Greek MP demands answers from MEP over wife's €245,700 secondment to EU post

The dispute

On 3 July, New Democracy MP Makarios Lazaridis publicly questioned the secondment of Theodora Aivazoglou, wife of independent MEP Nikolas Farantouris (who cooperates with PASOK), to the Permanent Greek Representation to the EU in Brussels. Lazaridis posted a document from the Ministry of National Economy showing that Aivazoglou would receive an additional €245,700 on top of her salary for the period 2027–2029. He claimed the move took place days before the relevant Foreign Ministry announcement and was not published on the Diavgeia transparency portal.

Mr. Nikos Farantouris, will you explain to us how your wife Theodora Aivazoglou was seconded to the Permanent Greek Representation? Her transfer to Brussels was implemented several days before the only relevant Foreign Ministry announcement for the secondment of public employees was issued, and without being published on Diavgeia!

Farantouris's response

On 4 July, Farantouris issued a detailed rebuttal on social media. He stated that the secondment was legal, following an official invitation from the Representation itself (protocol number 8002/22.12.2025), to cover urgent staffing needs in the Economic Policy Unit amid critical negotiations for the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework. He emphasized that his wife was selected based on her formal and substantive qualifications, alongside another specialist from the Ministry of Finance, through the prescribed procedures of the competent ministries. A Joint Ministerial Decision was issued and published on Diavgeia.

Theodora Aivazoglou is an established economist, a graduate of Economics from the University of Athens and LSE with high specialization and many years of experience in public administration. Her secondment was done legally, following an official invitation from the Permanent Greek Representation itself, with protocol number 8002/22.12.2025, to cover urgent staffing needs of the Economic Policy Unit and with only the remuneration provided for seconded employees.

Lazaridis escalates

Later on 4 July, Lazaridis returned with new questions. He acknowledged that Farantouris had confirmed the €245,700 figure but challenged the transparency claims, stating that no such vacancy announcement appeared on the Representation's official website and demanding that Farantouris publish the Diavgeia entry. He also asked whether Aivazoglou had previously been seconded to a SYRIZA MEP or another party's MEP. Lazaridis announced he had instructed his legal advisers to pursue defamation proceedings over what he called slanderous remarks by Farantouris.

He claims the position was announced by the Representation, yet there is no such announcement on its official website. Let him make it public. He claims the decision has been uploaded to Diavgeia. Let him make it public, because it is not on the official site.

What the documents show

According to the document published by Lazaridis, Aivazoglou's secondment covers the two-year period 2027–2029 and includes an additional foreign posting allowance of €245,700 beyond her regular salary. Farantouris maintains that the secondment was requested by the Representation itself due to the increased and critical workload in 2026, and that all procedures were followed. The dispute has drawn in PASOK, with Lazaridis calling on party leader Nikos Androulakis to comment.