ČRo Plus | Czech Republic will send only one candidate to the European Commission

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has asked Member States to submit two names instead of one in their nominations for European Commissioners. Her aim is to have a balanced proportion of men and women in the new Commission. But as the request for two candidates is not supported by the treaties, if the Czech Republic offers only Jozef Sikel, there will be no direct consequences, though it may affect the distribution of the portfolios that lays in von der Leyen's hands. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for ČRo Plus.

Certainly, the Czech Republic is making its ambition clear. On the other hand, if the Czech Republic wants to have good relations with the president of the European Commission, it is, diplomatically speaking, a somewhat assertive approach towards her. Five years ago, when she made the same request, the overwhelming majority of Member States complied - except for those who defended their seats in the Commission. So the fact that now not only the Czech Republic, but more countries are not responding to this request shows that this is not just a Czech tactic, but the tactic of possibly more countries. This request increases the room for manoeuvre and strengthens the role of the European Commission president - if she has more candidates, she can choose - but of course it is at the expense of individual member states, so this assertiveness is to some extent an attempt to bring the balance back to where it was.

You can listen to the full interview from the archive at 16:34 here.

Viktor Daněk
Deputy Director

Before entering the NGO sphere, Viktor Daněk worked for almost ten years as a journalist. During his time with the public service Czech radio, he focused mainly on covering EU affairs. He spent almost five years as a permanent correspondent in Brussels, where he cooperated with other media outlets. Before his career in journalism, he gained experience in the area of marketing and communication in the Česká spořitelna banking group and at the Czech Technical University in Prague. He holds university degrees in Media Studies and International Relations. Viktor Daněk joined the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy in October 2023. He continues to be active in the media as a freelancer. His main areas of interest are institutional questions of European integration, globalisation and the EU’s climate and migration policy.