MEP Dostálová did not support the EC chief, Gregorová voted for her

Strasbourg – Czech MEP Klára Dostálová from the Patrioti pro Evropu faction did not support the new head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, while the representative of the Greens faction Markéta Gregorová ultimately gave her vote. Today’s voting was secret, so it is not possible to determine the positions of individual MEPs from records maintained by the European Parliament itself. For example, Alexandr Vondra from the conservative ECR faction has already stated that he will keep his choice to himself. A total of 401 MEPs voted for Ursula von der Leyen, 284 were against, and 22 ballots were either blank or invalid. According to ČTK findings, eight Czech MEPs supported the head of the European Commission, 11 voted against, and one, namely Vondra, did not disclose his vote.

“I did not support her and I have two reasons for that. I waited for her speech and I have to say, it seemed to me that Ms. Ursula von der Leyen might not have realized that there were elections. The speech was about continuing as it is set, which will be a big disappointment for many voters,” said Dostálová to ČTK. According to her, the second reason is that the EC head did not even bother to come to the Patriots for Europe faction before the election to discuss her priorities with its representatives. Dostálová is troubled by the current head of the union executive, “where she has led Europe.” “We are losing many entrepreneurs from Europe, we are dependent on third countries, we are an over-regulated continent,” she listed. Nikola Bartůšek from Přísaha and Motorists, who is in the same faction, also voted against. According to her, von der Leyen confirmed in her speech that she would continue to push for the Green Deal for Europe. “That is unacceptable to me; on the contrary, we need its fundamental revision,” she stated.

Czech Pirate MEP Markéta Gregorová ultimately gave her vote to the current EC president. “After careful consideration, I finally decided to support Ursula von der Leyen. In five years, she fulfilled a large part of what she promised, and moreover, she has proven that she is capable of leading the commission in times of crisis,” said Gregorová. She appreciated that von der Leyen strongly stood up for Ukraine and that the EU clearly decoupled from Russian fossil sources.

Ursula von der Leyen unsurprisingly received support from MEPs in her EPP faction. As Luděk Niedermayer (TOP 09) stated, the new commission will be different from the previous one, according to him. He particularly appreciated that competitiveness has made it to the top of the agenda, which is “something we must move on, rapid economic transformation happening worldwide cannot put us in a position where we are not one of the leaders.” MEP Veronika Vrecionová (ODS) from the ECR faction supported the EC president, but it was a very difficult decision. “We agree with her on the need to reduce bureaucracy, support Europe’s competitiveness, Ukraine, and the defense industry. That is why, after many discussions, I finally supported her with a heavy heart,” she said. For the next five years, she considers it important to address issues of security, support for the defense industry, as well as protection of the external border, migration, and return policy. They also want to push for the revision of some legislation under the Green Deal for Europe. (July 18)