Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Making good on campaign pledges for limited civil service hiring in the National Health System and Greek Police, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has ordered the hiring of 3,950 civil servants by the end of the year.

Margaritis Schinas, who until now had served as chief spokesman of the European Commission under Jean-Claude Juncker, has been tapped by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to serve as Greece's next representative on the European Commission.

Senior officials from Greeces creditor institutions are meeting in Athens with the country's new conservative government, which is planning to begin dismantling bailout-era taxes next month. 

Greece's Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) is to convene at 9 a.m. on Friday morning at the Maximos Mansion under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

The issues to be discussed include the appointment of a new leadership to the Greek Police, with Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis to propose candidates.

Senior officials from Greece's bailout creditor institutions were meeting in Athens with the country's new conservative government following general elections this month.

Greece on Thursday nominated European Commission's chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas as the country's representative in the European Commission, the prime minister's office at Maximos Mansion announced.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will inform new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of this selection, the press release said. 

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (front right) and his ministers are sworn in as MPs in Parliament on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (l) received former conservative premier Costas Karamanlis at the Maximos Mansion in Athens on Wednesday. Later in the day, Mitsotakis visited the Defense Ministry where he praised Greece's armed forces for being "in a state of full operational readiness." [Intime News]

By George Gilson

The appointment of former Greek Police chief Konstantinos Tsouvalas to the crucial post of general secretary of the Citizen's Protection Ministry has caused a political maelstrom as he was in charge of police's botched management of the deadly July, 2018 Mati wildfire that claimed over 100 lives.