The new investigation focuses on the expenditure of European subsidies that were intended to modernize and secure the Greek railway network. The funds were allocated to install automatic train protection systems, but the implementation did not take place. As a result, crucial safety provisions have been missing for years.
Kövesi reiterated that the serious train accident in Tempi, which resulted in dozens of deaths, could have been prevented if the available EU subsidies had been used on time. The accident exposed structural shortcomings in the railway infrastructure and in the oversight of the use of European funds.
The prosecutor states that the delays and irregularities do not stand alone. In Greece, a large-scale investigation is already underway into fraud with European agricultural subsidies, mainly involving farmers on Crete. Millions of euros are said to have been wrongly claimed for activities that did not comply with subsidy rules.
Due to its geographical structure, Greece has a weak organization of the national government. The country consists of several thousand small islands, about 250 of which are inhabited. These island communities mostly manage their own governmental affairs without actual interference or real supervision from Athens.
According to Kövesi, the Greek government has actively tried in the past to influence and complicate her investigations. The European prosecutor’s investigations bring sensitive political issues to light. In both cases – in the railways and agriculture – allegations of corruption, conflicts of interest, and lack of control play a role.
Although Greece is now under scrutiny, it is not the country with the most suspicions of subsidy fraud within the EU. Major cases are also ongoing in countries like Bulgaria, Romania, and Italy, involving misuse of funds for infrastructure, agriculture, and regional development, among others.
With the expansion of the railway investigation, pressure on the government in Athens is further increased. The coming months will reveal to what extent the Greek authorities are willing to cooperate fully, or whether political and legal confrontations will arise anew between Athens and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office.