Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has selected a former Brussels bubble heavyweight as the country’s candidate for EU commissioner, aiming for a relevant portfolio related to economics or defence.
Greek diplomatic sources confirmed the nomination to Euronews, noting that Mitsotakis has already informed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of this decision.
Outgoing Commission vice-president Margaritis Schinas, who according to some rumours stood a chance of being reappointed, also sent his congratulations to his likely successor in a post on X.
Tzitzikostas, from Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party, is currently the governor of Central Macedonia, a position he has been elected to three times with more than 50% of the vote.
As governor of Central Macedonia, he has been a member of the EU’s Committee of the regions since 2015, holding the position of vice-president of the EU’s institution and becoming president from 2020 until 2022.
For this, he is regarded by his government as experienced in institutional roles in both Greece and Europe.
The selection, diplomatic sources continue, underscores the strategic importance of Macedonia and Northern Greece to Europe, highlighting its connectivity and geopolitical significance in the Balkans and South-Eastern Europe.
Tzitzikostas’ background includes working for the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs while attending Georgetown University and founding an organic dairy company in Greece. He has a degree in Economics and Public Policy from the University College of London.
Mitsotakis now hopes to secure a significant portfolio for Tzitzikostas, leveraging his strong relationship with von der Leyen and his decisive role in her re-appointment.
In several interviews, he has mentioned aiming for an economic or defence-related portfolio, though Tzitzikostas could also be a good pick for cohesion policy considering his experience in the Committee of Regions or even agriculture, as von der Leyen wants to give this role to someone from her own European People’s Party.
So far, the Commission candidates are formally known for 16 of the EU’s 27 member states, eleven of which have only submitted a male name – complicating von der Leyen’s ambition to reach gender parity in the next College of Commissioners.
Yesterday, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer nominated current Finance Minister Magnus Brunner as the next Austrian commissioner in a post on social media platform X.
He described Brunner as “an experienced government politician with high competence in financial, economic and competition policy at national and European level”, hinting at a preference for an economic portfolio.