Raffaele Fitto

Raffaele Fitto (; born 28 August 1969) is an Italian politician who has served as Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Cohesion and Reforms since 2024. He previously was Minister for European Affairs and Minister for the South and Cohesion Policies in the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from 2022 to 2024. A member of Brothers of Italy (FdI), which he joined in 2019, he also served as President of Apulia from 2000 to 2005 and Minister for Regional Affairs and Territorial Cohesion from 2008 to 2011 in Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's fourth government.

Career Born in Maglie, Apulia, Fitto began his political career during the 1990s in Christian Democracy (DC), the ruling party of post-war Italy. When the DC was dissolved and with the birth of the Second Italian Republic, he joined the DC's successor political parties and Christian democratic parties, such as Italian People's Party (PPI), the United Christian Democrats (CDU), and the Christian Democrats for Freedom (CDL).

In 1999, he was elected to the European Parliament on the electoral list of Forza Italia (FI), of which he was a member from 2001 to 2009, when he joined The People of Freedom (PdL), the new party of Silvio Berlusconi. On 17 May 2015, Fitto left the new Forza Italia, which he had joined when it was re-founded in 2013, and the European People's Party Group to join the European Conservatives and Reformists. From 2015 to 2017, Fitto was a member of Conservatives and Reformists (CoR). In 2017, he joined Direction Italy (DI), which he left in 2019 to join the Brothers of Italy party led by Giorgia Meloni. In 2022, he was appointed to Giorgia Meloni's government. He was replaced in the European Parliament by Denis Nesci.

In July 2026 the European Commission has designated Raffaele Fitto as Commission's Special Representative for Cyprus.

Trials Bribery towards the Italian public health care system In 2006, Fitto was investigated by the Bari prosecutor in connection with a donation to his regional party La Puglia Prima di Tutto of €500,000 by Tosinvest, a company owned by Antonio Angelucci, ahead of the 2005 Apulian regional election. According to the prosecution, this amount was suspected of being a bribe to secure for the Apulia region the management of eleven nursing homes. A request to arrest Fitto, who in the meantime had become a member of the Italian Parliament, was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies. In December 2009, he was found guilty of abuse of office, corruption, and illegal financing of political parties; Fitto was acquitted of some other charges in June 2012.

In February 2013, Fitto was sentenced by the Court of first instance (Tribunale di Primo Grado) to four years in prison and five years' disqualification from public office; the sentence was commuted to 1 year. In September 2015, Fitto was acquitted of all charges by the Court of second instance (Corte d'Appello). In June 2017, he was acquitted of all charges by the Supreme Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione).

Bankruptcy of Cedis In February 2009, Fitto was accused of conspiring, during his time as president of Apulia (2000–2005) to short-sell the trading company Cedis at that time (2004–2006) in administration. The charges were filed in April 2009. In March 2017, Fitto was acquitted of all charges by the Court of second instance.

Electoral history

ElectionHouseConstituencyPartyVotesResultNotes 1990 Regional Council of Apulia Lecce DC 75,355 Elected 1995 Regional Council of Apulia Lecce CDU 22,606 Elected 1999 European Parliament Southern Italy FI 128,637 Elected 2006 Chamber of Deputies Apulia FI – Elected 2008 Chamber of Deputies Apulia PdL – Elected 2013 Chamber of Deputies Apulia PdL – Elected 2014 European Parliament Southern Italy FI 284,712 Elected 2019 European Parliament Southern Italy FdI 87,786 Elected 2022 Chamber of Deputies Apulia FdI – Elected