Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made it clear that his country expects key posts, especially after he was instrumental in helping European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen win a second term.
Greece has nominated Apostolos Tsitzikostas, the governor of the central Greek region of Macedonia, to be the next European Commissioner. Like all candidates nominated by governments, Tsitzikostas must be approved by von der Leyen and the European Parliament, and von der Leyen will decide what role each commissioner will play.
Italian media reports suggest that Mr Tsitsikostas may have to compete against Raffaele Fito, a leading candidate for Italy's commissioner position, who is also running for one of several economic areas, including Cohesion.
Greek officials said Greece believes Tsitzikostas is an ideal candidate for the integration post because he has overseen the integration fund as a regional governor for the past decade and built relationships with similar politicians across Europe. Tsitzikostas also served as president of the EU Committee of the Regions, the body that represents regional administrations in Brussels, from 2020 to 2022.
“He also understands the changes that are needed to make integration policies more effective and has knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of current systems and procedures,” the official added.
The European Commission is considering tying integration funds to the implementation of domestic reforms in the next EU budget, which takes effect in 2028. Such plans have raised alarm bells among regions, who fear they will be ignored by national capitals on how the money is spent. Given Tsitzikostas's background, they may see him as a political ally of the new European Commission.
So far, most of the €392 billion Consolidated Fund for 2021-2027, aimed at helping boost growth in Europe's poorer regions, has been paid out according to agreed criteria rather than in return for hitting targets. But countries may soon have to hit targets in return for their allocations.
