Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius named defense and space commissioner

Lithuania’s Andrius Kubilius was appointed European commissioner for defense and space, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Tuesday.

“He will work on developing the European defense union and boosting our investment in capacity,” she told reporters.

The job is expected to focus on the defense industry. One of the commissioner’s key tasks will be to help take the European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) — a €1.5 billion cash pot for defense contractors — to the finish line.

The space component of the portfolio will include managing the EU’s standing Galileo and Copernicus satellite programs, along with pushing ahead with the bloc’s third project — a multi-billion secure internet satellite constellation dubbed IRIS² which should be up and running during the next mandate.

Kubilius used to be Lithuania’s prime minister and also sat in the European Parliament.