Youngest EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius: "I have to deliver now"

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A professional at 29: Virginijus Sinkevičius is one of the minds behind the planned Green Deal by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

Photo: Francisco Seco / AP

Virginijus Sinkevičius became Lithuania's youngest economy minister three years ago, when he was 27 years old and was promoting start-ups and blockchain.

Today he is the EU Commissioner for the Environment and is still the youngest of his colleagues.

Sinkevičius has been traveling through Europe for months to make the Green Deal by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen a success.

On this October afternoon, however, he is sitting in front of the webcam in his office in Brussels.

Behind him there are certificates on the wall, next to them a map of Europe.

Sinkevičius wears a white dress shirt with a light blue tie.

While he talks about his work, he keeps spreading his arms wide over the desk, as if he were standing on a stage.

An Apple watch with a leather strap sits on his left wrist. 

About respect and success at work

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Sinkevičius, how exhausting is it to always be the youngest in the room?

Virginijus

(hesitates and laughs embarrassed) Not at all!

When you're well prepared, age doesn't matter. 

SPIEGEL:

Did your colleagues always recognize you as EU Commissioner?

Sinkevičius:

When the new commission started working last December, everyone first came together again.

A lot of people bustle through the room, new and old, young and experienced.

If you're not recognized, it's not necessarily your age.

But mostly that's why there are folders, name cards - and a lot of employees who take care of you.

SPIEGEL:

How do you get respect as a young person in such a position?

Sinkevičius:

We are lucky enough to live in Europe.

We can achieve a lot here if we make an effort and are diligent.

But of course, the job is also about how we treat the people around us.

In the end, it doesn't matter whether I speak to politicians or meet Breton fisherwomen in Normandy - you have to be able to deal with people.

I try to listen carefully to others.

I first ask what the problems are before I make any suggestions.

That probably helps in other jobs too. 

"If you want to get involved in the European idea and do something useful, then start there"

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius

SPIEGEL:

Many students dream of working for the EU one day.

What is your advice to them?

Sinkevičius:

We need you!

Europe is a big project to which we all owe a lot.

I was born in 1990 - the year the iron curtain fell.

Without the EU, I couldn't sit here today.

But if you want to get involved in the European idea and do something useful, then start on site, in associations and parties.

First work on a small scale.

I didn't start here in Brussels either, but in my neighborhood in Vilnius, where I ran for the Lithuanian Parliament when I was 25 ...

SPIEGEL:

... and where you were elected.

How did you manage that back then?

Sinkevičius:

It was really, really tough.

For months I visited neighbors, shook hands and promoted my candidacy.

My wife and I had just had our son, and I still had to work full-time at the same time.

So when I got home in the evening, I would go to see them first and then immediately start the election campaign. 

Beyond the boundaries of politics and activism

SPIEGEL:

Fridays for Future has ensured that hundreds of thousands of young people get involved in politics.

Have you ever thought about becoming an activist or taking to the streets for something?

Sinkevičius:

When I was younger, I was busy with other things.

Immediately after school I went abroad to study.

Afterwards I came into contact with classical politics through an internship, was elected to parliament and then went back to the US for the Lithuanian government.

Even later, activism was never really an option for me.

But I think it's good that there are activists and politicians.

I think that without Fridays for Future there would be no European Green Deal today.

It is very beneficial when young people bravely get involved in something and take to the streets for it.

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Before Virginijus Sinkevičius became EU Commissioner, he was Minister of Economics in his native Lithuania

Photo: 

Thomas Padilla / European Commission / EU

SPIEGEL:

You met Greta Thunberg and some of her colleagues in March.

How was the mood?

Sinkevičius:

Greta was visiting the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen invited me to the appointment.

It was a good conversation in which we were all pretty honest with each other.

We could talk very openly about what we were up to and then discuss how we could realistically achieve it. 

"I will see whether our climate protection policy was sufficient"

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius

SPIEGEL:

Does it make a difference in climate policy if you're young yourself?

Sinkevičius:

Sure, that's what it's about.

I will see whether our climate protection policy was sufficient.

At some point I want to look back and see that I've achieved something.

About climate and crisis policy

SPIEGEL:

While many young people in Germany and Northern Europe fear for the climate, their peers in Southern Europe worry about whether they will ever get a job - especially since Corona.

How do you intend to ensure that climate policy does not divide Europe any further?

Sinkevičius:

We have to get out of either / or politics.

Our economy will only have a future if we take action against climate change.

Only if young people in southern Europe have a future on the job market will we be able to protect the climate together.

Europe needs to become greener and more digital.

In both areas, young people have an advantage, they have the training and the ideas.

If we create more appropriate jobs for them, that will be good against the economic crisis and for the climate.

SPIEGEL:

When I go to the supermarket, I almost get the feeling that the industry cares more about the environment than many politicians.

Everywhere it's about sustainability, climate and nature protection.

How can the EU make things really change?

Sinkevičius:

We are always happy when the industry tries to find solutions.

But it's true, greenwashing is part of the problem.

So we want there to be seals that can be trusted.

We introduced the EU Ecolabel many years ago, which shows which products are more environmentally friendly than the rest. I would like us to expand this further and Europe set new standards.

There should also be clear rules for sustainability that you can rely on when shopping.

For me, that also belongs in a Green Deal.

"I have to deliver now"

EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius

SPIEGEL:

So you still have a lot to do in the next few years.

Nevertheless: the EU commissioner is not a job that you can do until you retire.

How do you imagine your life after politics?

Are you planning an early retirement?

Sinkevičius:

That sounds pretty good (laughs).

But I've only just started my new job.

I am now putting all of my energy into the projects that I agreed with Ursula von der Leyen.

I want to show you, the people and the European Parliament that I do this job well and that I have earned it.

It's a big responsibility.

I have to deliver now.

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