Greece proposes reduced fines for 2026 agricultural support violations

New regulations for the 2026 Single Application for Support (OSDE) in Greece propose a significant reduction in fines for simple administrative violations. Under the proposed framework, fines for errors such as improper data transfer, confidentiality breaches, or incomplete documentation will be reduced to one-fifth of current levels, dropping from a range of €5,000–€20,000 to €1,000–€4,000. These penalties will only be applied if the error results in actual damage to the European Union or public budget.

However, strict penalties remain for serious violations, including the submission of fraudulent or inaccurate data, use of forged documents, or conflicts of interest. Such offenses can incur fines between €20,000 and €50,000 and may lead to temporary or permanent exclusion from support programs.

Regarding land and livestock declarations, sanctions are tied to the degree of discrepancy found during inspections, which utilize the Area Monitoring System (AMS) and satellite data. For land over-declarations, discrepancies under 10% result in adjustments based on actual area, while discrepancies exceeding 50% lead to a total loss of support. Similar tiered penalties apply to livestock, where repeated discrepancies can lead to exclusion from subsidies.