The government spokesman rejected the opposition’s objections to attempted offsetting any responsibilities
For institutional movement, completely contrary to any suspicion of concealment it described the government’s initiative to call for the establishment of an Inquiry Committee for the activities in the OPECEPE From the day of its founding in 1998, the Deputy Minister under the Prime Minister and government spokesman, Pavlos Marinakis, in an interview with Alpha Radio 989.
Mr. Marinakis He stressed that the Inquiry Committee aims to illuminate critical issues, such as the technical solution, the existence or not, and in what period of cross -checks, as well as the regional grazing plans.
Asked about the opposition’s proposals to set up a pre -trial committee, Mr Marinakis reiterated that there are no evidence of criminal liability of the two former Ministers of Rural Development, Maki Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis.
The government spokesman rejected the opposition’s objections to attempted offsetting any responsibilities through the examination proposal and announced that the request could be filed even within the day and stated that the proposal for examination would be submitted immediately and the procedure would be completed within the following week.
Government proposal for Inquiry Committee
Specifically, Pavlos Marinakis emphasized that the government’s proposal to set up an Inquiry Committee on Agricultural Aid and OPECEPE aims to investigate an “open wound” that has cost more than 2.7 billion euros in the country in the last 30 years. He stressed that this move is not a concealment, but an attempt to illuminate critical issues, such as the technical solution, cross -checks and the role of local government.
“We do not think that this choice is a conflicting choice, it is a conscious choice, which also has intense elements of self -criticism, and we call on all parties – in fact I say – and especially those who have ruled, PASOK and SYRIZA, not to think about it, and they do not think about it and to embrace it.
Reply to the opposition
Mr Marinakis, in response to opposition’s proposals to set up a pre -trial committee, said, “We do not see that there is evidence that is a criminal offense, and even justice itself, as opposed to what may have been in previous case files for the tragic accident.”
European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Criminal Responsibilities
Answering a question on whether the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is awaiting developments for political persons to prosecute and to non -political persons, Mr Marinakis denied that this was the case, noting that the examination process is autonomous and is not limited by criminal prosecutions. He stressed that the Commission would examine all issues without time restrictions, although criminal liability for non -political persons are limited to 15 years.
For the SYRIZA proposal – young
The Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister described as “ironic” the fact that SYRIZA and the new Left are submitting a proposal for a pre -trial committee against two later ministers, accusing them of implementing the “technical solution” to agricultural aid. He stressed that the two parties (SYRIZA and young) were ruled together (with young executives, such as Mr Haritsis, to serve as SYRIZA ministers) and they implemented and expanded the technical solution in 2017 through a ministerial decision. He also said that they were accusing the next ministers of doing something they did, namely the continuation of the same policy and accused SYRIZA and the young man of exploiting the process for opposition purposes, rather than contributing to a substantial investigation.
In closing, Marinakis emphasized that the government is open to a sober debate on the mistakes of the past, but opposed the criminalization of political decisions it has described as “without theme”.
The technical solution wants political dialogue, not criminalization
Referring to the “technical solution” for agricultural aid, Mr Marinakis said he had to be examined through a political – and not a criminal – prism, while rejecting the opposition accusations as “unfounded”.
He recalled that the technical solution was implemented since 2014 with ministers of three different parties (SYRIZA, ND, PASOK) due to European needs. “It is crucial to investigate if it was implemented correctly, but this is a political, not a criminal debate,” he said.
He accused SYRIZA and other parties of “translating political decisions into criminal responsibilities” without evidence.
He specifically referred to the charges against Minister M. Voridis: “If one reads the case file, he will see that the opposition’s interpretation of pressure is a guess.” The Commission will be able to invite all those responsible (Mr Varra, K. Simandrakos, executives) to clarify the operation of OPECEPE. “The process will not be limited, but it should not become a tool of party attacks,” he said.
OPECEPE examination will work transparently – the opposition historically exploits the institution
Pavlos Marinakis answered questions about the government’s stance on the proposed OPECEPE Inquiry Committee, while highlighting the history of the Inquiry Committees in Greece.
In the process of the examination, he said that there is a deposition of dozens of witnesses, both by the case file and new witnesses. The opposition, he said, is expected to focus on the interpretation of deposits as possible criminal liability, adding that the government would evaluate new data before finalizing its stance.
Mr Marinakis pointed out that justice has not identified criminal offenses as opposed to opposition interpretations “5-6 critical points will be illuminated that the opposition is arbitrarily interpreted” he said and said the prime minister has expressed his disappointment. He stressed that the current government has reinforced the institution, giving the minority for the first time the right to ask for examinations. As a typical example, he mentioned the Tempi examination, where 8 parties issued 8 different findings. “When you have 8 parties with 8 findings, this shows party exploitation,” Mr Marinakis stressed, adding: the government is committed to respecting the institution and calling on the opposition to avoid the tooling of the process. “We are not afraid of the truth,” the Deputy Minister concluded.
Timetable and targets of the examination
Mr Marinakis said that the request by the ND parliamentary group will be filed immediately, set within the days of the debate in parliament, “I imagine in the coming weeks. The House of Representatives will then have to vote and if the Inquiry Committee is voted on, the logic is to start its work shortly after a few days. But all this is the result of decisions by the Greek Parliament’s bodies, it is not the government, so the times will be set by the Conference of Presidents and the Greek Parliament. “