Síkela is to be in charge of overseeing European international cooperation and development policy, supporting coordination between the European Union and its member states in the field of development cooperation, as well as cooperation with partners in promoting EU values, including democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights.
“The international partnership portfolio connects trade, development policy, geopolitical relations and security. Jozef Síkela will manage the largest budget that a Czech commissioner has ever been in charge of, he will decide on investments in the Global Gateway program in the amount of up to 300 billion euros, and he will have one of the largest general directorates in the entire Commission under him,” said Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS).
“His portfolio will also be an opportunity for our companies with regard to their investments in the world or in securing supply chains. We wanted a strong economic portfolio and we got that, it’s good news for the Czech Republic,” he added.
Síkela said on the X social network that the portfolio of international partnerships will give him the opportunity to focus on strengthening economic security, diversifying suppliers of critical raw materials and opening new markets for European companies.
“My goal was to obtain a strong economic portfolio for the Czech Republic, and given that the international partnership has a really significant budget and the largest directorate general in the entire European Commission, I believe that I will be able to ensure that this portfolio is really significant. Yesterday’s conversation with President Von der Leyen confirmed this to me, who primarily counts on the Global Gateway program as one of the basic tools for strengthening economic security and developing Europe’s economic relations with international partners,” he said.
Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) believes that each portfolio is as strong as its commissioner. “Jozef Síkela is nominated for a portfolio with a large overlap in the strategic security of Europe, which is obviously one of the fundamental problems that the EU is currently solving. It is therefore an important and very important portfolio for the future of the EU. In addition, each portfolio is as strong as its commissioner. In this regard, I have no doubts about Jozef Síkel,” he added, adding that the STAN National Committee will decide on Síkel’s successor at the Ministry of Industry by the end of September.
Disappointment does not seem to prevail in the rest of the movement either. “This portfolio also has a strong business impact. He will negotiate with the partners of the European Union, with the United States,” thinks Vlček. However, these negotiations are conducted by all European Commissioners. Síkela is said to be a very good fit for the position. “Jozef has contacts, language skills, he knows the environment very well,” he further told Novinkám.
Apparently, Vlček was not surprised by the choice of portfolio. “It was one of the positions in the viewfinder. The European Union is a strong economic entity. Having a person in this position who knows his way around is to the benefit of the cause,” he added.
Vlček himself will probably replace Síkela at the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, the Mayors movement and Prime Minister Fiala still have to decide.
Von der Leyenová: It’s a huge portfolio
I according to chairperson Ursula von der Leyen, this is a significant portfolio. “It includes energy, industry, trade and more,” she said when introducing the European commissioners. “It is a giant portfolio that includes the Global Gateway, which is an investment program in the volume of 300 billion euros for infrastructure abroad,” she mentioned.
As an example of what this program deals with, she named the conclusion of contracts by which the Union supports the acquisition of raw materials abroad and their purchase, the support of renewable resources in Africa or the production of vaccines abroad. According to the president, the Union also benefits from these investments. “Without renewable energy, key raw materials and healthcare, the European Union cannot be self-sufficient,” she said.
MEP Tomáš Zdechovský (KDU-ČSL) considers international cooperation to be one of the strongest portfolios. “It is the strongest portfolio that the Czech Republic has had so far. It is now up to Mr. Síkel to prepare very well. Precisely because it is a strong portfolio, there will be huge demands on him to be able to answer questions about how he will promote economic cooperation with third countries or problematic countries,” Novinkám said.
“International partnership connects trade, development policy, geopolitical relations and security,” he added.
The chairman of the People’s Party and the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Marian Jurečka, perceives the portfolio as good news for Czech companies. “It is an opportunity with regard to their investment activities in the world or securing supply chains. When we watch how China, Russia, and other countries are doing, it is extremely important,” he said.
Havlíček: The invisible commissariat
ANO Vice-Chairman Karel Havlíček does not consider winning the portfolio for international cooperation a success. “It is above all an unhappy report for the pro-Union Prime Minister Fiala. The result of his negotiations on a strong economic portfolio is an invisible commissariat focused on promoting EU values and cooperation with developing countries. While the Union rebels, the Slovaks, are getting a prestigious business,” he noted.
“It proves only one thing. Despite the servile policy towards Brussels, we play third fiddle in it,” he concluded.
Špidla: It is not an economic portfolio
Former Czech European Commissioner and ex-Prime Minister Vladimír Špidla (SOCDEM) considers the portfolio to be strong, but not economical. “One cannot claim that it is an economic portfolio, but no one can claim that it is insignificant. Undoubtedly, it is not what the government imagined,” he told Fairpress. According to him, it is a portfolio in which some economic aspects are included, especially in the case of negotiating international contracts. “For approximation, it is similar to, for example, fishing or social affairs. There are also economic aspects in them, but it is not an economic portfolio,” he added, adding that fishing is marginal for us, but for some countries it is highly important how the conditions are set.
“It depends what he does with the portfolio himself. Then it can be an insignificant portfolio,” concluded Špidla.
Síkela should manage the portfolio, which until now has been handled by Finn Jutta Urpilainenová, and which includes the largest directorate general in the entire European Commission, which employs 3,000 people and has large financial resources at its disposal. In relation to the European Commission, directorates-general correspond roughly to ministries.
He will also be in charge of the EU Global Gateway investment initiative, which the Union wants to compete with the Chinese New Silk Roads project. In the coming years, the initiative expects investments of up to 300 billion euros (7.5 trillion crowns) in infrastructure in developing countries, especially in Africa, India, Latin America and the Pacific.
16 men and 11 women are to sit in Ursula von der Leyen’s commission, she named four women among the six executive vice-presidents. The vice-presidents are to be Kaja Kallas from Estonia, Stéphane Sejourné from France, Teresa Ribera from Spain, Roxana Minzatu from Romania, Henna Virkkunen from Finland and Rafaelle Fitto from Italy.
