At the beginning of the meeting, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Apostolos Tzitzikostas had the following dialogue:
Apostolos Tzitzikostas: First of all, I want to thank you warmly for your decision to nominate me as the next Greek Commissioner to the European Union. It is for me, I want you to know this, a unique honor and responsibility. With my experience in the European institutions I am well aware of the challenges facing the European Union today and I am determined to work hard to create a Europe that meets the expectations of our fellow citizens. And of course, this decision of yours also constitutes a recognition of the role and dynamics of northern Greece and Macedonia, in which you have personally invested in many important projects in recent years.
I want you to know and I want our fellow citizens to know that my commitment is to continue working for the development and improvement of the daily life of our fellow citizens, serving Greece and the European Union with a sense of duty and responsibility.
My guide, as in all these years on this course and now, will continue to be the strong relationship of trust with the citizens. Thank you again, President.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: Mr. Regional Governor, dear Apostole, it is with great satisfaction that I welcome you today at the Maximos Palace following the official announcement by the government that you will be Greece’s proposal to assume the duties of the next Greek Commissioner in Brussels.
You are a person who has played a great course in Local Government, elected Regional Governor for a decade and with very high percentages, which shows a wider political acceptance, in the second largest Region of the country. But at the same time you are also a person who knows the European institutions well as you have been President of the Committee of the Regions.
I believe that it is precisely the connection between the ability to unite local and regional priorities with the major European imperatives that makes you a person who has all the guarantees to carry out this very difficult and nationally demanding mission of being the next Greek Commissioner in Brussels.
I wish you good success, good strength, good preparation in the process, because there is – as our fellow citizens know – a demanding hearing process in the European Parliament.
I think at the end of the month we will know the portfolio that our country will take over. Let me remind you that it is the exclusive prerogative of the President of the European Commission to allocate the portfolios, but I believe that Greece will be able to claim a portfolio that will reflect both the significant progress it has achieved in recent years, but also the special, I would say, geostrategic and geopolitical role that our country has in the wider Balkans, in southeastern Europe.
So, good strength, good success and I say this I believe interpreting the feelings of all Greek women and all Greeks.
Finally, I would also like to say a “thank you” to the Vice-President of the European Commission, the current Greek Commissioner, Margaritis Schinas, we really had an excellent cooperation on critical issues, such as the immigration portfolio, which is a great open challenge and for our homeland.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas: This is the new Greek Commissioner at the Commission
THE Apostolos Tzizikostas will be Greece’s proposal for Commissioner to the Commission, as announced by government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis.
THE Apostolos Tzizikostas is Greece’s proposal for commissioner of Greece in EUas announced by the government representative, Pavlos Marinakis, during the briefing of the political editors, with the prime minister having informed Ursula von der Leyen about this.
Today at 18:00 in the afternoon, Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet Apostolos Tzitzikostas at Megaro Maximou. The final choice was weighed by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after consultation with the president of the Commission.
The Greek prime minister is interested in a strong portfolio, which will be important both for Greek affairs and for European development. Such is, for example, the new position of the Commissioner for Defense, which, however, is said to have been “locked” in Poland. This is also the case with the Transport portfolio – which also has Shipping as a responsibility – and the newly created Housing portfolio, provided that it is “endowed” with significant funds and can thus provide answers to a major issue for our country as well and especially for the generation of 20- and 30-somethings.
Who is Apostolos Tzizikostas?
Apostolos Tzitzikostas was born on September 2, 1978. He studied Political Science, Foreign Policy and Diplomacy at Georgetown University in Washington. He gained his first work experience in the Office of the Chairman of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee. He completed his studies with a master’s degree in European Public Administration and Economics at the University College of London. In 2002 he created his own company in the field of production, processing and standardization of dairy products based on organic standards.
In the national elections of September 2007, he was elected Member of Parliament of the 1st Electoral District of Thessaloniki. In the Regional Elections of November 2010 he was elected Deputy Regional Governor of Central Macedonia – Deputy Regional Governor of Thessaloniki. In the Regional Elections of May 2014, he was elected Regional Governor of Central Macedonia with a percentage of 71.03% in the second round of the elections. In the May 2019 elections, he was re-elected Regional Governor of Central Macedonia with a percentage of 62.04 from the first round of elections. In November 2019, he was elected President of the Union of Regions of Greece.
Since 2015 he has been a member of the European Committee of the Regions. In July 2017 he was elected Head of the Greek Delegation and Vice-President of the European Committee of the Regions. In February 2020, he was elected President of the European Committee of the Regions.
He speaks English and French and his articles are often published in newspapers and magazines in Greece and abroad.
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