Czech Radio | Government agrees on Síkela as new Czech EU Commissioner

The Czech government has nominated its current Minister of Industry and Trade, Jozef Síkela, for the role of European Commissioner, aiming to secure an economic portfolio. In doing so, they are bypassing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's request to put forward both a male and a female candidate. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, discussed the decision and its implications on Czech Radio.

I think the pick of Jozef Síkela clearly shows that this is the ambition of the Czech Republic. Czech governments always wanted to gain an economic portfolio and it never really happened, even though Věra Jourová, the current commissioner, was quite close to the agenda, at least with the digital agenda. But with Síkela and his background, it is safe to say that Czechia was never as close to getting an economic agenda as it is now.

Read or listen to the whole interview 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.