President Kreivis was approved by the minister on the condition that it has not yet been met

At that time, President G. Nausėda doubted only after the meeting of the two on December 3 with the possibilities of the candidate for Minister of Energy to reconcile public and private interests.

This was mentioned by his media representative Antanas Bubnelis.

“During the conversation, the president also wanted to hear the opinion of the candidate on whether all available private interests will allow him to work fully as a minister, which means making decisions on all issues in the field of energy,” he said.

Hinted at risks

The President himself, when expressing his opinion on the formation of the Cabinet of Ministers, evaluated the knowledge of D. Kreivis in the field of energy, but reiterated that he had doubts about his interests.

It is true that the politician came up with a way to clear up doubts and thus persuaded the president not to reject his candidacy.

“Mr. Kreivys really knows his field, no one could deny it, but his involvement in certain business structures, his experience as a former minister and his subsequent resignation, of course, pose certain risks that neither the president nor the prime minister can not respond to. .

Yesterday, immediately after our meeting, I received a written commitment from the esteemed D. Kreivis and a proposal on how to avoid the slightest suspicion of confusion of interests. And seeing this very serious approach to the possible risks that I have expressed, I still do not see any reason not to approve it in the position of Minister of Energy ”, commented G. Nausėda on December 4.

However, seeing this, your very serious view of those potential risks, I see no reason not to endorse you as Minister of Energy.

Said withdrawal would be necessary only in exceptional cases

According to D. Kreivys, in the opinion of the Chief Commission of the Ethics Commission (COEC), in 2011 he violated the law on coordination of interests.

Following this decision, D. Kreivys, who was Minister of the Economy, resigned from them.

According to the COEC, in 2010 the Minister signed an order on the allocation of funds from the European Union for the renovation of schools, when the winner of the bids for the renovation of two of those schools was recognized by a construction company related to him.

D.Kreivys has not distanced himself from business so far: the politician has 40 percent. shares of Catus, which owns six other companies, but claims that it does not participate in any way in the companies.

After a meeting with the president, the candidate for energy ministers assured that he had learned from his mistakes, said that he already knew better the coordination of interests.

“As far as interests are concerned, I have assured the president that I have been in politics and parliament for more than a decade, I have really mastered the coordination and prevention of conflicts of interest; as they say, one beat for two beats, you learn lessons.

And there is certainly not great interest in the energy sector. <...> Only in exceptional cases will it be necessary to withdraw from decision-making “, – said D. Kreivys.

I have really mastered the coordination and prevention of conflicts of interest.

You have already requested deletion

However, D. Kreivys, who took over as Minister of Energy at the beginning of the Government’s work, proposed removing him from the issues related to determining the required supply and the natural gas consumption capacity of the liquefied natural gas terminal.

“I have a stake in the Silikatas silicate company, which produces bricks and uses natural gas to heat the kilns to bake the bricks. <...> Fearing that it will not fall again, since the company uses gas, although this decision would not affect a specific company, but the entire sector, which uses gas horizontally instead of vertically, as well as private consumers, <...> I think that an opt-out should be made for everything ”, the minister justified his proposal.

The government did not address the reasons for the withdrawal and did not approve the proposal.

What written commitment did D. Kreivys make to the president?

It turns out that he has decided to hire a ministry official to evaluate the legislation he signs through the prism of balancing interests.

Talking to 15 minutes D.Kriivys considered that the officer could serve as an advisor to the political trust team. Alternatively, the function of prevention of public and private interests could, according to him, be carried out by the Legal Department of the institution.

D. Kreivys assured Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonyte that she would offer to hire officials to assess the interests of all ministries.

The government seeks a systemic solution

So how does a minister manage to find such an official?

Advisor to the Minister of Energy Vita Ramanauskaitė 15 minutes indicated that he was not specifically wanted for a minister at this time.

“To prevent any conflict of public and private interests, it is planned to address this issue systematically, that is, at the government level. The most appropriate solution for this is still being considered, “he said.

It is planned to tackle this problem in a systematic way, that is, at the government level.

15 minutes In this regard, he also appealed to the Government and asked about possible solutions: if such an official should appear in each ministry, or perhaps one official could work for the entire Government.

The government’s public relations department said the solution sought did not mention possible options.

“There is currently a discussion and the Government is looking for a systematic solution that meets the needs of all institutions. It is also important that these problems are not solved only in a formal way, but that they are a really complex activity ”, affirms the answer.

The government did not specify when a decision was expected.