Greek farmers are protesting for a
second day, blocking the Thessaloniki-Athens highway with
tractors near the city of Larissa, effectively cutting off the
country’s transportation links. According to Kathimerini, police
have ordered traffic diversions on several adjacent roads to
reduce disruption. The protests were sparked by ongoing delays
in allocating state agricultural subsidies, following a
widespread scandal involving Opekepe, the Greek agency in charge
of distributing Common Agricultural Policy funds. Last spring,
the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) announced that it
was looking into several cases involving Greek citizens who
allegedly received subsidies by declaring non-existent
agricultural activities and grazing lands. Since then, the
conservative Greek government, accused by the opposition of
concealing the scandal, has decided to dismantle Opekepe and
launch a parliamentary investigation into the matter.
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