In the Media

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen already knows almost all the candidates for her future team. The deadline for member states to make their views known ends on Friday, August 30. In July, the EU chief executive asked member states to propose both, a man and a woman so that she will have an equal representation in the Commission. So far, only Bulgaria has heeded the EC chief's request and as the only country offered both a man and a woman. Also, the Lithuanian candidate has not been officially nominated, but his name has been mentioned in some media. For ČT24 comments Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute.

25 of the 27 EU Member States have already nominated candidates for the new European Commission. So far, 17 are men and 7 are women. According to the President of the European Commission Ursula von den Leyen, only Bulgaria has nominated both a man and a woman. The President also confirmed that there will be a new position of European Commissioner for Defense. Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Slovakian STVR.

The Czech Republic wants a strong, preferably Economic portfolio in the future European Commission. But this is what all Member States are seeking. Europe is now facing hectic talks and tug-of-war. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Voxpot.

US company Westinghouse and France's EDF have filed a complaint with the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition over the selection of South Korea's KHNP in the country’s 16bn euro tender to build two new reactors at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. Rebeka Hengalová, an analyst at EUROPEUM Institute, commented for bne IntelliNews.

Ursula von der Leyen has asked EU Member States to send her two names of candidates for the post of Commissioner in the European Commission, one man and one woman, so that she can create a balanced team. The Czech Republic ignored this request and proposed only Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela for the post of EU Commissioner. Viktor Daněk, deputy director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Český rozhlas Plus.

By postponing the approval of emission allowances for households, the Czech Republic is harming itself. If the permits are not approved, the Czech Republic will have to come up with other instruments to achieve climate neutrality. Kateřina Davidová, Senior Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute, commented on this issue.

Intense behind-the-scenes negotiations are currently underway in Brussels over the allocation of 27 positions in the new European Commission, which will once again be led by Ursula von der Leyen. The German politician faces two major challenges: the limited number of strong economic portfolios, which many member states, including the Czech Republic, are vying for, and the effort to create the first-ever gender-balanced Commission, complicated by the predominance of male candidates. The situation was commented on for e15 by Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute.

Czech government has confirmed the nomination of Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela for the position of Czech EU Commissioner at its meeting. How will the appointment process continue? And what are Síkela's chances of securing a significant portfolio in the European Commission? Žiga Faktor, Deputy Director of EUROPEUM Institute, answers on ČT24 broadcast.

It has now been confirmed by the government that minister Jozef Síkela is headed to the European Commission as the Czech candidate. Although President Ursula von der Leyen called on member states to nominate a pair of candidates, both men and women, the Czech Republic did not comply with this request. The outcome is expected to be decided in September when the portfolios for all new EU commissioners will be announced. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for Seznam Zprávy.

Petr Fiala met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. This is just two days before the Czech government is due to definitively confirm the nomination of minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Sikela for the post of European Commissioner. Martin Vokálek, Executive Director of EUROPEUM Institute, commented for the main evening broadcast on TV Nova about what they could discuss at the closed-door meeting and how strong the position of the future Czech Commissioner is in Europe.

With another heatwave expected this week following record temperatures in July, cities in Central Europe are belatedly taking action – but politics keeps getting in the way. Katarina Svitkova, an Associate Research Fellow at EUROPEUM Institute specializing on climate change, urbanism and sustainability, comments for Balkan Insight.

This year, the EU has not declared the regime in Belarus authoritarian. Hungary vetoed such a decision. Budapest has thus found a new element in this short EU tradition - a communiqué on the anniversary of the electoral fraud committed by Alexander Lukashenko in 2020 - to clash with Brussels. Kristína Chebáková, project manager at EUROPEUM Institute, commented on the situation related to the Hungarian EU presidency for the Spanish daily El País.