[Reuters]
Greece faces reduced funding from the European Union due to delays in paying 2024 agricultural subsidies, officials said.
The government was required to settle obligations to farmers by June 30, 2025, under EU rules. An updated action plan for restructuring the country’s agricultural payment agency, ΟPEKEPE, submitted six days ago, is currently under review by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI).
Commission officials stressed the evaluation of the plan is not linked to 2025 subsidy payments.
Commissioner Christophe Hansen, ahead of a visit to Athens, said there is no direct connection between the revised plan and payments to farmers, noting that EU member-states are responsible for disbursing and monitoring Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) funds.
Brussels has repeatedly stressed that “rules are rules” and that EU funds must be managed responsibly to protect taxpayers’ money. The EU subsidy process begins each year on October 16, with initial advances disbursed from December 1 and concluding on June 30.
Delays in payments trigger financial corrections by the Commission, though funds can still be transferred once national authorities submit requests.