Yesterday, Defence Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos was appointed Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs for the period 2014-2019. 

Avramopoulos' new portfolio also includes issues that concern Frontex, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Europol, the European Police College, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and actions on the management of major information systems.

In his mission letter to Avramopoulos, incoming Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker highlighted migration as one of the “pressing political challenges,” noting that “we need a new policy on migration that will address skill shortages and the demographic challenges the EU faces and that will modernize the way the EU addresses these challenges.”

Meanwhile, Margaritis Schinas was appointed as spokesperson of the European Commission. Schinas is director-level head of the Athens office of Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs.