2024-07-11 19:36:31
She told journalists that the spring session of the Seimas is scheduled to end on July 18, but a few weeks later, members of parliament could meet to discuss the candidate for the position of European Commissioner.
Prime Minister Ingrīda Šimonīte will nominate Lithuania’s candidate for the job in the European Commission (EC), then it will be approved by the government, the parliament and the country’s president Gitans Nauseda. The final decision on the approval of the candidates nominated by the member states will be taken by the European Parliament.
It has been reported in the media that the representative of Lithuania in the next EC could be the chairman of the conservative party “Union of the Fatherland – Lithuanian Christian Democrats” Gabrielius Landsbergis. Several conservative representatives have also mentioned his name, but Landsbergis himself has refused to comment on such information.
Šimonīte has said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs would be an excellent European Commissioner.
On the other hand, Lithuanian President Nausėdas has indicated that, in his opinion, Lithuania has better candidates for the job in the EC than Landsbergis. Nauseda has not publicly named his favorites.
Chmilīte-Nilsen said that there are informal talks about which commissioner’s portfolio Lithuania could receive in the new EC. The Speaker of the Seimas added that this will determine which candidate to choose.
“There are talks about several possible portfolios. There is an expansion portfolio,” she said, adding that, in her opinion, energy would also be an important area for Lithuania.
“There are several important areas,” said Chmilite-Nilsen, stressing that Lithuania must nominate a candidate before an agreement is reached on the distribution of all the most important portfolios.
It is believed that Landsbergis would be the most suitable candidate for the position of Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement of the European Union. Nausėda councilors have assumed that if Lithuania were to be entrusted with a field related to finance or economy, the candidate could be Šimonīte or Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste.
The new composition of the EC is formed after the EP elections held at the beginning of June.
In the current convocation, Lithuania is represented in the EC by Virginijs Sinkevičs, who has been the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries for the last five years. In the EP elections held at the beginning of June, Sinkevičs was elected from the opposition Democratic Party “On behalf of Lithuania” in the Seimas.
The “Fatherland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats” won the EP elections in Lithuania, which will have three of Lithuania’s 11 deputies in the new EP convocation.
Latvia has nominated Valdi Dombrovski for the job in the new EC, while Kaja Kallas, nominated by Estonia, has been nominated for the position of European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
2024-07-11 19:36:31