It is true that the long-awaited candidacy reached the public space even before the meeting of the rulers – on Monday morning it became clear that the main candidate for European Commissioners is currently a long-time member of the European Parliament, ex-prime minister Andrius Kubilius.
In the afternoon, Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė confirmed that it is indeed intended to delegate this policy to the EC.
Although Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis was unofficially named as the main contender for European Commissioners all this time, the leader of the conservatives himself stated that he understood that he would not pass the barrier of President Gitanas Nausėdas.
On his part, the chief advisor of the country’s leader, Frederikas Janson, assured on Monday that G. Nausėda had already met the candidacy of A. Kubilius earlier, so it has already been coordinated with I. Šimonyte.
Presented one last name
“We haven’t decided anything, because this is not the genre where decisions are made. I simply presented to my colleagues from the coalition a candidate on which my opinion and that of the President of the Republic coincided, that it would be a good candidate to submit to the new European Commission.
Since information or rumors travel in unknown ways and at an unknown pace in Lithuania, I can confirm that this is Andrius Kubilius”, the Prime Minister said on Monday after the meeting of the coalition council, around 3 pm.
According to I.Šimonytė, since the procedure for appointing a European Commissioner in Lithuania is quite unusual and the Government, the President, and the Seimas participate in the adoption of this decision, it is obvious that each link is bypassed only after a certain stage.
“So far, no official proposal from the Government has been submitted, but I have presented to the coalition partners the intention to present a candidate that is compatible with me as the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic, and now I think that all factions will consider this candidacy and then it will be possible in the near future to state that there is or is not support for this candidacy in the Seimas”, explained the Prime Minister.
True, when asked if the name of the female candidate was also put on the table, I.Šimonytė made it clear that only one person was being discussed.
“I will say it very simply – all the countries that have already submitted their candidates to the President of the Commission have submitted one candidate each.
It is either a man or a woman, but there is not a single state that has submitted two candidates”, stated the Head of the Government.
I. Šimonytė said that she understands U. von der Leyen’s desire to have a gender-balanced cabinet, but the member states choose their own representative.
The Prime Minister did not doubt the competence of A. Kubilius – according to I. Šimonytė, there are indeed important portfolios for Lithuania in the European Commission, and A. Kubilius himself is a real expert of the European Union (EU).
“A. Kubiliaus’ political and practical experience of working in the Government in a rather difficult period and knowledge of the European agenda, because he is a person who has headed the European Affairs Committee in the Seimas at least several times, he is not theoretically familiar with the EU – he is an EU expert and a great enthusiast, and a truly European politician.
In my understanding, it would be difficult to think of any responsibility that EC A. Kubilius could not take on,” emphasized I. Šimonytė, adding that almost every portfolio of a Commissioner would suit the ex-prime minister.
When asked how long the discussions between the factions regarding the submitted candidacy could last, the Head of the Government answered briefly: “As long as necessary”.
Representatives of all three ruling parties gathered at the coalition council meeting a few minutes before 2 p.m. They talked for about an hour in the office of the speaker of the Seimas, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen.
Prime Minister I.Šimonytė, Freedom Party chairwoman Aušrinė Armonaitė with faction elder Vytautas Mitala, Liberal Movement faction elder Eugenijus Gentvilas came to the meeting.
Even in factions
The leader of the Parliament, the chairwoman of the Liberal Movement, claimed even before the meeting that the candidacy of A. Kubilius had not been named to the coalition partners so far, so it will still need to be discussed separately, in her faction.
After the meeting of the coalition council, V. Čmilytė-Nielsen assured that a meeting of the Liberal Movement faction will be held on Tuesday, where the specific name of A. Kubiliaus will be discussed.
“And we will decide on support”, confirmed the Speaker of the Seimas.
According to V. Čmilytė-Nielsen, later, depending on the support, it would be possible to either consider convening an extraordinary session of the Seimas, or wait for the beginning of the regular autumn session.
Although the final position will be formed by the liberals themselves after an internal discussion, the Speaker of the Seimas assured that the candidacy of this conservative can definitely be evaluated positively.
“A. Kubilius is a politician with probably the most experience, having held all the most important positions, and a very versatile politician,” stated V. Čmilytė-Nielsen.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen is waiting for candidate countries until August 19. It was also mentioned earlier that Lithuania will have to submit two surnames – a man’s and a woman’s.
On Friday, G. Landsbergis told Elta that he had received information that President G. Nausėda would not approve of his candidacy for European Commissioner. Therefore, according to the conservative leader, Prime Minister I. Šimonytė should look for other names when looking for a candidate for the EC.
On Saturday, the chief adviser to the president, F. Janson, said that the candidate will be the person who can occupy the mentioned positions and will be coordinated between the institutions.
After G. Landsbergi withdrew from the candidates, there was talk behind the scenes that conservative A. Kubilius, who was re-elected as a member of the European Parliament for a second term, could be offered to fill this position.
The nomination of the Eurocommissioner is submitted by the Government after the position has been agreed with the President and the Seimas.
2024-08-19 21:39:26