Greek Min of Agri to Meet EU Agri Comm on OPEKEPE Reforms

The Greek Minister of Rural Development and Food Eleftherios Avgenakis will meet in Brussels with European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski to discuss reforms at the Greek Payment Authority of Common Agricultural Policy (OPEKEPE). The Minster will also attend the Council of the Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries where he is expected to propose further modifications to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

OPEKEPE has been under fire from the European Union for its slow rate of reforms, which were first identified by the EU in 2016, according to OT.gr.

The Greek Minister will be accompanied by the President and Vice Presidents of OPEKEPE in the meeting with the Commissioner, and are expected to highlight that they have already implemented 9 structural and 3 technical reforms, says OT.gr.

Moreover, at the Council meeting, the Minister will propose further modifications to the recently amended CAP. OT.gr says the proposals include:

• Committing 2% of CAP funding to address the impact of natural disasters
• Reducing bureaucracy around agricultural schemes
• The ability to transfer resources between CAP pillars to help Greek absorb all funding

OPEKEPE is a private legal entity operating since 2001 for the public interest, and is supervised by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, according to OPEKEPE’s website.

Its main task is the control and payment of beneficiaries, according to European and national Laws, and beneficiaries are mainly farmers and also farmer associations, export companies, investors of the agricultural sector, manufacturing enterprises, etc.