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Riga - European Union commissioners from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania responded positively Friday to the announcement of their likely new portfolios.
The proposed shape of the new European Commission will see all three Baltic states given different briefs than they had had in the outgoing commission.
Lithuanian commissioner Algirdas Semeta is set to take over the administration, auditing and anti-fraud portfolio from Estonia's Siim Kallas. Since July, Semeta has had the budgets and financial planning job.
Semeta told the German Press Agency dpa he was 'delighted' with his new role.
Kallas said in a statement he was 'satisfied' to take over the transport brief, describing the position as 'in the first rank of responsibility.'
Latvia's Andris Piebalgs is set to lose the coveted energy portfolio to Germany's Guenter Oettinger. Piebalgs will assume responsibility for the EU's development brief.
Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis was quick to counter any suggestion that Piebalgs had been demoted, saying that the development portfolio was an important one.
'This will promote the visibility of Latvia in the world,' he said in a statement.
Semeta described his new assignment as 'a core economic portfolio,' to which he will bring 'solid experience as a former finance minister.'
'I have spent the last five months as EU budget commissioner, where one of my key priorities has been to get the best value for money for citizens,' he said. 'This will remain a priority in my new role.'
The mandate of the current commission ended on October 31. However, it is continuing in a caretaker capacity in order to deal with current business until the new commission is approved by a vote of the European Parliament in January.
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