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Current AffairsCzech EU commissioner-designate grilled by MEPs on qualifications and communist past
Parliamentary hearings to assess the suitability of candidates for the new
European Commission are underway in Brussels with the spotlight now on
Štefan Füle, the Czech commissioner-designate for enlargement and
neighbourhood policy. Mr. Füle, an experienced career diplomat, is
generally seen as highly suitable for the post, but some members of the
European Parliament have questioned his communist past. More
Current AffairsHavel to MEPs: no contradiction in dual Czech, European identity
Former president Václav Havel gave a speech at the European Parliament on
Wednesday, and the reception was a marked contrast to that given to his
successor Václav Klaus earlier this year. Mr Havel received warm applause
from MEPs for his words on European identity and integration, and also
asked for Europe to be patient with its often troublesome newer members
from the former communist east.
More
Talking PointElection “super year” reshaping Czech politics
Czechs are living a political super year with three elections within the
space of 12 months. After the regional and Senate elections and elections
to the European Parliament, political parties are gearing up for early
general elections in October. Analysts say that at the end of all this,
the
Czech political scene could emerge in a whole new perspective. More
Current AffairsCivic Democrats form new European Parliament bloc with Conservative MEPs
On Monday, the Civic Democrats announced that they had formed a new
‘anti-federalist’ European Parliament bloc with the British
Conservatives and Poland’s Law and Justice Party. Fans of the new
European Conservatives and Reformists Group say that it will enhance
democracy in Europe, while its detractors call it a motley mix of parties -
some with views verging on the extreme. The Czech Civic Democrats are the
third biggest party in the grouping, which consists of 55 MEPs from eight
different European states. Adéla Kadlecová is the Civic Democrats’
foreign policy section chief who was instrumental in the ECR’s founding:
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