Grybauskaite Has No Career Plan After Term Ends in Lithuania

(Bloomberg) -- Outgoing Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, who’s name has been floated in media as a potential candidate for a top job in the European Union, said she isn’t currently considering any career plans after her term ends in July.

EU leaders will gather in Brussels on May 28 to begin talks on how to fill a series of top posts, including those of the President of the European Council, who will be presiding over their meetings, the President of the European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, and the President of the European Central Bank, which sets monetary policy for the euro area.

“I’m not making any plans for the period after the term ends,” Grybauskaite said on Friday. “My plans at the moment are to complete the term and to hand over the works. That’s it.”

A formal decision on the high-level vacancies is due to be taken at a June 20-21 summit, where leaders can decide on their own about who will fill the top jobs by a super-majority. The European Parliament, which must approve their decision on who heads the Commission, has previously said that only those formally running as lead candidates of the bloc’s political parties in this month’s EU elections can be nominated for this post.

Grybauskaite, who isn’t affiliated with any political party in Lithuania, has been floated in Brussels for the presidency of the EU Council or the role of foreign policy chief. Neither post requires nominees to be the lead candidate of a party in the EU assembly.

To contact the reporter on this story: Milda Seputyte in Vilnius at mseputyte@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Dudik at adudik@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Nikos Chrysoloras

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