Which EU commissioners have the most property, money and influence – POLITICO

“This is a deeply flawed process without transparency, where the rules prevent meaningful scrutiny of these declarations,” said Nicholas Aiossa, the director of Transparency International EU.

Here are some of the interesting findings…

Landlord representative

of Greece Apostolos Tzitzikostas has the most impressive property list. Four pages of his declaration detail that he is the partial or full owner of 16 apartments, 655,463 m2 of land, six shops and several garages and storage rooms throughout Greece. According to a Greek official, Tzitzikostas' family is one of the country's largest landowners, with land holdings dating back centuries. The Greek official was granted anonymity to speak freely. Tzitzikostas' family is one of the richest in northern Greece.

Tzitzikostas' portfolio will include the tourism industry, raising questions about decisions he might make that could affect the value of his properties, said an MEP who had access to the statement and was granted anonymity to speak freely . The Greek politician, who also claims to own more than 200,000 euros in shares in various companies (from dairy products to photovoltaics), also received funding from Europe's Common Agricultural Policy for one of his farms worth 18,116.30 euros. At the time of publication, Tzitzikostas had not responded to a request for comment.

Italian Raffaele Fitto declared that he owned seven apartments and shares in three others. His real estate assets, all of which are in Italy, also include land, two garages and a cellar. The politician from Giorgia Meloni's right-wing party, who made his career in the public sector, is expected to take over the cohesion and reform portfolio. He also claims to own 15 percent of a pharmacy in Brindisi, southern Italy, whose value is estimated – by Fitto himself – at 150,000 euros. At the time of publication, Fitto had not responded to a request for comment.

Candidate of the Bulgarian Commission Ekaterina Zaharieva has apparently also built up a real estate fortune. In 2008 she bought a 6,850 m² property including a holiday home on the Greek peninsula of Halkidiki and an apartment in her country's capital, Sofia. Between 2016 and 2018, Zaharieva bought two more houses and land in Bulgaria. At the time of publication, Zaharieva had not responded to a request for comment.