Related articles
One on OnePavel Telicka - Czech Republic's first European Commissioner
My guest in this week's One on One is Pavel Telicka, recently nominated as
the Czech Republic's first ever European Commissioner. Mr Telicka,
currently Czech Ambassador to the EU, certainly has the experience for the
job; he was the man who led the accession negotiations on behalf of the
Czech government. But his nomination follows an embarrassing few days for
the Czech Republic: he was only asked to do the job after the government's
first choice, former Environment Minister Milos Kuzvart, changed his mind
at the last minute, prompting the Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla to
collapse in parliament.
More
Current AffairsRebel ambassador runs for European Parliament
After the original candidate dropped out, the government has approved
diplomat Pavel Telicka as the Czech Republic's first ever European
Commissioner. While finding a suitable candidate for that post proved to
be a difficult task, there seem to be plenty of contenders for the 24
Czech seats in the European Parliament.
More
Current AffairsDiplomat Pavel Telicka chosen as Czech European Commissioner after original candidate drops out
After the surprise resignation of the man chosen to be the Czech Republic's
first ever European Commissioner, Milos Kuzvart, the President of the
European Commission, Romano Prodi, insisted that the Czech government find
a suitable replacement by Wednesday at the latest. At 11 o'clock on Monday
night the government announced that it had chosen Pavel Telicka, an
experienced diplomat who was the Czech Republic's chief negotiator during
the country's EU accession talks.
More
Current AffairsCzech government forced to find new EU commissioner by end of February after Kuzvart steps down
Last Friday was an extremely dramatic day in Czech politics: first it was
announced that Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla had collapsed, and had been
rushed to hospital. Then the man who was to be country's first ever
European commissioner, Social Democrat MP Milos Kuzvart, stunned many by
announcing he was no longer interested in the post. To add to the day's
drama, it emerged that Mr Spidla had collapsed during a heated discussion
about Mr Kuzvart's "resignation". Mr Kuzvart said he had not had
the support of the foreign minister or the Czech embassy to the EU, though
some say the real reason was that he realised he was not up to the job.
Wherever the truth lies, such a turn of events so close to EU accession is
being seen as an embarrassment to the Czech Republic, and a personal
failure for Mr Spidla, who now has to choose a new commissioner by the end
of the week. Pavla Horakova spoke earlier to political commentator Vaclav
Zak and first asked him what he thought was behind Mr Kuzvart's
resignation.
More
Press ReviewPress Review
The implications of the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union
are the centre of attention in most of today's newspapers. Mlada Fronta Dnes speculates that the elections to the European Parliament might bring
down the government of Vladimir Spidla. The paper says that the outcome of
the June elections will be a significant event on the domestic political
scene and will have a bearing on the survival of the ruling coalition.
More
Press ReviewPress Review
All the papers lead with stories as varying as former environment minister
Milos Kuzvart's appointment as the Czech Republic's first commissioner to
the European Union, the government's failure to begin discussion on a bill
on same-sex marriages, and a potential crisis in the cabinet over rising
rents. We begin, however, with the daily Mlada Fronta Dnes, where the lead
headline declares "Czechs are losing the opportunity to work in
Europe".
More
+1
