Assault against Boutaris was ‘shameless,’ says Commission spokesman

The attack against Thessaloniki mayor Yiannis Boutaris on Saturday was "shameless and unethical," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said on Monday, in a speech opening the 43rd Annual General Assembly of the Exporters' Association of Northern Greece (SEVE).

Schinas expressed his sympathy to the mayor saying he was dismayed by what he read in the press about the incident.

"Thessaloniki grew threw the centuries as a crossroads of cultures and a place where cultures and perceptions come together, and this is how it will become great," hewas quoted as saying by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency.

"I would not like to read what I have read in recent days, which made Thessaloniki news throughout Europe for the wrong reasons. I would like Thessaloniki to be good news in Europe and the world," he added.