“Politico” names Ekaterina Zaharieva among the wealthiest commissioners of Agro Plovdiv – 2024-10-03 13:43:53

Agriculture Commissioner Hansen has an affinity for small animal breeding

In a survey published today, the European branch of the media Politico names our candidate for European Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva in third place in the group of wealthier future commissioners.

First in the group is the Greek Apostolos Tsikikostasnominated Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism. He attached a list of properties, with four pages of his declaration detailing his partial or full ownership of 16 apartments, 655,463 m2 of land, six shops, as well as several garages and storage facilities throughout Greece. The Tsitsikostas family is one of the largest landowners in the country, with land ownership dating back centuries.

The Greek politician who also declared that he owns over €200,000 worth of shares in various businesses (from dairy to solar power). He has also received funding from Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy for one of his farms worth €18,116.30.

The Italian Raffaele Fito (future vice-president of the European Commission) declared that he owns seven apartments and has shares in three others. His real estate assets, all located in Italy, also include land, two garages and a basement. He also declared that he owned 15 percent of a pharmacy in Brindisi in the south of Italy, valued – by Fito himself – at €150,000.

“The commissioner nominee Ekaterina Zaharieva also apparently amassed a fortune in real estate. In 2008, she purchased a plot of 6,850 m2, including a holiday home on the Greek peninsula of Halkidiki, as well as an apartment in Sofia. Between 2016 and 2018, Zaharieva bought two more houses and plots of land in Bulgaria,” the publication writes.

The Commissioner of Agriculture Christoph Hansen from Luxembourg has high-level connections. His wife works as an assistant in the office of European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola, and his cousin is Luxembourg’s agriculture minister – although he did not declare that last part, as commissioners are only required to disclose details involving spouses and children.

Hansen has been president of a small animal breeding association (Union des Sociétés Avicoles du Grand-Duché du Luxembourg) since 2015. He has promised to resign if appointed.