site.btaGreek Prime Minister to Protesting Farmers: Extreme Actions Don’t Help, We Are Open to Dialogue

“Extreme actions don’t help, we are open to dialogue,” said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis regarding the blockades by protesting Greek farmers, as reported by local media.

In a statement to the Government Council for Economic Policy, Mitsotakis said that he understands the farmers’ dissatisfaction due to delayed payments and emphasized that, nevertheless, they will receive half a billion euros more this year compared to the previous one.

The Greek Prime Minister said that he makes a clear distinction between those who have not received their payments due to audits and those who are not entitled to a subsidy.

The protests erupted due to delays in the payment of agricultural subsidies amid a corruption scandal at the Greek agricultural payments agency, OPEKEPE, even though the government has begun partial disbursement of the subsidies.

“We have the green light from the European Commission for the payment of agricultural subsidies under the new system, and we are moving forward as quickly as possible,” the Prime Minister added, as quoted by Greek media. Mitsotakis stressed that the government’s goal is to pay out subsidies totaling EUR 1.2 billion by the end of December.

Mitsotakis further emphasized that the blockades of roads, border crossings, and other important infrastructure in the country do not help the farmers’ efforts and hinder other social groups in society.