'Not a race' in tapping Fitto as EC candidate says Tajani

(ANSA) - ROME, AUG 29 - There is no hurry to tap European Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto as Italy's candidate to be a European commissioner and hopefully a vice president of the European Commission since "it is not a race," Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in extolling Fitto's virtues upon his arrival at a Brussels meeting of his EU counterparts Thursday.
    Fitto, who is also the minister for the south, territorial cohesion and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), is expected to be put forward by the Italian government after a government summit and cabinet meeting Friday.
    Premier Giorgia Meloni has said she hopes he will claim one of the vice presidential positions on the EC.
    "There is a deadline by which nominations must be submitted, it is not a race to see who comes first: the important thing is to find a Commissioner who can work in the interest of the European Union, because Europe needs Italy, and the right choice is therefore to have a good quality", said Tajani.
    "The figure of Fitto is the best possible, there is agreement from all: we must send a Commissioner who will be a (proper) Commissioner and not an apprentice". (ANSA).