On behalf of Élő Vidék Gazdaplatform, bearing two signatures, on alleged EU subsidy fraud in Slovakia 

Petition addressed to: Petitionsausschuss des Europäischen Parlaments

The petitioners denounce an alleged serious and systematic fraud in the distribution of EU agricultural subsidies in Slovakia, an allegation first made public by murdered journalist Ján Kuciak. Farmers claim that EU direct grants for agricultural areas are being distributed illegally to influential interest groups using mafia methods to extort farmland from its owners, with the direct or indirect help of the competent Slovak authorities, while smallholders are forced into bankruptcy due to the loss of income and direct payments. The petitioners consider that this was made possible, among others, by creating and maintaining a legal framework favourable to large entrepreneurs, by hindering and undermining the enforcement of existing legislation and by endemic corruption in the relevant public bodies.