European Commission

In the shadow of the US elections, candidates for European Commissioners, including former Czech minister Jozef Síkela, addressed MEPs in Brussels last week. He is to be in charge of the Commission's international cooperation agenda, so during the three-hour grilling he had to answer questions about investment in Asia or Africa, or the controversial EU-Rwanda mineral deal. How did he impress with his performance? Žiga Faktor, deputy director and head of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented for the 5:59 Seznam Zprávy podcast.

The new European Commission is getting clearer. Most of the candidates for European Commissioners have had their hearings in the European Parliament and almost all of them passed without any major hesitation, according to unofficial information. It is said that Donald Trump's victory in the US elections will speed up the creation process of the new Commission. Martin Vokálek, executive director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for TN Nova.

Confident on economic issues, more hesitant on "softer" ones. Jozef Síkela passed the hearing in the European Parliament, and successfully. They grilled him on a range of topics, from the situation in Africa to ensuring transparency in the use of European funds in development projects. Filip Křenek, project coordinator and analyst at EUROPEUM Institute commented for Euractiv.cz.

The Czech candidate for EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela succeeded in the so-called grilling before MEPs, which every nominated member of the EU executive must pass. He has won the support of a two-thirds majority of DEVE to become Commissioner for International Partnerships. The former trade and industry minister wants to strengthen partnerships with Africa and Latin America and intends to tackle the drivers of illegal migration. Viktor Daněk, deputy director at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for ČT24.

MEPs often complain that the media do not give their work the attention it deserves. Yet now, when they are 'grilling' the various candidates for European Commissioner and have the opportunity to reject some of them, they have timed these hearings to clash with the election of the US President. Žiga Faktor, deputy director and head of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented for Hospodářské noviny.

Jozef Síkela made a good impression at the hearing for the post of EU Commissioner for International Partnerships and Global Gateway in Brussels. MEPs and experts gave him a positive assessment. Zuzana Krulichová, researcher at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for iDnes.cz.

Monday's „grilling“ by MEPs of Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Greece's candidate for European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, showed that the European car industry will not get support from him to postpone the emission targets for next year. Tzitzikostas also wants to maintain the line of banning the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles from 2035. Filip Křenek, project coordinator and analyst at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Ekonomický deník.

On Monday, the European Parliament will hold the first hearings with the candidates for the new European Commissioners. Jozef Síkela will appear before MEPs on Wednesday. If all the candidates are successful, the new European Commission could be operational from 1st December. Martin Vokálek, executive director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for ČT24.

As the dust settles after a hectic period of post-election negotiations, Von der Leyen’s second Commission is faced with serious economic challenges. Recent reports of Draghi and Letta have clearly indicated that the EU is lagging behind other global powers in the areas of growth and competitiveness and this is reflected in the composition of the College as well as within strategic priorities for the next political cycle. Come listen and debate about challenges EU is facing!

The story of the assignment of the international partnership agenda to Czech EU Commissioner Jozef Síkela, which ended in disappointment for many, teaches one lesson that will be hard to digest in government circles: the Czech Republic still does not know how to play high Brussels politics and it will not get better. Deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute Viktor Daněk commented for deník Právo.

The European Commission opens a debate on aviation support in the coming years. The new rules should start to apply after 2027. In particular, the guidelines are intended to minimize negative effects on competition and aim to preserve connectivity. Project coordinator and analyst at EUROPEUM Institute Filip Křenek commented for Ekonomický deník.

How strong a portfolio has Jozef Síkela acquired as Commissioner for International Partnerships? What exactly does he expect and what will be part of his portfolio? Project Coordinator and Analyst at EUROPEUM Institute Filip Křenek commented for TV Noe.