Lithuanian finance minister takes EU Commission seat 

Last May, EU Budget Commissioner Dalia Grybauskaitė was elected by a landslide as the first female president of Lithuania, the Baltic nation battling a deep recession (EurActiv 18/05/09). Grybauskaitė will be inaugurated as her country's head of state on 12 July.

The government is discussing the candidacy with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, and the appointment is conditional on Lithuania keeping the budget portfolio, Kubilius said in an interview with Bloomberg television in Brussels on 18 June. The parliament in Vilnius is expected to confirm Semeta as European commissioner on 23 June, he said.

Semeta "did a very good job in Lithuania, and I think that he will do a good job here in the commission," Kubilius said. "Coming from the region, which has some specific problems, he will have an ability to show what problems we have and what kind of approach from the commission is needed."

Last January, Lithuania experienced its worst rioting of the post-Soviet era, as police in Vilnius fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators pelting parliament with stones in protest against cuts to social spending. More than 20 people were injured and over 80 detained.

According to Moody's, the Lithuanian economy contracted by a preliminary 1.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and may shrink by as much as 6% this year. 

The last commissioner to leave the EU executive was the UK's Peter Mandelson. He was replaced by Catherine Ashton, who inherited his trade portfolio (EurActiv 06/10/08).