"He's not a person from the outside. He's been working in this system, at the Ministry of Agriculture for many years. He's not a novice. But we need to meet and talk as there are a number of issues I would like to discuss," Prime Minister-Designate, Social Democratic leader Algirdas Butkevičius told reporters on Monday.
He said he would like to learn the candidate's opinion about the EU 2014-2020 financial perspective and the structure of the Ministry of Agriculture.
"Judging from the recent European experience, in other countries, Ministries of Agriculture have 3 to 4 departments, and we have 12. Perhaps we need fewer executives and more workers. We'll see whether we have matching opinions," Butkevičius said.
Kuklierius said he would suspend his members in the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats if appointed minister for agriculture, and he also has no plans to join the Labour Party. In his words, it’s an economic and not political ministry, and the most important thing is to ensure work continuity.
Kuklierius is a graduate of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture, and has also studies in Denmark, the UK, and the US.
