Lithuanian PM and president agree on MEP Kubilius as EC candidate

Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė proposed to the ruling coalition that Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister and now an MEP, be nominated as the country’s European commissioner candidate.

Šimonytė said that President Gitanas Nausėda – who opposed the candidacy of conservative leader and Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis – shared her opinion that Kubilius “would be a good candidate […] for the new European Commission”.

She said she will nominate only one candidate from Lithuania, despite Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s request to propose two, male and female, candidates.

Šimonytė said it is important for Lithuania to secure a portfolio related to the EU’s strategic goals and agenda, such as the bloc’s resilience to various challenges, expansion, and competitiveness.

The prime minister noted, however, that Kubilius could handle any portfolio.

She described him as an expert on the EU and “a great enthusiast of European thought”.

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