Judiciary Tensions Rise Over Court Reforms, Top Picks

Dear Member,

This is our weekly roundup from Greece. 

Greece is facing a turbulent political and institutional moment. New revelations surrounding illegal agricultural subsidies from OPEKEPE have reached the highest levels of government, that is the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the same time, tensions between the judiciary and the Ministry of Justice have escalated, with judges warning that proposed legal reforms undermine the independence of the courts. A controversial appointment proposal for the Supreme Court has further fueled criticism, which increased when the Justice Minister’s brother was also proposed as the new Supreme Court Prosecutor.

Meanwhile, wildfires have erupted in Crete, Halkidiki, and Attica, putting renewed pressure on the state’s fire-prevention strategy. Environmental groups have already sounded the alarm over policies that may be worsening the country’s vulnerability to climate disasters.

OPEKEPE scandal: The Prime Minister in the cadre

The OPEKEPE subsidy fraud scandal escalated this week with the revelation of a damning email sent (Opens in a new window) by Evangelos Simandrakos, former president of OPEKEPE (2022–2023), to the European Public Prosecutor’s Office on 30 June 2025. In this email, Simandrakos implicates the Prime Minister’s Office, claiming it was fully informed about irregularities in the 2023 subsidy payments.

According to Simandrakos, the Prime Minister's staff was aware that certain “red-flagged” tax IDs (AFMs), deemed ineligible by OPEKEPE, had been excluded from payments. He had reportedly notified the PM’s office through memos in November and December 2023 and participated in two high-level meetings to explain the agency’s situation. The government, he says, consented to the blocking of the problematic AFMs.

Simandrakos resigned on December 29, 2023, after confirming that payments to eligible recipients had been completed without interference from ineligible claims. Specifically, Simandarakos stressed in an official communication that 9,309 AFMs were excluded from the payments as they were deemed ineligible. 

Shortly after, in January 2024, Agriculture Minister Lefteris Avgenakis appointed a new OPEKEPE president, Kyriakos Babassidis.

According to new evidence (Opens in a new window) from the European Public Prosecutor’s case file on the OPEKEPE subsidy scandal, former President Simandarakos described intense political pressure, particularly from Agriculture Minister Lefteris Avgenakis, to unblock and pay the approximately 6,000 tax IDs that were flagged and blocked during his tenure.

Simandarakos further claimed that by mid-November, most board members had resigned under political pressure, and he was forced out shortly after. His successor, Kyriakos Babassidis, then proceeded to release and pay the blocked AFMs.

Despite clear audit findings regarding subsidy abuse, Simandarakos states that efforts to investigate were met with coordinated resistance from within the system.

In February 2024, less than two months after Simandarakis’ s resignation, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis publicly announced (Opens in a new window) that €750 million in farm subsidies would be disbursed before Easter. By April 2024, OPEKEPE paid out €785.3 million, reportedly including (Opens in a new window) 6,815 of the previously “blocked” AFMs - less than two months ahead of the 9 June European elections.

In May 2024, the European Commission’s DG AGRI placed OPEKEPE under 12-month supervision (Opens in a new window), citing concerns over mismanagement and fraud.

An attempted “Judicial Coup” 

A growing rift between Greece’s judicial community and the government has come to a head this week, as the Union of Judges and Prosecutors (ENDE) condemned proposed reforms (Opens in a new window) by Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis, warning of serious consequences for the country’s judicial independence and legal integrity.

At the center of the dispute is a sweeping overhaul of the Code of Civil Procedure, which the Ministry of Justice says aims to accelerate the notoriously slow Greek court system. However, ENDE argues the changes are being rushed without proper consultation and will degrade the quality of judicial decisions by forcing judges to handle more cases in less time, under tighter procedural rules.

According to ENDE, the reforms focus exclusively on “procedural efficiency,” while “erasing the essential conditions required for substantive justice.” The new provisions would reduce decision-making times and double caseloads, while reportedly limiting public access to courtrooms—a move the union says threatens transparency.

In response, the Union staged court stoppages this week, warning the government of further action unless their concerns are addressed. Their protest was not about wages or working conditions, they emphasized, but about protecting the “core mission of justice.”

Minister Floridis reacted sharply, denouncing the work stoppages as unconstitutional. He reminded judges that Greek law prohibits judicial strikes, prompting the union to defend its action as a legitimate act of resistance to damaging legislative change.

The conflict has also drawn the attention of the European Association of Judges, which issued a rare warning (Opens in a new window) about the Greek reforms. The association expressed concern that the government’s push for greater disciplinary control over judges and its procedural changes could compromise judicial independence and erode public trust in the judiciary.

The government intends to push forward with the reforms, aiming for implementation by September 2025. 

In early June, the Union of Judges and Prosecutors was calling (Opens in a new window)on the government to respect the outcome of the vote for the leadership of the Supreme Court, emphasising the importance of judicial independence. They had voted to propose Alexandra Apostolakis for the position. 

However, reports on 2 July said (Opens in a new window) that the government would propose Anastasia Papadopoulou for the leadership of the Supreme Court, therefore setting aside the union’s vote. 

On top of that, in a crucial vote held on July 3 during the Conference of Presidents of Parliament, Vasilis Floridis, deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court, was deemed (Opens in a new window) the most suitable candidate for Prosecutor of Greece’s Supreme Court.

Tiny detail: Vasilis Floridis is the brother of Justice Minister Floridis. 

When Plefsi Eleftherias head Konstantopoulou raised the issue of the familial relationship, Minister Floridis stated: 

“The issue of family responsibility was resolved at the Nuremberg Trials.”

As of the latest available information, the Greek government has proposed the appointments of Anastasia Papadopoulou as President of the Supreme Court and Konstantinos Tzavellas as Prosecutor General. These proposals were put forward by the Minister of Justice and are pending final approval by the Cabinet, which is expected to make its decision imminently.

It's noteworthy that while Vasilis Floridis, the brother of Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis, received the highest number of votes (17) in the Parliamentary Conference's non-binding recommendation for the Prosecutor General position, the Minister ultimately proposed Tzavellas for the role. 

Both Papadopoulou and Tzavellas are expected to serve one-year terms due to their upcoming retirements. 

The final decision now rests with the Cabinet.

Wildfires in Greece: Ierapetra, Halkidiki, Rafina and…

Greece has been gripped by a surge in wildfires this week, driven by an early‑summer heatwave, ferocious winds, and tinder‑dry landscapes. Five major blazes -on Crete, in Halkidiki, and in Attica- have prompted mass evacuations and highlighted the accelerating climate crisis across the Mediterranean.

Beginning on the afternoon of July 2, a wildfire ignited near Ierapetra (Opens in a new window) on Crete’s southeastern coast. Gale‑force winds —up to Beaufort 9–11 (75–100 km/h)— propelled the fire across three separate fronts, consuming forests, farmland, and olive groves.

Emergency forces responded with more than 230–270 firefighters (Opens in a new window), around 46 fire engines, 10‑14 helicopters, drones, and support vehicles from Athens.

Authorities evacuated approximately 5,000 people (Opens in a new window), including tourists and locals, from villages such as Achlia, Agia Fotia, Ferma, Galini, and Koutsounari.

Many took refuge in Ierapetra’s indoor sports arena or hotels in Heraklion and Hersonissos. Some evacuees were rescued directly from beaches via private boats.

Firefighters were still battling the flames at the time these lines were written. So far, there were no confirmed fatalities, though several residents were treated for minor respiratory issues. 

Homes and hotels sustained damage. Bookings also appear to waver. Only as of Friday afternoon did the fire seem (Opens in a new window) to be retreating. 

A concurrent fire broke out (Opens in a new window) in Vourvourou, Halkidiki. Though it lacked the scale of the Crete inferno, local firefighters managed to contain it thanks to aerial support and ground teams. Investigations into potential arson are underway, mirroring broader concerns across the country.

 A separate wildfire erupted (Opens in a new window) on Thursday near Rafina, east of Athens. It prompted door‑to‑door evacuations in residential and agricultural zones, disrupted ferry services, and produced thick smoke affecting air traffic. Authorities mobilized emergency shelters via the 112 alert system.

On Friday afternoon, a new wildfire broke out in Koropi (Opens in a new window), a town located approximately 30 kilometers east of Athens, where residents received text messages from civil protection units urging them to evacuate the area.

That fire reached the courtyards of the houses, according to Koropi mayor Dimitris Kiousis. Residents in threatened areas were evacuated.

A wildfire erupted in the Agriles area of Chania (Opens in a new window), Crete, early Friday, triggering a significant response from local firefighting forces.

These fires coincide with an intense early-summer heatwave sweeping across southern Europe, with temperatures surpassing 40 °C. Scientists warn that rising seas and atmospheric heat domes are making Mediterranean summers longer, hotter, and more lethal.

However, Greece’s environmental policies have been criticized for exacerbating the problem - after all, climate change is largely caused by human activities.

The fire in Halkidiki erupted following clearing works (Opens in a new window) in the pine forest (they had reportedly been completed a few days before) in the context of the EU-funded Antinero program. 

However, Antinero, promoted as the government’s main project for forest protection against mega-fires, has been blamed for causing environmental destruction instead of protecting the forests. Only last month a slamming report was submitted (Opens in a new window) to the European Court of Auditors and the European Parliament by 213 environmental groups and concerned citizens. 

The report alleges that the program is, in fact, environmentally degrading Greece’s forests and making them more vulnerable to wildfires, with EU money. 

Read

Merkel: Referendum call in 2015 left her ‘speechless’ (Opens in a new window)

Angela Merkel Reflects on Greek Crisis: Admiration, Regret, and Unseen Battles (Opens in a new window)

EU prosecutor Laura Kövesi haunts Greece’s rotten system (Opens in a new window)

Greece Faces Deepening Water Crisis (Opens in a new window)

Greece’s Growing Thirst: The Looming Water Scarcity (Opens in a new window)

The Olive Oil Crisis (Opens in a new window)

Over 3,000 complaints for illegal occupation of Greek beaches (Opens in a new window)

Police failures and ignored warnings: the femicide of Kyriaki Griva (Opens in a new window)

Galleries ditching posh Kolonaki for more unassuming pastures (Opens in a new window)

Athens Through the Lens of Global Cinema (Opens in a new window)

The Piraeus grillhouses keeping souvlaki real (Opens in a new window)

Listen

Farm scandal rocks Greek politics (Opens in a new window)

Podcast - Subsidise this: Fraud scandal delivers new blow to Greek PM (Opens in a new window)

That’s all for this week; please forward this email to anyone you think might find it interesting and ask them to join our international community! 

The AL team