Jozef Síkela (EPP, Czech) was officially appointed European Commissioner for International Partnerships by the re-elected President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, when the composition of its new college was announced on Tuesday 17 September in Strasbourg (see other news).
Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic since December 2021, Mr Síkela’s main task will be to continue implementing the European foreign investment strategy, ‘Global Gateway’, the groundwork for which was laid by Finland’s Jutta Urpilainen (see EUROPE 13445/1).
“[This] portfolio will allow me to focus on strengthening the EU’s economic security, diversifying our suppliers of critical raw materials, and opening new markets for European companies”, Mr Síkela was pleased to say on the X network on Tuesday morning.
He went on to add: “The ‘Global Gateway’ initiative is seen as one of the key tools for enhancing economic security and developing Europe’s economic relations with international partners”.
Mr Síkela’s statements, focused on the prosperity of the EU, reflect the priorities put forward by Ursula von der Leyen for this portfolio, historically associated with international development.
In her letter of mission to Mr Síkela on Tuesday, the President stressed that “in recent years, the EU has maintained its unwavering commitments on development and on the eradication of poverty, while taking a more and more assertive approach in aligning its interests with its partnerships in a more contested and unstable world”.
The Commissioner is responsible for continuing to build on the ‘Team Europe’ approach by mobilising the financial resources of the various public development banks and institutions, as well as the private sector. In addition, the mission assigned is to “strengthen stakeholder dialogue” and “ensure that (...) investments are developed to help secure supply of raw materials, clean energy and clean tech from across the world”.
In particular, the Commissioner has been tasked with promoting the UN’s ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ and significantly strengthening the EU’s partnerships with Africa, Central Asia and India.
See the mission letter: https://aeur.eu/f/dgi
Like the other proposed Commissioners, Mr Síkela will now be subject to review for possible conflicts of interest, before being subject to a hearing by Members of the European Parliament.
Reactions. On Tuesday, the European confederation of NGOs working in the field of sustainable development and international cooperation, Concord, expressed its concern over the post on X of the future Commissioner Síkela, which suggests, in its view, “a focus on investment and trade”.
“We hope that the European Parliament will put pressure on Commissioner Síkela at his hearing to clarify his vision of international cooperation and sustainable development. We want to hear his commitment and ideas on how the Commission will work with the most distant people and countries and maintain this commitment in the EU’s next long-term budget”, Concord’s Head of Advocacy told Agence Europe.
Last Friday, the Social Democrat group stressed the importance of the EU becoming a crucial player in relations with the global South in order to promote development, democracy and human rights, and called on the President to “confirm the European Commissioner for Development” (see EUROPE 13483/22). (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)