Lithuanian MEPs critical of Slovenia’s candidate for EC vice-president for energy union

Speaking with BNS on Wednesday, Petras Auštrevičius of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe did not discount the possibility that a new candidate would be demanded for this position.

“Even before the official hearings, she was not considered the strongest candidate. We have to acknowledge that during the hearings Ms. Bratušek, unfortunately, did not present herself from the best side, including her language skills as she has not got a very good command of English. Her answers also did not convince the committee members. At this stage, the situation is that, except for our political group, we don’t have support for her candidacy. Political consultations are taking place in the political groups. One proposal is to hold a second round of hearings, which is complicated, and I do not discount the possibility that we might have another liberal candidate from Slovenia,” Auštrevičius said.

“I cannot express my personal opinion but judging from the general position she seems to have serious flaws,” Austrevicius said.

Zigmantas Balčytis of the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament believes Slovenia should look for a new candidate as Bratušek, in his opinion, is not competent enough to hold such a key position.

“She’s in fact among candidates causing political disagreements as there were many unanswered questions during the hearings. As a vice-president, she will be responsible for the energy union and that is very important not only for the Baltic states but the whole of the European Union, all states. I am also of the opinion that she lacks experience in this area. Her past administrative abilities alone will not be enough here, and my opinion is that she should be replaced,” Social Democrat Balčytis told BNS.