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Subsidy scandal in Greece/ Over 15 million sheep and goats on paper, but only 8.8 million in statistics

Politiko 2026-08-21 19:06:59

Subsidy scandal in Greece/ Over 15 million sheep and goats on paper, but only

A major scandal is rocking the European Union's agricultural subsidy scheme in Greece, where official data on animal numbers do not match those used to receive the funds.

According to a POLITICO analysis, in 2024, Greek authorities provided subsidies for about 260,000 dairy cows and 70,000 cattle destined for slaughter. But data from the Greek statistical institute, ELSTAT, show a significantly lower number of cattle in the country.

Their number has dropped from around 640 thousand heads in 2023, to 600 thousand in 2024 and then to around 520 thousand in 2025. This has raised suspicions that subsidies may have been given for animals that did not exist.

An even greater discrepancy appears in sheep and goats. For the year 2025, ELSTAT registers about 8.8 million animals, while the Ministry of Agriculture database lists about 15.7 million.

Experts and farmer representatives have raised concerns about the lack of a reliable livestock registry, making it difficult to determine the real number of animals on farms.

At the same time, the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) is investigating dozens of suspected cases of fraud with agricultural funds. In some cases, it is suspected that farmers received subsidies for land they did not own or for activities they did not carry out.

The scandal has also led to the closure of the Greek agency OPEKEPE, which administered European agricultural funds. The Greek government has promised to strengthen controls, while the European Commission is working with Athens to reform the system.

But the figures uncovered by POLITICO raise an even bigger question: how many of the animals that have received subsidies actually exist?

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