THE EU/THE CZECH REPUBLIC: Ireland's European Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, has lost his new assistant commissioner from the Czech Republic less than a week after the appointment was announced, writes Tim King in Brussels
Mr Milos Kuzvart, a former environment minister in the Czech Republic, renounced his nomination to the college of commissioners yesterday, blaming lack of support from the Czech foreign ministry. In turn the foreign ministry accused Mr Kuzvart of being "apathetic".
Mr Kuzvart's appointment was announced last week, as one of 10 new commissioners from the countries joining the EU on May 1st. Three days ago it was announced that Mr Kuzvart would be shadowing Mr Byrne, the Commissioner responsible for health and consumer protection.
But Mr Kuzvart's candidacy was withdrawn yesterday morning after a crisis meeting of the Social Democrats, the largest of the three parties in the ruling coalition. The Prime Minister, Mr Vladimir Spidla, accepted the resignation and announced that the search would begin for a new candidate.
The nomination of Mr Kuzvart had been contentious from the start. There were suggestions in Prague that he had been nominated to appease discontented Social Democrats unhappy with Mr Spidla's fiscal reforms. Meanwhile, in Brussels, the European Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, was said to have asked for a stronger candidate.
Czech Foreign Minister Mr Cyril Svoboda is a member of the junior coalition party, the centrist Christian Democrats. Yesterday he denied withholding full support from Mr Kuzvart.
His spokeswoman said that Mr Kuzvart's approach to the job had been "very apathetic from his side ... If everybody left when others do not constantly sing their praises, people would be resigning all the time," a ministry statement said.