{"id":2415,"date":"2026-04-24T15:27:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=2415"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:27:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:27:00","slug":"margaritis-schinas-on-agricultural-subsidies-i-put-my-hand-on-the-fire-that-payments-will-continue-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=2415","title":{"rendered":"Margaritis Schinas on agricultural subsidies: I put my hand on the fire that payments will continue (video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In assuring that there is no risk to the flow of agricultural subsidies<\/b>, the minister Rural Development and Food<\/strong>, Margaritis Schinas,<\/strong> in the context of his participation in the <\/span> Delphi Economic Forum. <\/p>\n

At the same time, he referred to the 3 pillars on which the political leadership of the Ministry of Rural Development<\/b> is based. In more detail, Schinas<\/b> stressed that “I can put my hand on the fire that payments will continue<\/b>“, clarifying that the transition to the new system is taking place without questioning the financing of producers. <\/p>\n

As he explained, the process of changing the payment model is particularly challenging as “we are paying as we change<\/b>“, describing it as an “extremely difficult” exercise. In fact, he said that some \u20ac250 million<\/b> was paid out in Holy Week alone<\/b>, while by the end of the year payments are estimated to approach \u20ac1 billion<\/b>. <\/p>\n

In this context, he outlined the three main “construction sites” of the policy in the primary sector<\/b>. First<\/b>, the “complete, radical, effective reorganisation of the payment system”, with the aim of moving to a new model through the PMO.<\/p>\n

Second<\/b>, the “construction site of the future”, namely the formulation of the new Common Agricultural Policy, where – as he noted – “Greece must have a say”.<\/p>\n

And Third<\/b>, the management of zoonoses, culminating in the foot-and-mouth crisis in Lesvos. <\/p>\n

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Specifically on the issue of grants<\/b>, he stood on the importance of the country’s credibility vis-\u00e0-vis the European institutions, noting that “if Greece gains credibility through the reorganisation of the payments system, our voice will be heard clearly and effectively<\/b>“. <\/p>\n

Referring to the concerns of farmers about abandonment of the activity<\/b>, Schinas<\/b> attempted to send a message of optimism, stressing that “the primary sector in Greece is the story that has not yet been told<\/b>“, referring to a field with significant untapped potential. Besides, he was particularly impressed by his symbolic reference to his own office at the Ministry<\/b>, which – as he described it – has “a hole in the floor” that has not been repaired. <\/p>\n

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He said he intends to keep it as a reminder of “the asymmetry that exists between a ministry that brings in 2.5 billion euros a year to the country and the picture it presents”. <\/p>\n

With regard to treating animal diseases<\/b>, Schinas <\/b>described mouth fever<\/b> as the “covid of animals, times 10<\/b>“, which if not controlled at the point where it occurs, could destroy not only the region but the entire livestock industry in the country<\/b>. <\/p>\n

He referred to “a daily battle<\/b>” that is in full swing, stressing that the strategy being pursued is based on vigilant surveillance and controls<\/b>. “We have exhaustive controls<\/b>,” he noted, while calling on cattle farmers<\/b> “to keep their cool<\/b>” and to cooperate with the authorities. <\/p>\n

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She also made a specific reference to the issue of vaccination<\/b>, clarifying that “the Greek government does not exclude any option<\/b>“, however, at this stage “the emphasis must be on surveillance and controls<\/b> and on slaughter<\/b>“, as vaccination “does not replace the loss of animals”<\/b>. <\/p>\n

As regards the European Public Prosecutor’s Office<\/b>, Schinas<\/b> expressed the view that its operation is an integral part of the country’s European course and recalled that Greece has consciously chosen to participate in European control mechanisms<\/b>.<\/p>\n

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In conclusion, Mr. Schinas acknowledged that past problems have damaged the image of the ministry<\/b>, insisting, however, that the changes underway are aimed precisely at correcting these pathologies. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Minister of Rural Development and Rural Development has assured that there is no risk to the flow of agricultural subsidies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}