VILNIUS - A Lithuanian member of the European Commission has been chosen as commissioner of the year 2005.
According to the European Voice, the independent weekly that established the award, Dalia Grybauskaite earned the title with her inexhaustible efforts to reform the European Union's budget. Grybauskaite aims to increase spending on research, development and other actions that could accelerate the EU's competitiveness, the weekly said.
"I am not an enthusiast of various awards and competitions, and I did not work for [this award], however, it is a pleasant recognition of my professional activities to be singled out of 25 commissioners where some colleagues are highly experienced and have been working for several consecutive terms," Grybauskaite, who is in charge of the EU budget and financial programming, said after the awards ceremony on Nov. 29.
The commissioner's office cited her as saying that the award should serve as a signal for those who still want to divide member-countries and their representatives into old members and newcomers.
"This award confirms that people from the so-called newcomers can often be better, faster, more active and creative in their performance of daily work and their handling of frequent crisis situations," Grybauskaite stressed.
In mid-November, a special commission of the European Voice selected Grybauskaite among the top-five of the EC's 25 members. The European Voice has been awarding top commissioners and other outstanding and influential European figures for the past five years. A total of 50 persons are nominated each year.
