Greece wants a portfolio that reflects its progress and strategic role

Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Ursula von der Leyen that Greece must play a major role in the next Commission, Politico reported

“I want a portfolio that reflects, on the one hand, the progress Greece has made economically and, on the other hand, Greece’s strategic position in the southeast corner of Europe and in NATO,” the Greek prime minister told Politico.

Asked whether Athens would be eyeing the Mediterranean commissioner position announced by Mrs von der Leyen, Mr Mitsotakis replied: “That’s not what I meant, but what I would say is that there are other portfolios that could respond to what we want. I think it would be a good idea to have a Mediterranean commissioner. I estimate that the position would end up with a representative of a Mediterranean country. I will not declare a preference because we could be very interested in other portfolios and ultimately this is a decision that the president of the Commission will make.”

Regarding the Greek commissioner, Politico repeated the information that protothema.gr also wrote about the Central Macedonian governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas and the Minister of Labor Niki Kerameos, as Mrs. von der Leyen asked for one male and one female candidate from each member state for her examination.

Recalling that von der Leyen’s re-election was the result of the Greek prime minister’s participation in the negotiations, Politico noted that “given the weak position of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, executives with the departure of former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo from the European Council, Kyriakos Mitsotakis could put himself at the front of the line (the leader among the original leaders)”.

In the same interview, Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed that Greece is “no longer the black sheep of Europe”, adding that it is “up to my colleagues to judge who really contributes”. “So I always try not only to speak on behalf of Greece, which is what I should do, but I also look at the bigger picture and try to make decisions that strengthen Europe. That’s how I see my role.”

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