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Fiala wants to strive for a Commissioner for the Czech Republic who does not have just a coordinating role.

by AI | 13.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Fiala wants to aim for such a portfolio, where the EU Commissioner will have a “full-fledged ministry” behind him.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in a 2022 photo. Photo: David Tanecek/CTK/dpa

Prague – Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) wants to strive for a commissioner post for the Czech Republic, which has more than just a coordinating role in its area. He is already negotiating portfolios in various places, but the key part of the negotiations falls after the June European Parliament elections, Fiala told reporters before departing for a visit to Italy.

The Czech Republic is currently represented in the Commission by Věra Jourová, who is the Vice-President and Commissioner for Values and Transparency in Ursula von der Leyen’s current Commission. “I am leading negotiations about what kind of portfolio we will have in various places,” he stated. The decisive moments for negotiations, according to Fiala, will however be after the elections, which are held in the Czech Republic on June 7 and 8.

Fiala wants to strive for a portfolio where the commissioner will have a “full-fledged ministry” behind him. “When it is not just a coordinating role, but there will be a directorate-general, which is a position that significantly really influences what is happening in this area,” he explained. He also considers it essential for the Czech Republic to strengthen its representation in the European administration at middle and upper management levels.

The government decides on the candidate for commissioner. The names most often mentioned with the candidacy are the economist Danuše Nerudová and Pirate Party MEP Marcel Kolaja, who are leaders of the STAN and Pirates’ candidate lists in the European elections. In the case of STAN, Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN) is also mentioned, Kolaja is the official Pirate candidate for the Commission.