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The far-right Freedom party of Austria won country's parliamentary elections. Žiga Faktor, deputy director and head of the EUROPEUM Institute's Brussels office, commented for foreign desk broadcast on ČT24 on the results to the National Council, the lower house of parliament.

The historic success of the Freedom Party of Austria and the dramatic defeat of the ruling People's Party are the results of Sunday's Austrian National Council elections, according to the local media. The Social Democrats are likely to face another reboot and there is no room for small parties in parliament. On Monday night, the Austrian authorities officially published the results of the vote, which are being reported across Europe. Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director and head of Brussels office of EUROPEUM Institute commented for Czech TV.

Austria, led by the right-wing populist Freedom Party of Austria, could pose a problem for support for Ukraine, said Žiga Faktor, head of the Brussels office of EUROPEUM Institute, in an interview with ČTK. At the same time, he said, it would change the distribution of power within the European Council, specifically, the EU summits, where a strong group of prime ministers from the Patriots for Europe faction would be formed.

One of the main tasks for Jozef Síkela, if he becomes EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, will be to manage the EU's Global Gateway project. The EU wants to counter China's expansion in Africa, Asia and Latin America with it. So far, however, this initiative has fallen well short of its ambitions. And that is not the only problem Síkela will have to face. Zuzana Krulichová, a Global Gateway expert from EUROPEUM Institute, talked about this on the podcast Bruselské chebíčky on Czech Radio.

According to Politico, two thousand people have sent their CVs to the future head of the EU's common foreign policy, Kaja Kallas. This way they are applying for a place in her cabinet, i.e. in the team of her closest collaborators. Including assistants, there are usually up to 20 people in the cabinets of individual commissioners. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the EUROPEUM Institute, and Filip Křenek, EUROPEUM analyst, commented for Hospodářské noviny.

The main man in charge of migration in the new European Commission will be Austrian Magnus Brunner. The Commission's head Ursula von der Leyen has also given the topic of migration partly to the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, to focus, among other things, on the fight against smugglers. The migration pact is not expected to change. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Novinky.cz.

The draft composition of the new European Commission is already known, the names of the Commissioners were announced by President Ursula von der Leyen a week ago. The candidate for the sustainable transport and tourism portfolio is Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who has served as governor of the Greek region of Central Macedonia since 2013. Following the announcement on LinkendIn, Tzitzikostas himself considers it a great honour and responsibility for him to be entrusted. Deputy Director Viktor Daněk commented for Ekonomický deník.

In a report to the European Commission, Mario Draghi, former Italian Prime Minister and head of the European Central Bank, warns that without massive investment in green technology, digitalization and defense, Europe will lose its competitiveness. The report was commented by Associate Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute Klára Votavová.

The new composition of the European Commission and the distribution of portfolios caused puzzlement in Prague. The head of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, entrusted Jozef Síkela with the agenda of International Partnership and Global Gateway – a name that, apart from a handful of insiders in the Czech Republic, few people have heard of, instead of the long-talked about energy sector or international trade. EUROPEUM Institute analyst Zuzana Krulichová commented for Hospodářské noviny.

Thanks to his existing reputation in the European Commission, Jozef Síkela has a certain advantage over other upcoming Commissioners. Though it remains to be determined whether he will be able to use this advantage well. Filip Křenek, project coordinator and analyst at EUROPEUM Institute, told Prostor radio what impact the International Partnership portfolio can have on the Czech Republic and what competencies it actually contains.

Disappointment with the negotiations and the weak position of the Czech Republic was voiced when the new composition of the European Commission was announced. The presentation of the post to the Czech nominee Jozef Síkela is accompanied by a debate on how influential the position of Commissioner for International Partnerships is. Experts say that although the government had bigger expectations, much can be achieved even with the portfolio at hand. The current Trade and Industry Minister could help the EU to be a counterweight to Russian and Chinese influence in emerging economies, and could also push for greater raw material security. For daily Česká justice commented Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute.

Czech Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela has been appointed Commissioner for International Partnerships at the European Commission. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented on TN Live whether this is a win or a loss.