ATHENS — The European Union is investigating potential misuse of at the least €11.9 million of EU funds in a recycling venture in Greece, because the nation’s infamous battle to satisfy Brussels’ waste administration requirements exhibits no signal of ending.
The probe follows EU-commissioned experiences by Greek auditors that discovered irregularities with how a lot the venture value and the way it’s run.
One of many experiences, seen by POLITICO, discovered a number of issues with the best way the recycling facilities function, together with a complete lack of controls over what occurs to the waste that’s collected.
The EU investigation, led by the European Public Prosecutor’s Workplace, comes on the again of Greece’s long-standing points with implementing EU legal guidelines on waste administration, which have resulted in large fines imposed on the Mediterranean nation.
The venture in query is a set of “recycling models” or kiosks constructed by Greek recycling firm TEXAN and unfold out throughout the Attica, Peloponnese and Crete areas. Locals can get a reimbursement for recycling plastic, steel and glass objects in these kiosksthat aren’t packaging.
“There isn’t any info from [Attica waste management body] EDSNA on what occurs to the waste after their assortment, aside from a report on its placement in a TEXAN storage facility for the yr 2023,” the report seen by POLITICO reads, including that not all storage models have been put in.
EPPO’s investigation is predicated on the findings of the audit committee’s experiences, amongst different paperwork, in response to an official accustomed to the case.
The €220 million venture was co-financed by the EU through a European Operational Program.
In 2023, the monetary audit committee had slapped a €2.9 million refund penalty on EDSNA after discovering “critical irregularities” with the buying contract awarded to TEXAN.
The corporate had received the tender for the venture regardless of suggesting that the kiosks can be round 5 instances costlier than what it might value primarily based on market costs.
“It can’t be confirmed whether or not EDSNA investigated what an affordable funds for the recycling facilities can be, provided that the market analysis it performed and referred to, didn’t concern at the least two unbiased [companies], however two [companies] with a standard curiosity and an unique relationship, which then, after all, submitted the one bid within the tender in query and received the contract,” a separate report mentioned, in response to native media experiences on the time.
Following the second audit, accomplished in July and first revealed by Greece’s newspaper Kathimerini, a second €3 million tremendous was imposed, half the quantity of EU funds used for the recycling facilities within the three areas, because the report notes.
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Greece’s poor observe report with recycling and respecting EU legal guidelines on waste is infamous.
In accordance with 2022 knowledge from the European statistical workplace Eurostat, the municipal waste recycling price in Greece hovered round 17 p.c, in comparison with the EU common of 49 p.c.
Greece can also be on observe to fail on its obligation to recycle 55 p.c of municipal waste and 65 p.c of packaging waste this yr, the European Fee present in its 2025 environmental implementation evaluation. The nation had already “missed the 2020 goal to recycle 50 p.c of its municipal waste by a terrific margin” the evaluation says.
Within the EU, Greece is one in every of 5 members paying fines for not complying with environmental insurance policies. So far, the nation has despatched about €230 million to Brussels to make up for these violations, in response to the evaluation.
Out of the 19 open infringement circumstances towards Greece on environmental issues, six are associated to waste administration, from unlawful landfilling to not correctly making use of legal guidelines on packaging waste. Native NGOs, in the meantime, have repeatedly warned of systemic issues within the sector.