By Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou
ATHENS, April 3 (Reuters) – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis reshuffled his cabinet on Friday, as he seeks to limit the fallout from a growing scandal over alleged fraud related to European Union farm funds.
Last year European prosecutors charged dozens of Greek stockbreeders with faking ownership of pastureland to claim millions of euros in EU subsidies, allegedly with the help of state employees and conservative politicians.
The affair had already prompted ministerial resignations and led the European Union last year to impose a hefty fine on the country over mismanagement of the subsidies by its OPEKEPE payment agency.
But in a move that widened the investigation, the European Chief Prosecutor on Wednesday asked the Greek parliament to lift the immunity of at least 11 lawmakers, including ministers, so they can be investigated over their alleged roles in the scheme.
The EU prosecutor has not named the lawmakers and ministers, who are protected from prosecution by the constitution unless parliament lifts their immunity. A minister and four senior officials in the government resigned last year for their alleged role in the fraud.
On Friday, Mitsotakis appointed Margaritis Schinas, a former European Commission vice-president for Promoting the European Way of Life, as agriculture minister.
Schinas, a former member of the European Parliament as well as a long-serving Commission official, replaces Kostas Tsiaras.
Evangelos Tournas, a retired Greek air force officer, was named climate crisis and civil protection minister, replacing Giannis Kefalogiannis. Earlier, a deputy health minister, a party secretary and the government’s parliamentary spokesman had resigned.
Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party holds 156 seats in Greece’s 300-seat parliament.
The latest probe concerns alleged crimes against the EU’s financial interests in 2021, including instigation of breach of trust, computer fraud and false attestation with the intent to obtain an unlawful benefit.
The OPEKEPE agency handles more than 2 billion euros ($2.31 billion) in annual EU farm aid.
Opposition parties dismissed the reshuffle and renewed calls for early elections.
“No reshuffle can save a government built around a majority of people investigated by the judiciary,” the Socialist PASOK party, the main opposition, said in a statement.
The new cabinet members will be sworn in on Saturday.
($1 = 0.8662 euros)
(Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Ros Russell)
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