Greece’s Apostolos Tzitzikostas faces tough questions in bid for transport gig

Greece got the transport portfolio it was asking for — now Apostolos Tzitzikostas has to close the deal.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told POLITICO that Athens wanted its next commissioner to get a very important job. Transport doesn’t usually make the cut for that, but Greece is the world’s leading shipowning nation —responsible for 20 percent of global cargo capacity — so this is a file that matters.
Expect MEPs to poke at some touchy issues in their questions.
Greece’s government has yet to close the case of a deadly February 2023 train crash that caused a political backlash over its handling of the case. Greek shipping tycoons also supplied much of the shadow fleet that Russia is using to ship its oil in violation of EU sanctions.
Finally, the member of the conservative European People’s Party is going to have to explain how the Commission will stick to its deadline of phasing out sales of new combustion engine cars by 2035.
We’ll be bringing you all the live action from 6:30 p.m. CET on Nov. 4. 
Background reading:
PS. If you want to follow more of the action from the hearings, our reporters will be bringing you blow-by-blow updates from all 26 commissioner interviews here.