OPEKA response to the Union of Regions of Greece regarding the new Food Assistance Programme
Following the announcement by the Union of Regions of Greece regarding the food assistance programme, OPEKA would like to clarify the following:
The Union of Regions of Greece seeks to portray the Regions as having had no substantive involvement in the previous implementation model for the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). This does not reflect the facts.
The key fact is that the first tender, which was not approved by the Court of Audit, was based on the model tender document proposed by the Union of Regions of Greece following consultation with OPEKA. The terms of that document were found to restrict competition, and the tender therefore did not proceed. By contrast, the second tender document, prepared exclusively by the competent department, received a positive response from the Court of Audit.
The Regions were therefore neither outside the process nor mere observers. They took part in the consultation, submitted proposals, and those proposals were incorporated into the initial model document on which the first tenders were based.
When the previous model proved unworkable, the State redesigned the programme, introducing a new, unified voucher-based assistance system so that support could reach people more quickly and fairly, under uniform rules across the country.
What is needed today is not the shifting of responsibility. It is seriousness, truth, and commitment to the goal: supporting our fellow citizens in need without delays, distortions, or evasion.
OPEKA PRESS OFFICE
