There is "no hint of a cover-up" in the request that Parliament set up an Investigation Committee to look into the actions of OPEKEPE - the Greek authority for payment of EU agricultural assistance - since its foundation in 1998, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said on Tuesday during an interview with Alpha Radio 989. On the contrary, he suggested that the ruling majority's proposal was "an institutional move".
Marinakis emphasised that the purpose of the committee was to shed light on crucial issues, such as the technical solution, the existence or absence of cross-checking and the specific periods they applied, as well as regional grazing plans.
When asked about opposition proposals to set up an Ad hoc Parliamentary Committee for the conduct of preliminary investigations, Marinakis reiterated that, in the government's view, there was nothing to implicate the two former rural development ministers, Makis Voridis and Lefteris Avgenakis, in any criminal wrongdoing.
The government spokesperson rejected the opposition's accusations that the government was using the Investigative Committee proposal as an attempt to "spread the blame" for any wrongdoing and announced that the relevant request might even be submitted within the day. He stated that the proposal for the Investigation Committee will be submitted immediately and the process will be completed within the coming weeks.