Commission VP Schinas in Greece on Oct. 7-9

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas will be in Greece between October 7-9 where he will participate in an award ceremony and visit an archaeological site funded by the EU.

Schinas will first travel to Thessaloniki on Wednesday, where he will participate in a ceremony to award the European prize Empress Theofano to the European Union's Erasmus student exchange program. The event will be attended by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

This year's prize will be awarded to the European Union's flagship student exchange program Erasmus, which "fully reflects the aims and values of the prize: European cooperation, mobility and mutual understanding among young Europeans, the future of the EU," the Commission said in a statement.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will make an online greeting, after she cancelled her visit due to the restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Schinas will participate from Thessaloniki in the European Justice and Home Affairs Council, where he will present to the competent EU ministers for the first time the new European pact on migration and asylum.

On Friday, he will travel to Serres, where he will visit the Kasta Tomb and the Archaeological Museum of Amphipolis.

The promotion, restoration and protection of the monument have been funded by the European Commission.