Dominoes of numerous events on the European continent in recent years highlighted the decisive role European institutions in the management of geopolitical crises, making even more visible the reality of national rivalry at many levels within the EU. Within the framework of this new policy, it should be noted that the participation of each state in decision-making bodies becomes even more important and concerns not only diplomatic servantsbut also separately technocrats from Member States that are in a position to intervene actively in specific areas of their competence, such as energy policy, trade rights or defense industry. However Hellas practically absent, mainly at the level of middle and senior managers.

Greece is underrepresented at the level of middle and high ranking diplomats and technocrats in Brussels.

New plan

This gap is filled by a new plan, which is an initiative of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Miltiadis Varvitsiotis and was presented to the cabinet of ministers, having received its approval Kyriakou Mitsotakis, which provides for the systematic control and coordination of the presence of Greek officials in the EU institutions. This is the “National Plan for the Promotion and Use of National Executives in the EU”, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023 and includes a radical adjustment of the existing and particularly cumbersome legal framework and the creation of a uniform and flexible procedure for the selection and promotion of suitable candidates. In fact, an inter-ministerial working group has already been established with the Ministry of the Interior, responsible for personnel management issues, in which the director of Mr. Varvitsiotis, Dimitris Kirmikiroglu, plays a key role.

Among other things, the plan provides for: a) Establishment of a specialized unit for the promotion of the Greek executive potential in the EU Permanent Delegation. b) Establishment of a digital platform for mapping the Greek executive potential and identifying suitable leaders and comparing them based on the necessary selection criteria for European institutions with the respective advertised vacancy. This relationship is expected to significantly increase the number of applications from Greek executives. c) Creation of a “pool” of properly and adequately trained human resources. d) Providing targeted training for educational and training programs – coaching and mentoring. The other administrative pole of the project will be located in Athens at the Ministry of the Interior and the National Center for Public Administration and Self-Government of the Ministry of the Interior, the body primarily responsible for the training and promotion of public sector leaders. The fact that there are no quotas or strict representativeness in every European institution or committee gives Greece the opportunity to intervene as much as possible. It is noted that the discussion on the coordinated management of the spheres of “middle politics” within the framework of European organizations is also an important priority for Greece, which has not yet been implemented in practice. The recent release of the tourist term “Turkic”, to which the Greek side did not respond due to low reflection, highlighted the need to address key national issues within specialized bodies and, as a diplomatic source tells K with knowledge of the European portfolio, there is an acute shortage in this area, which has been resolved for decades in terms of improvisation.

Missing in 17 services

It is problematic that, in general, Greek permanent EU officials are underrepresented in positions of responsibility. Characteristically, out of the 44 services of the European Commission, 17 of them do not have a single Greek in a high or medium position, and key services or general directorates, not only for Greek interests, but also to promote cooperation and communication with Brussels, do not have a Greek presence. . This phenomenon is observed despite the fact that the Greek employees of the Commission are proportionally numerous (4.5% in 2021). It is not a secret for the inhabitants of Brussels that the permanent delegations of member states, such as France, Italy or Sweden, are especially active in this unofficial lobbying game. On the contrary, properly selected, informed and coordinated human capital, seconded by the Greek administration to the European institutions, will be the first line of defense and direct information against any attempt to undermine the national interests in direct cooperation with the experienced Greek diplomatic staff. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but also the relevant ministry.