Mitsotakis in Zagreb for the election of the new EPP leadership

The two-day proceedings of the European People's Party's Statutory Congress for the election of its new leadership, as well as the EPP summit, will begin on Wednesday with the participation of Greek Prime Minister and New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and his successor, Ursula von der Leyen, as well as the president of the Cyprus Republic, Nicos Anastasiades.

The election of outgoing European Council President Donald Tusk as EPP president is largely a formality, as he is the only candidate. Tusk will succeed French politician Joseph Daul at the helm of the EPP, while among the 12 candidates for the 10 EPP vice-president slots are Cyprus' DISY party leader Averoff Neophytou and former European Parliament president Antonio Tajani. German MP Christian Schmidt has been nominated for the post of treasurer.

Mitsotakis is expected to arrive at the Croatian capital on Wednesday afternoon to participate in the proceedings of the EPP Congress, which begin at 14:00 (15:00 Athens time) with an opening statement by the host of the congress, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, followed by outgoing EPP president Joseph Daul and EPP Presidential Candidate Donald Tusk.

At 15:00 (16:00 Athens time), Mitsotakis will speak as a special guest at an event on youth participation in European politics. Then, at 16:45 (17.45 Athens time), the Prime Minister will participate in a panel of the EPP's Young Members Network for MEPs.

On the same day, the prime minister will have bilateral meetings with the European Commission's chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, Romania's Ludovic Orban, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg and former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The first day of the conference will conclude with speeches by the new President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the newly elected EPP President, and an EPP heads of state and government and opposition leaders' summit.

On Thursday, 08:00 (09:00 Greek time), the Greek prime minister will meet with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenković. At 10:00 (11:00 Greek time) Mitsotakis will participate in a panel discussion on the EPP's initiatives to tackle climate change. At 11:50 (12:50 Greek time) the prime minister is to deliver his central address to the EPP congress.