2024-07-31 17:00:42
Last week, more than a month after the European elections, the government confirmed that it would nominate Industry Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN) as Czech European Commissioner. MEP from the STAN movement Jan Farský says in the Aktuálně.cz podcast that he does not understand why the governing ODS did not also support Danuša Nerudová. “The head of the commission, Ursula von der Leyen, repeated that she wants a woman to be represented in the nomination.”
Photo: EU
The head of the commission officially wrote to Prague on Thursday, the day after the nomination was announced. However, she expressed her wish for a woman to be nominated for the post earlier. This was also the reason why the Mayors proposed both candidates, claims Farský.
“It fits a bit into the role of the ODS towards Europe. She simply needs to rebel, to resist the Brussels dictates a bit. What will Ursula tell them, who should be the candidates. That way she will show how she can stomp and send whoever she wants,” adds Farský with by hoping that this approach will not jeopardize the Czech Republic’s chances of obtaining a strong portfolio.
But it is not only about the selection of a competent person, but also about how long it took the Czech government to swing. The government waited over a month before choosing someone. Meanwhile, other states have been negotiating with specific names for weeks.
“I heard a nice saying about it that we probably waited for the other states to divide the weak portfolios so that we could keep the strong ones. I have no other explanation,” adds Farský.
More money for the common defense
Personally, Farský would prefer if the Czech Republic got, for example, a European defense commissioner. “The European Commissioner for Housing is also interesting, albeit with less power so far, because this is a problem that is sweeping the whole of Europe,” he adds.
According to Farský, the Czech chances for a strong economic portfolio are mainly limited by the fact that the Czech Republic, as one of the few EU countries, still does not pay in euros. He recalled that Ursula von der Leyen announced in advance that she would rearrange individual portfolios and that they would be different than before. This is also why, according to the MEP, it is difficult to predict what would work best for Síkel or Neruda.
But the advantage for the STAN movement and their nominee for European Commissioner is that its MEPs sit in the strongest European Parliament People’s Group, EPP, where they have been negotiating on the future direction of the European Union since the beginning of July. “Danuše Nerudová also met informally with von der Leyen in order to secure the best possible position for the Czech Republic, even if she did not become the commissioner in the end.”
At the same time, Farský adds that the Czech Republic still has time until the end of August to consider whether to eventually comply with the demands of the head of the European Commission and nominate one woman as well. According to him, the chances of an influential post would only increase.
You can listen to the entire episode of the podcast Europe in connection with Jan Farský in all podcast applications.