The Greek Prime Minister, conservative Kyriakos Mitsotakis, reshuffled his government on Friday after two ministers and a deputy minister resigned. This followed the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) requesting the lifting of their parliamentary immunity to facilitate an investigation into alleged misappropriation of agricultural subsidies. Margaritis Schinas, former Vice President of the European Commission, will take over the Ministry of Agriculture in place of one of the resigned ministers, Kostas Tsiaras. The portfolio for Civil Protection and Climate Crises will be headed by former military Evangelos Turnás, who is not a member of New Democracy (ND), the party with which Mitsotakis governs with an absolute majority. Turnás replaces Yannis Kefaloyannis, who is also being investigated by the EPPO for events in 2021, when he was Deputy Minister of Transport and Tsiaras was Minister of Justice. The responsibilities of the resigned Deputy Minister of Health, Dimitris Vartzopulo, will be redistributed internally within the ministry. Kostas Skrekas, Secretary General of ND, also resigned today. Along with the three who resigned, he is among the 13 conservative MPs for whom the EPPO has asked Parliament to lift their immunity. “No cabinet reshuffle can save a government with a majority investigated by the judiciary,” said the socialist Pasok, the main opposition party, which emphasized that the only solution is early elections. The leftist Syriza also called for early elections, something a government spokesperson dismissed, stating that it would be “irresponsible under current global circumstances.” The first EPPO dossier, sent to Greece last Wednesday and forwarded to Parliament on Friday, requested the lifting of the immunity of 11 MPs. A subsequent second dossier informs about the possible implication of the Greek Minister of Agriculture between 2021 and 2022, Spilios Livanos, and Fotiní Arabatzi, his then deputy minister. “The investigation concerns alleged offenses against the financial interests of the EU, specifically instigation to abuse of trust, computer fraud and the issuance of false certificates with the intention of obtaining for another an illicit benefit,” stated the EPPO. Yesterday, Thursday, the European Public Prosecutor's Office, via a third dossier, requested the lifting of the immunity of two other conservative MPs, this time for finding “indications of instigation that constitutes a breach of duty,” bringing the total to 13. Dozens of people have been detained in Greece since 2025 for allegedly illegally obtaining multi-million subsidies from OPEKEPE, the state agency in charge of distributing European agricultural funds.
