“On Friday, I will send a reply letter to the President of the EC. I will introduce the candidate and his experience. However, A. Kubilius was the Prime Minister during the difficult years for the Lithuanian economy. He has shown that he is able to make decisions, is focused on the result, has a sufficiently broad knowledge of foreign policy issues, and is a committed supporter of the development of the European Union. This fully corresponds to my vision and that of the entire state,” G. Nausėda told reporters on Thursday.
“I think we can claim a fairly wide range of both economic and development-related portfolios.” There will be competition, no doubt. However, I think that we will start consultations already next week. I believe that once we have a candidate, all issues should be resolved successfully,” he added.
The President noted that he has high expectations for the new composition of the European Commission. However, he regretted, the principle of gender equality will probably not be ensured.
“We have a difficult geopolitical situation, various risks, but I think we will be able to form an efficient government of the European Union”, he hoped.
“However, it will probably be quite difficult to achieve gender equality.” According to preliminary data, many states are sending only one candidate and they are currently dominated by men. It’s unfortunate that this happened, but apparently this is the reality at the moment. The most important thing is to strive for these to be competent commissioners”, emphasized G. Nausėda.
However, when asked if Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė himself asked Lithuania to submit the name of a woman who could represent Lithuania to the EC, the president assured that the most important thing is to have a strong candidate.
“We discussed it, but in a sense, presenting two candidates leads to completely unnecessary competition between themselves. It is better to nominate one candidate who has the approval of all institutions and hope that that candidate will receive an appropriate, respectable portfolio”, emphasized the head of the country.
ELTA reminds that on Thursday G. Nausėda signed a decree in which he approved the nomination of A. Kubilius as a member of the European Commission.
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė presented the candidacy of MEP A. Kubilius to the European Commission to the coalition council on Monday. The Government officially proposed this candidacy to the President and the Seimas on Wednesday.
Earlier in the media and political corridors, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis was discussed as a possible European Commissioner. However, his candidacy did not receive the support of the country’s leader.
The nomination of the Eurocommissioner is submitted by the Government after the position has been agreed with the President and the Seimas.
2024-08-22 15:19:36