The visit to Athens by European Public Prosecutor Laura Kovesi unfolded against a backdrop of political tension and institutional nervousness, as Greece now grapples with a widening investigation into alleged misuse of hundreds of millions of euros in EU agricultural subsidies.
Widening Probe into Farm Subsidies
Kovesi, head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), arrived in Greece on Saturday, May 3, as the agency’s Athens office oversees one of the country’s most politically charged financial investigations in recent years. Government officials have criticised aspects of the probe into the OPEKEPE farm funds scandal, while EPPO-linked prosecutors have faced public scrutiny over their mandate renewals.
Despite this, Kovesi’s engagements – including a one-on-one meeting with Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis and her participation in the Delphi Economic Forum – proceeded largely without public scrutiny. Kathimerini reported that a meeting with Floridis was arranged well before the latest political tensions emerged.
Kovesi has signalled cautious expectations, though. “Some promises have been made. We came to see what the situation is,” she said, in a remark widely interpreted as a reference to institutional commitments regarding the EPPO’s work in Greece.
EPPO Office Expansion and Staffing
Only weeks earlier, the Ministry of Justice had approved an expansion of the Greek EPPO office, adding three full-time prosecutors to bring the total to 13. The move was seen as a partial response to Kovesi’s earlier request for greater staffing capacity.
The Athens office includes ten European Delegated Prosecutors drawn from across Greece’s judicial system, coordinated by Deputy Prosecutor of the Supreme Court Eleni Karkampouna. The EPPO structure in Greece is among the largest per capita in the eurozone, whereas countries such as Spain and France operate with fewer prosecutors per capita.
Disputes Over Prosecutorial Authority
Tensions have escalated over the renewal of mandates for three Greek prosecutors serving in the EPPO. Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis publicly questioned whether one prosecutor, Popi Papandreou, had acted to secure her reappointment by advancing sensitive case files to Parliament – allegations that were strongly rejected by opposition parties and judicial associations.
The controversy intensified after the EPPO College renewed the mandates of Papandreou, Dionysis Mouzakis and Eleni Thanou in November 2025 without prior endorsement from Greece’s Supreme Judicial Council.
Kovesi defended the decision and said, “We renewed the term of office of two Greek prosecutors, along with more than 100 European Delegated Prosecutors in 22 other member-states.”
Justice Minister Floridis, however, insisted that Greek constitutional procedure required consultation with the Supreme Judicial Council. “The Constitution stipulates that the Supreme Judicial Council be consulted. A judicial officer cannot be transferred or promoted unless the council decides so,” he told the media.
Kovesi maintained that procedural steps were being respected, clarifying that “an administrative step” remained for formal completion.
At the heart of the dispute lies a broader question of authority between national judicial systems and the EU-level EPPO. As one judicial source told Kathimerini, “The Supreme Judicial Council has the first say, but the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has the last.”
Kovesi, for her part, seemed unruffled by the institutional friction. “I fully trust that the council will make the right decision. They are independent, just like us,” she told the media.
Source: https://neoskosmos.com/en/2026/05/03/news/greece/kovesis-athens-visit-amid-widening-eu-probe-into-alleged-misuse-of-hundreds-of-millions-in-farm-subsidies/
