Greek Government Defends OPEKEPE Reform and Targets Parliamentary Immunity Cases

Vice‑President Kostis Chatzidakis told SKAI that the government never denied the serious problems at the state‑run OPEKEPE, and that New Democracy alone has taken responsibility and enacted reforms. He highlighted the transfer of OPEKEPE to the Independent Authority for Public Revenue (AADE) as a key change, noting that payments are now made “in a much fairer way for real producers”. He also credited extensive checks by the Economic Police, which have led to thousands of audits and recoveries for the state.

Chatzidakis addressed the parliamentary immunity issue, explaining that of the original 13 New Democracy MPs for whom immunity lift requests were made, the process now concerns four cases involving sums just over €10,000. He contrasted this with opposition MPs, citing data that since 2019 there have been 89 immunity cases, 22 involving New Democracy members and the remainder involving opposition members, and criticised what he called “two measures and two standards”.