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After the hearing, I agreed with MEPs on the fight against illegal migration, said Síkela

by AI | 07.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

In a statement after the “grilling” in the Development Committee, he said that he did not notice any major disagreements or pressure during the hearing.

Headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. PHOTO TASR - Jaroslav Novák

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Brussels – The Czech candidate for European Commissioner Jozef Síkela, who is to be responsible for international partnerships, agreed with MEPs on the importance of combating illegal migration. In a statement after a three-hour “grilling” in the Development Committee (DEVE), he said that he did not encounter any major disagreements or pressure during the hearing, and that he had been preparing intensively for the questions in recent weeks.

“Today’s hearing confirmed what I expected, namely that we have a shared interest in helping development aid, but that we also need to take more account of economic security issues,” said the Czech candidate for European Commissioner in his address to MEPs. He stated that the discussion was mainly about how to continue development aid and how the EU wants to promote European values in partner countries, whether it be human rights or gender equality.

According to Síkela, there were several moments during the debate when “to some extent there was disagreement across the political spectrum”, as representatives of political factions with more left-wing, centrist and more right-wing views have different opinions on the right ways of solving issues. “However, I tried to find a balance within these different views and emphasize that in a global world we are not alone and that our pursuit of perfection and correctness sometimes backfires on us because our competitors are very assertive and very aggressive and do not take into account the key values we are trying to represent,” said the former Czech Minister.

According to Czech MEP Ondřej Kolář (TOP 09) of the EPP’s People’s Party faction, to which Síkela also belongs, the Czech candidate is highly valued among his colleagues for his experience from the private sector. “The fact that he worked in the banking sector may be a plus for him because banks also contribute to development aid, and he knows this subject, albeit from a different perspective,” said Kolář, who is a so-called substitute in the DEVE Committee.

His German colleague from the same committee and same faction Hildegard Bentele appreciated Síkela’s commitment to fulfilling concrete obligations during the hearing. “He tried to be balanced in his responses and promised greater involvement of the European Parliament, which is important also for my colleagues from other factions,” said Bentele. (6 November)

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