Politico on Thursday named Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, leader of the ruling conservative Homeland Union, as a front-runner to be appointed Lithuania’s European commissioner. The president, however, has pointed out that “it is not the newspapers that appoint commissioners”.
According to Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, the appointment of the next Lithuania’s European commissioner will depend on the outcome of the presidential election due to take place this Sunday.
“[Landsbergis] could be one of the candidates, but it will depend on a lot of things, first of all on which president is elected,” he told journalist on Thursday.
He pointed out that it is still difficult to talk about possible candidates for the European Commission as this issue will be decided after the presidential election.
“Today, I can only say that, like my rival, I am a presidential candidate. [...] All of this is a question for the future, and I would not like to talk about names today,” Nausėda said.
In a review of possible candidates for European commissioners published on Thursday, Politico notes that Landsbergis could be considered for a foreign policy-related portfolio.
“It is not the newspapers, however influential they may be, that appoint commissioners. It is government institutions that appoint them and there is a procedure for that in place,” Nausėda said.
In Lithuania, Landsbergis has been informally mentioned as a candidate for European commissioners for some time but so far, he has not publicly commented on his intentions or chances of working for the EC.
Waiting for election results
Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, who is also running for president, on Thursday declined to comment on the chances of Landsbergis to become Lithuania’s next European commissioner.
According to her, such discussions are premature until after June’s European Parliament elections.
In her words, after the EP elections, “we will see which political forces have voter confidence in Europe in general and who will be able to vie for the position of the EC president”.
“I want to emphasise that the EC president plays a significant role in deciding who the candidates for European commissioners are,” she added.
Landsbergis’ Homeland Union is part of the European People’s Party (EPP), which is seen as the favourite to win the most seats in next month’s EP elections and to nominate the next EC president.
Each EU member country nominates one European commissioner.
Šimonytė said that depending on the appointment of the new EC president after the elections, its members will likely be nominated during the current term of office of the Lithuanian parliament and government.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, Lithuania’s current European Commissioner, is responsible for the environment, oceans, and fisheries.
In Lithuania, a European commissioner candidate will have to be approved by the government, the parliament, and the president, with the final decision on all candidates to be made by the European Parliament.
Ursula von der Leyen, the current EC president, is considered the favourite to lead the new commission after the EP elections.
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