Greece nominates regional governor for EU Commissioner
Greece will recommend the Governor of Central Macedonia, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, for the position of Commissioner in the 2024-29 Commission, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said on Thursday during a press briefing.
“Apostolos Tzitzikostas is a person with experience in institutional roles both in Greece and in Europe where he was elected president of the European Committee of the Regions in 2020,” Marinakis said. “It is a political choice which highlights the importance of Macedonia and Northern Greece for Europe as a region with a strategic position, connectivity and geopolitical importance both for the Balkans and Southeastern Europe,” he added.
Tzitzikostas, a 45-year-old economist and political scion – his late father was an MP and minister – has been governor of Central Macedonia since January 2013, when he replaced his predecessor, Panagiotis Psomiadis, who had been convicted of dereliction of duty.
The governor is popular in Central Macedonia, where the ruling New Democracy suffered significant losses to the far-right in the June 9 elections for the European Parliament. Tzitzikostas is known to be popular with the kind of populist right supporters who defected from New Democracy.
Marinakis added that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Tzitzikostas at the Maximos Mansion, at 6 p.m.
