Poland sets sights on EU budget commissioner role

WARSAW (Reuters) - The Polish government chose Piotr Serafin, head of Poland's Permanent Representation to the EU, as an EU commissioner candidate, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday, setting his sights on the EU budget commissioner role.

Poland is seeking greater influence in Brussels under Tusk's pro-European government, which came to power last December after eight years of nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) rule marked by numerous conflicts with the EU over democratic standards.

"The most likely (portfolio) is in the Commission president's hands ... but it seems very likely that the Polish commissioner will obtain a key portfolio, which would be the European budget," Tusk said.

He said he would consult with President Andrzej Duda on the government's proposal this week.

Serafin is one of Tusk's longstanding associates, who was head of his cabinet when he was president of the European Council.

(Reporting by Barbara Erling, Pawel Florkiewicz and Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk; editing by Giles Elgood)