Press Advisories

3. 7. 201911:23

Prime Minister discussed the EU leadership positions at the European Council

On Sunday, 30 June 2019, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš flew to an extraordinary meeting of the European Council, where he discussed the top five positions of the European institutions. The negotiations continued on Monday and Tuesday, 1 and 2 July 2019.

After the European Council’s longest meeting, European leaders found a consensus on the candidates for the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Central Bank, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign and Security Policy and the European Parliament. These are the five key positions that determine the course and direction of the EU.

The meeting began at the regular European Council on 20 June and continued from Sunday 30 June to Tuesday 2 July. Over the course of all days, the results underwent dynamic developments and the names of the candidates changed many times. The talks were difficult and long. The most difficult debate was whether the selection of the President of the European Commission should respect the principle of top candidates (Spitzenkandidaten), i.e. whether it is only necessary to select from among the group of leaders of the European Parliament candidate lists. European Council members finally agreed not to support this principle and that political balance is not the only criterion. This was also the clear position of the Czech Republic and the entire V4, which was successful. " We fought for over 21 hours and the V4 alliance has once again proved to be a very powerful and effective tool in such a sharp conflict. Without it, we would never have achieved this success”, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš commented on the result.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš went to Brussels with a clear vision. The next President of the European Commission must be someone who is not only experienced in the EU’s institutional relations, but especially understands our region, understands our priorities and will listen to our political ideas. “I defend the interests of Czech citizens, not the interests of the political groups as most other prime ministers, except V4. In V4, we are members of four different political groups, yet we can stand up in defence of common priorities. I place particular emphasis on strengthening external security and the Schengen area, combating illegal migration, promoting the interests of cohesion states in the next EU investment budget and also completing the internal market, which has enormous potential for EU-wide GDP growth. The interests of the Czech Republic and the wider Central and Southeastern Europe must not be neglected. V4 is the most active in this”, said the Czech Prime Minister after the European Council.

On Tuesday evening, the European Council reached a decision on candidates. Belgian Prime Minister and a representative of Liberals (ALDE), Charles Michel, was elected Chairman of the European Council. The European Council proposes Ursula von der Leyen of the European People’s Party (EPP) On as the President of the European Commission. Socialist Josep Borrell (PES) will be proposed as the High Representative for Foreign Relations and Christine Lagarde, the current Director-General of the International Monetary Fund, could become President of the European Central Bank if approved by Eurozone Finance Ministers.