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Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
EU hits Greece with record fine over farmers subsidy fraud
FILE PHOTO: A European Union and the Greek flags flutter, with the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill seen in the background in Athens, Greece, April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/ File Photo The European Union has imposed a 392.2 million-euro ($451.9 million) fine on Greece over a major scandal involving the mismanagement of agricultural subsidies by a government agency between 2016 and 2022. The bloc's Executive Commission decided to reduce the subsidies Greece will receive in the next years by 5%, it said on Friday, reflecting the view that there has been no proper supervision and operation of the subsidy management model for years. Greece expected to receive about 1.9 billion euros in direct EU subsidies next year. The fine comes months after European prosecutors charged dozens of Greek livestock farmers who received EU financial aid through the Greek government paying agency OPEKEPE with making false declarations of ownership or leasing of pastureland. The European Public Prosecutor's Office has said that the majority of the 100 suspects did not live where they had declared in their applications for funds from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Greece last month promised to overhaul OPEKEPE, in charge of paying out annual subsidies to farmers worth about 2.4 billion euros, by merging it into the country tax authorities, with international consultants assisting in the transition. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
6 days ago
- Business
- The Star
EU hits Greece with record fine over farmers subsidy fraud
FILE PHOTO: A European Union and the Greek flags flutter, with the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill seen in the background in Athens, Greece, April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/ File Photo (Reuters) -The European Union has imposed a 392.2 million-euro ($451.9 million) fine on Greece over a major scandal involving the mismanagement of agricultural subsidies by a government agency between 2016 and 2022. The bloc's Executive Commission decided to reduce the subsidies Greece will receive in the next years by 5%, it said on Friday, reflecting the view that there has been no proper supervision and operation of the subsidy management model for years. Greece expected to receive about 1.9 billion euros in direct EU subsidies next year. The fine comes months after European prosecutors charged dozens of Greek livestock farmers who received EU financial aid through the Greek government paying agency OPEKEPE with making false declarations of ownership or leasing of pastureland. The European Public Prosecutor's Office has said that the majority of the 100 suspects did not live where they had declared in their applications for funds from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Greece last month promised to overhaul OPEKEPE, in charge of paying out annual subsidies to farmers worth about 2.4 billion euros, by merging it into the country tax authorities, with international consultants assisting in the transition. ($1 = 0.8678 euro) (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou in Athens; Writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
Straits Times
03-06-2025
- General
- Straits Times
Greece appeals court rules 10 people guilty over deadly 2018 wildfire near Athens
FILE PHOTO: Eleni Anagnostaki, 85, sits in the yard of her destroyed house in the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo ATHENS - A Greek appeals court found 10 people guilty on Tuesday of misdemeanour charges over a wildfire in 2018 that killed 104 people, a ruling that angered relatives of those who died in the country's worst such disaster in living memory. The court upheld a lower court verdict from last year but ordered the conviction of an additional four people on misdemeanour charges, including involuntary manslaughter, bringing the total to 10, among them former fire brigade officials and a man accused of arson, legal sources said. Eleven people, including regional governors, were cleared. The sentences will be announced on Wednesday. The penalty for a misdemeanour may be a suspended prison sentence or a jail term with the alternative of a fine. The blaze that ripped through the seaside town of Mati, about 27 km (17 miles) east of the capital Athens, in July 2018 killed 104 people and injured dozens. Most of those killed were caught in a maze of thickly-forested streets as they tried to flee in their cars. "Such a horrible disaster so badly handled and it's being treated as a misdemeanour. That's far too lenient. It's sad," said Alexandros Papasteriopoulos, a lawyer representing relatives of the dead. Survivors and relatives released black balloons and held white roses during the trial to honour those killed. They shouted "shame" when the verdict was announced. The disaster cast a pall over the then-leftist Syriza government, with survivors accusing authorities of botching rescue attempts. Authorities dismissed the accusations, saying that erratic winds fuelling the flames meant there was no time for coordinated action. Devastating wildfires have become more frequent in Mediterranean countries. Scientists attribute their frequency and intensity to the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
03-06-2025
- General
- The Star
Greece appeals court rules 10 people guilty over deadly 2018 wildfire near Athens
FILE PHOTO: Eleni Anagnostaki, 85, sits in the yard of her destroyed house in the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, August 22, 2018. Picture taken August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/File Photo ATHENS (Reuters) -A Greek appeals court found 10 people guilty on Tuesday of misdemeanour charges over a wildfire in 2018 that killed 104 people, a ruling that angered relatives of those who died in the country's worst such disaster in living memory. The court upheld a lower court verdict from last year but ordered the conviction of an additional four people on misdemeanour charges, including involuntary manslaughter, bringing the total to 10, among them former fire brigade officials and a man accused of arson, legal sources said. Eleven people, including regional governors, were cleared. The sentences will be announced on Wednesday. The penalty for a misdemeanour may be a suspended prison sentence or a jail term with the alternative of a fine. The blaze that ripped through the seaside town of Mati, about 27 km (17 miles) east of the capital Athens, in July 2018 killed 104 people and injured dozens. Most of those killed were caught in a maze of thickly-forested streets as they tried to flee in their cars. "Such a horrible disaster so badly handled and it's being treated as a misdemeanour. That's far too lenient. It's sad," said Alexandros Papasteriopoulos, a lawyer representing relatives of the dead. Survivors and relatives released black balloons and held white roses during the trial to honour those killed. They shouted "shame" when the verdict was announced. The disaster cast a pall over the then-leftist Syriza government, with survivors accusing authorities of botching rescue attempts. Authorities dismissed the accusations, saying that erratic winds fuelling the flames meant there was no time for coordinated action. Devastating wildfires have become more frequent in Mediterranean countries. Scientists attribute their frequency and intensity to the increasingly hot and dry weather conditions linked to climate change. (Reporting by Renee MaltezouEditing by Frances Kerry)
The Standard
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Standard
Cardinals set for second day of conclave to elect a new pope
People line up to enter St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on the first day of conclave to elect the new pope, as Cardinals are displayed on a screen, as seen from Rome, Italy May 7, 2025. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
