Czech Minister Nominated as European Commissioner

Brussels – Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala held a meeting today with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as she seeks to finalize her new team. Fiala described the encounter as "pleasant and constructive" on social media platform X, although he refrained from disclosing specific details regarding their discussions. The Czech government has opted not to comment further on the meeting, according to government spokeswoman Lucie Ješátková. The Czech government is set to finalize the nomination of Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela for the position of Czech EU Commissioner on Wednesday. Fiala is advocating for Síkela to be assigned an economic portfolio within the Commission. Additionally, Fiala will present this nomination to the European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies on the same day. In late July, von der Leyen requested EU member states to submit two candidates—one male and one female—for the Commissioner role by August 30. However, the Czech Cabinet decided to propose only one candidate, which has raised some concerns among the governing Mayors and Independents (STAN) party, who had initially advocated for two candidates based on prior discussions with von der Leyen. Alongside Síkela, MEP Danuše Nerudová was also suggested as a potential candidate. The new European Commission is expected to commence its duties in November, following the European Parliament elections held in June. Each EU member state is entitled to one representative in the Commission.