Earlier in the day, senior presidential aide Krzysztof Szczerski withdrew his bid to become Poland’s next European commissioner, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
It cited Szczerski as saying that he lacked expertise in agriculture, while praising Wojciechowski’s credentials for the position.
Government spokesman Piotr Mueller told reporters that Wojciechowski would make a good agriculture commissioner with his many years of experience as a EuroMP and a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture.
In the past Wojciechowski headed Poland’s central auditing office (NIK) and was a member of the national parliament and served as a deputy lower-house Speaker, Mueller said.
Wojciechowski is a lawyer by education. He was a Eurodeputy from 2004 to 2016, when he left the European Parliament to become a member of the European Court of Auditors.
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz was last month quoted as saying that his country was interested in securing “a significant portfolio” in the next European Commission, one “important for the EU and reflecting the significance of Poland in the EU.”
The current Polish commissioner, Elżbieta Bieńkowska, is in charge of the EU single market, industry, entrepreneurship and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Szczerski is chief of staff and a senior foreign policy adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Earlier this year, he made an unsuccessful bid for an international position as deputy head of NATO.
(gs/pk)
Source: IAR