny any potential criminal liability of former agriculture ministers Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis. The committee does not have the authority to assign criminal responsibility, but rather to investigate the issue across parties and over time.
Opposition parties — PASOK, SYRIZA, New Left and the Communist Party (KKE) — are expected to strongly oppose and vote against the government’s proposal.
A separate vote is also scheduled tomorrow on whether to set up a Preliminary Examination Committee, as proposed by PASOK and by SYRIZA and New Left, targeting Voridis and Avgenakis.
Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis hinted that New Democracy’s 155 MPs may abstain from that vote, which, if confirmed, could prevent the formation of the required parliamentary quorum.
Speaking in Parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the proposed Committee of Inquiry starting from 1998 is meant to “lead to a cleansing that will build a new day for farmers and livestock breeders.”
He also raised a series of questions that, in his view, need to be answered: “Why were the pastureland plans delayed? What were the shortcomings of the technical solution and who proposed it? Why was it ultimately necessary? How can we rid ourselves of this burden? Was there any internal audit within the agency? How many cross-checks were actually carried out?”
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