Brussels, 17/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - With less than three weeks to go until the EPP congress, Latvia's former prime minister Valdis Dombrovskis will be in Brussels on 18 February, where he will probably announce his candidacy for the head of the European Commission to leader of the EPP party Joseph Daul. Dombrovskis will thus be the first to submit his candidacy officially. Official submissions of candidacy are still expected from Michel Barnier and Jean-Claude Juncker who have openly expressed their interest in the post. Other candidacies might also be submitted. In an interview with Euractiv, Dombrovskis - who became Latvia's prime minister in 2009 and resigned at the end of 2013 (following the collapse of a supermarket roof in Riga) - credited himself for his management of the economic and financial crisis and his knowledge of the intricate workings of the Council. He said he backed European Commission President José Manuel Barroso's slogan, “Europe should be bigger on big things and smaller on small things”. Dombrovskis enjoys the support of the Conservative parties from the three Baltic countries. The support of at least two parties from two different member states is required in order to be able to submit a candidacy. (SP/transl.fl)