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Dorchester Center, MA 02124
It was a case of third time lucky for Jozef Síkela.
First linked to the energy portfolio, then to the trade beat, the 57-year-old Czech finally landed at DG INTPA — the inelegantly named Directorate General for International Partnerships.
Yet what might sound like a second-tier department is actually a key element of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s vision of an economic foreign policy guided by geopolitics. As steward of the €300 billion Global Gateway infrastructure initiative, Síkela will at least have money to play with as Brussels tries to compete with Beijing’s Belt and Road.
The ex-banker and industry minister brings business and crisis-management skills to the table. He previously won respect for his coordination of Europe’s response to an energy crisis — sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — during Prague’s presidency of the Council in late 2022.
We’ll be bringing you all the live action from 2:30 p.m. CET on Nov. 6.
Watch live here.
Background reading:
P.S.: If you want to follow more of the action from the hearings, our reporters will be bringing you blow-by-blow updates from all 26 commissioner interviews here.