Finland Times

 

File picture of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and European Commission Vice President Olli Rehn. Photo Lehtikuva.

Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen is likely going to contest for the European Commission presidency, while European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn, also a Vice-President of the European Commission, will vie for another senior post.

 

Katainen, who has been serving as the chief of National Coalition Party (Kansallinen Kokoomus) for a decade and had experience of handling economic crisis with strong hands, could be very much suitable for the presidency of the EC during the upcoming EU parliamentary elections, experts observed.

 

Although there was also speculation that that Rehn might contest for the post of European Commission presidency, latest reports from Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group (ALDE) indicated that Guy Verhofstad was the party's choice for the presidency post. 

 

File picture of EU Flag in front of its office in Brussels. Photo AFP-Lehtikuva.

Rehn is however expected to vie for other important posts notably in the economic and foreign spheres.

 

According to Teija Tiilikainen, a director of the Finnish Institute of Foreign Affairs, Katainen's natural task will be to assume leadership of an EU parliamentary group.

"For sure this task has been thought of, because Finland and Katainen have emerged strong in handling the economic crisis, Finland has a Triple A rating and Katainen has experience serving as minister of finance,” said Tiilikainen.

 

Financial Times magazine reported in the beginning of this month that Katainen would be one of the top names for the European Commission presidency, an idea which Tiilikainen saw as a possibility.

 

"He represents a political party that is big and the commission president is not forced to choose between party top candidates," said Tiilikainen, adding that the majority of support will come from his party’s EPP Group, the centre-right political group which is now the largest in the EU parliament.