De Europese Commissie benoemt hoofd van vertegenwoordiging in Athene (en)

Panayotis Carvounis will take office as the new Head of Representation in Athens on 1 November 2010.

Mr. Carvounis, currently Deputy Director-General in the Communication Directorate-General, joined the Commission in 1982 and became Director in 1999. He served as Principal Adviser in the Commission’s Press and Communication Service in 2000. He developed and managed the newly created Service, including the co-ordination of the Commission Representations in the Member States; the Service’s human and budget resources; the EUROPA web site and the Audio-visual Unit (Europe by Satellite).

He became Acting Director-General of the Directorate-General for Press and Communication in 2005. In this function, he helped develop the Commission’s communication strategy and reinforced cooperation between the Communication Directorate-General in Brussels and the Representations. He has served as Deputy Director-General of the Communication Directorate-General with special responsibility for the Commission's Representations, as well as for multimedia communication tools, since 2006. He also coordinated relations with the other European institutions in the communication field.

The decision to offer the post to Mr. Carvounis demonstrates the great importance that the Commission gives to keeping close and trusted relations with the Greek Government and the Greek people during the current economic crisis. The Commission will make use of its Representation in Athens and services in Brussels to do everything possible to support Greece’s reforms.

Mr. Carvounis' background in law and his considerable experience in the different EU policy areas, and in particular with communication, will help the Representation in Athens play a key role in communicating with Greek citizens, civil society and the media, as well as strengthening relations between the Commission and national, regional and local authorities.

Background:

The Commission has Representations in all EU Member States. They represent the Commission in the Member State, inform the media and public about its policies and report to the Commission on significant developments in the country.

Mr. Carvounis is one of the seven Heads of Representations who were appointed today by the Commission. For an overview of the appointment procedure and a list of all seven names, see IP/10/929.