The Czech Republic’s ambassador to the EU, Milena Vicenová, has frequently looked less than stable in her Brussels post since she was appointed in September 2007. Her term normally runs out in January, although it could, of course, be extended.
This has sparked even more fervent speculation than usual about who might replace Vicenová, a former farm minister in the government of Mirek Topolánek (Civic Democrat, ODS). Czech Position has been able to fill out the details of some of the front runners to fill her shoes in Brussels.
Three candidates, all having top places in the Czech administration, believed to be in the running to replace Vicenová are: Martin Povejšil, NATO ambassador and former political director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Martin Tlapa, deputy ministerat the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) with responsibility for the EU and international competitiveness; and Jana Reinišová, chief director at the legal and consular section at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and former deputy head of the Czech representation to the EU.
Martin Povejšil has a long career behind him in the diplomatic service with colleagues praising him as one of the country’s best diplomats. He commands respect among sections of the ODS. According to Czech Position’s information, he has the particular favor of President Václav Klaus, who has on several occasions in the past singled him out for praise. This could help Povejšil at the nomination stage. Perhaps his main disadvantage is his lack of deeper knowledge of the EU institutions.
Martin Tlapa is a seasoned operator in the Czech administration, having served in the corridors of power since 1991, when he joined the then Czechoslovak Federal Ministry of Foreign Trade. He was promoted to deputy minister level in 2004, during the reign of Social Democrat (ČSSD) Milan Urban at the head of the ministry, after serving as the head of Czech trade, the state body aimed at encouraging foreign direct investment.
This is a clear signal, if it were needed, that Tlapa should be able to count on support from within the two main Czech political parties.
Tlapa survived the political switch when Martin Říman (ODS) took over from Urban and has survived the arrival of successive industry ministers, Martin Kocourek (ODS) and his party replacement, Martin Kuba. This is a clear signal — if it were needed — that Tlapa should be able to count on support from within the two main Czech political parties.
In Tlapa’s favor is the fact that he is dealing day-to-day with EU issues and has a good overview of the main problems on the Brussels horizon. He has also been dealing with one of the Czech government’s main EU themes: boosting competitiveness. Tlapa was the main author for the government of PM Petr Nečas of the Czech strategy for international competitiveness, which seeks to put the country in the top 20 most competitive countries worldwide.
Jana Reinišová’s chief attribute is her deep knowledge of EU affairs earned during her time as deputy head of the Czech representation in Brussels, for which she received widespread respect. Czech and EU officials agree that the country has all too few top administrators with such a perfect grasp of EU affairs. She won some of the praise for the Czech handling of its EU Presidency of the Council of Ministers at the start of 2009. He main weak spot is the lack of political backing for her advancement to the top Brussels post.
The form so far has been for Czechs to choose an EU ambassador from someone who has been closely involved with EU and has deep political roots in Prague.
Diplomats, politicians and top officials sounded out by Czech Position say the prospects of the above three could all be overshadowed if the country decides that a strong political figure should be entrenched in the top Brussels post. The Nečas government will have to first decide whether that is the route it wants to go down or whether a career diplomat or official should be preferred.
The form so far has been for Czechs to choose an EU ambassador from someone who has been closely involved with EU negotiations and has deep political roots in Prague. Following EU entry in May 2004, the first Czech EU ambassador was the Social Democrat politician and diplomat Jan Kohout. He was replaced by Vicenová, farm minister in former PM Topolánek’s government between 2006 and 2007.
One big question is the stance of Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09). His known preference is for career diplomats to fill such posts; he knows, however, that on this top appointment he must share decision-making with the rest of the government and president.
Just for recollection, it should also be pointed out that the State Secretary for European Affairs, Vojtěch Belling, is now on the scene and established within the Czech government offices, which mainly serves the prime minister. The creation of the post almost ended up with an open rift between Schwarzenberg and Nečas which threatened the future of the coalition government. With tempers now apparently calmed, filling the EU ambassador post is set to be an exercise in diplomatic compromise rather than conflict, according to Czech Position sources.
“At a general level this is something which interests the prime minister,” a highly placed official, who asked not to be named, told Czech Position. “At a political level we have not discussed it so far. It is an important position for the whole government,” a trustworthy source within the Czech government added.
‘At a political level we have not discussed it so far. It is an important position for the whole government.’
Vicenová’s four-year term would normally expire on Jan. 8, with the foreign ministry facing a decision whether the mandate should be extended or ended. “The mandate of the ambassador is not subject to a fixed date and, or course, we expect a debate about a replacement,” ministry spokesman Vít Kolář told Czech Position. According to trustworthy sources, Vicenová would like to land some foreign affairs position within the EU after completing her current job.
One highly placed EU official, who asked not to be named, when questioned about the three leading candidates for the ambassador’s job said the appointment itself would change little. “A real change in relations between Brussels and Prague will not be brought by a change in ambassador but by a change in policy.”
Czech officials in Brussels are often perceived as pretty uncertain partners. Within EU debates they often take contradictory positions to the mainstream. An example was seen in the recent problems surrounding the move of European satellite navigation system Galileo’s administrative center to Prague from Brussels.
At first Czech politicians and officials squared up in favor of the biggest possible cuts to next year’s EU budget. When it was revealed such cuts could threaten the Galileo move, the Czech side stepped back into line and came out in favor of safeguarding the original budget for the GSA program, to which Galileo belongs.
