I met Alexander Stubb in 2015 when we were both finance ministers and we sat together at the Eurogroup and Ecofin, as well as EPP meetings. The deep economic crisis that Europe was then emerging from, and the severity of its impacts particularly in some Member States, dominated the agenda. The knowledgeable, sincere and constructive manner in which Alex Stubb contributed to the discussions was highly respected. He is a hard worker, has great communication skills and he firmly believes in the European project and the need to push it forward. Alex Stubb will be an excellent candidate for President of the European Commission.