Virginijus Sinkevičius is the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, since 2019
In 2016, he was elected to the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in the single-member Šeškinė constituency in Vilnius; he was then appointed Chair of the Committee on Economics; on 27 November 2017, he was appointed Minister of Economy of the Republic of Lithuania and, following the reorganization of the Ministry of Economy, he became Minister of the Economy and Innovation. On 22 August 2019, The Lithuanian parliament approved his nomination for European commissioner.
Currently, he works to ensuring the environment, oceans and fisheries remain at the core of the European Green Deal; present a new Biodiversity Strategy for 2030; deliver on the Commission’s zero-pollution ambition, including air and water quality and hazardous chemicals; lead on a Circular Economy Action Plan to promote the use of sustainable resources and promote plastic-free oceans and proper implementation of legislation on plastics, particularly microplastics.
