Štefan Füle

Czech diplomat

Štefan Füle

Füle in 2013

European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy
In office
9 February 2010 – 1 November 2014
President| José Manuel Barroso
Preceded by| Olli Rehn (Enlargement)
Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Trade and Neighbourhood Policy)
Succeeded by| Johannes Hahn (European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations)
Minister for European Affairs
In office
8 May 2009 – 30 November 2009
Prime Minister| Jan Fischer
Preceded by| Alexandr Vondra
Succeeded by| Juraj Chmiel
Personal details
Born|  (1962-05-24) 24 May 1962 (age 61)
Sokolov, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Political party| Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (1982–1989)
Social Democratic Party (1989–present)
Alma mater| Charles University
Moscow State Institute of International Relations
Signature|

Štefan Füle (born 24 May 1962) is a former Czech diplomat who served as the European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy from February 2010 until October 2014.[1]

## Early life and education[edit]

Füle was born on 24 May 1962 in Sokolov, then in Czechoslovakia.[1] He studied at the Charles University in Prague (1980–1981, two semesters at the Faculty of Philosophy) and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (1981–1986).[2]

## Diplomatic career[edit]

He has held several positions within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[3] Füle served as First Secretary of Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic (until 1993 Czechoslovakia) to the UN in New York City from 1990 to 1995. His next assignment was at the headquarters of the Ministry in Prague until 1998. Then he served as the Czech Ambassador to Lithuania (1998–2001),[4] also being the NATO contact point there. In 2000, Füle accepted the position of the First Deputy Minister of Defense but later returned to diplomatic work. He had served as the nation's Ambassador to the United Kingdom (2003–2005) before being appointed as the Permanent Representative of his country to NATO (11 July 2005 – 7 May 2009).[4]

## European Commissioner[edit]

Füle served as the Minister for European Affairs in the caretaker government of Jan Fischer in 2009, and has served as the Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy under the second Barroso Commission since February 2010.[5]

### Nomination[edit]

Fischer's government waited for political parties to agree on one candidate to become the next European Commissioner for the Czech Republic, but they were not able to agree on one name. Social Democrats nominated Vladimír Špidla and Civic Democrats endorsed Alexandr Vondra; Jan Švejnar and Pavel Svoboda were candidates of the minority Green Party and Christian Democrats, respectively. The Czech Republic was urged to announce a person's name by the President of the European Commission José Barroso. Prime Minister Jan Fischer was also offered the post but refused. There were rumors about Vladimír Dlouhý and Zdeněk Tůma being offered the post. Dlouhý was willing to accept the nomination and Tůma refused it. On 10 November 2009, the Cabinet made the decision of approving Füle's nomination.[6]

### Issues[edit]

Füle has argued that "enlargement is the most important transformation instrument the EU has" and attributes the "difficult reforms" that brought about Central and Southeastern Europe's political and economic transformations to the fact that they were "tak[ing[ place within the wider enlargement strategy".[7]

He has been working hard to bring six of the EU's neighbors, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine, under its wing, but the anticipated summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in November 2013 only saw Georgia and Moldova initial association agreements, with Ukraine's last-minute cold feet a major disappointment.[8][9]

On 18 July 2014, Füle was present to hear the Parliament of Georgia unanimously vote (123-0, 27 abstained) to ratify its association agreement. Before the vote, Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili told Füle his country had formulated a "Georgia 2020 social-democratic development strategy", aimed at easing European integration.[10]

On Turkey's accession, Füle was, in 2013, optimistic in a long-term way: "Whenever I am asked if I could imagine Turkey in the EU, my answer is 'Yes, absolutely.' But it will be a different Turkey and it will be a different European Union".[7]

In 2015, news media reported that Füle was included in a Russian blacklist of prominent people from the European Union who are not allowed to enter the country.[11][12]

From the year 2016 Füle is a member of Prague Society for International Cooperation, a NGO whose main goals are networking and the development of a new generation of responsible, well-informed leaders and thinkers.[13][non-primary source needed]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Štefan Füle > About > CV (last updated 16 October 2013)". European Commission. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006.
2. ^ "Štefan Füle". Aspen Institute Central Europe (in Czech). Retrieved 4 May 2022.
3. ^ "Štefan Füle". GLOBSEC. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
4. ^ a b "Štefan Füle to be next EU commissioner". Radio Prague. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
5. ^ "Štefan Füle". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
6. ^ "Parties break stalemate over EU Commissioner as Füle chosen for job". Radio Prague. 10 November 2009. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
7. ^ a b Dempsey, Judy (28 November 2013). "The Transformative Power of EU Enlargement: An Interview With Štefan Füle". Carnegie Europe. Strategic Europe. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006.
8. ^ "EU summit shows no sign of reviving Ukraine deal". BBC News. 29 November 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006.
9. ^ "The third Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius". European Commission. 2 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006.
10. ^ "Georgian parliament ratifies association agreement with EU", from Xinhua News Agency, vie GlobalPost.com
11. ^ Laurence Norman (30 May 2015), Russia Produces Blacklist of EU People Banned From Entering Country Wall Street Journal.
12. ^ European Union anger at Russian travel blacklist BBC News, 31 May 2015.
13. ^ "Members' Meeting 11th November 2020".

## External links[edit]

* Štefan Füle Official Media Gallery
* @StefanFuleEU Verified Twitter account

Political offices

Preceded by

Alexandr Vondra

|  Minister for European Affairs
2009  | Succeeded by

Juraj Chmiel

Preceded by

Vladimír Špidla

|  Czech European Commissioner
2010–2014  | Succeeded by

Věra Jourová

Preceded by

Olli Rehn

as European Commissioner for Enlargement |  European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy
2010–2014  | Succeeded by

Johannes Hahn

as European Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations
Preceded by

Benita Ferrero-Waldner

as European Commissioner for Trade and European Neighbourhood Policy

* v
* t
* e

Barroso Commission II (2009–2014)

Foreign Affairs and Security Policy|

* Catherine Ashton1 (2010–14)

Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship|

* Viviane Reding2 (2010–2014)
* Martine Reicherts (2014)

Competition|

* Joaquín Almunia2 (2010–14)

Transport|

* Siim Kallas2 (2010–14)

Digital Agenda|

* Neelie Kroes2 (2010–14)

Industry and Entrepreneurship|

* Antonio Tajani2 (2010–14)
* Ferdinando Nelli Feroci (2014)

Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration|

* Maroš Šefčovič2 (2010–14)

Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro|

* Olli Rehn2 (2010–14)
* Jyrki Katainen2 (2014)

Environment|

* Janez Potočnik (2010–14)

Development|

* Andris Piebalgs (2010–14)

Internal Market and Services|

* Michel Barnier2 (2010–14)

Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth|

* Androulla Vassiliou (2010–14)

Taxation and Customs Union, Audit and Anti-Fraud|

* Algirdas Šemeta (2010–14)

Trade|

* Karel De Gucht (2010–14)

Health|

* John Dalli (2010-12)
* Tonio Borg (2012–14)

Research, Innovation and Science|

* Máire Geoghegan-Quinn (2010–14)

Financial Programming and the Budget|

* Janusz Lewandowski (2010–14)
* Jacek Dominik (2014)

Maritime Affairs and Fisheries|

* Maria Damanaki (2010–14)

International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis|

* Kristalina Georgieva (2010–14)

Energy|

* Günther Oettinger2 (2010–14)

Regional Policy|

* Johannes Hahn (2010–14)

Climate Action|

* Connie Hedegaard (2010–14)

Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy|

* Štefan Füle (2010–14)

Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion|

* László Andor (2010–14)

Home Affairs|

* Cecilia Malmström (2010–14)

Agriculture and Rural Development|

* Dacian Cioloș (2010–14)

Consumer Policy|

* Neven Mimica (2013–14)

1 = First Vice President. 2 = Vice President.

* v
* t
* e

Ministers for European Affairs of the Czech Republic

* Vondra
* Füle
* Chmiel
* Bek
* Dvořák

* v
* t
* e

Cabinet of Prime Minister Jan Fischer (2009–2010)

Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs|

* Jan Kohout

Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Defence|

* Martin Barták

Minister of Finance|

* Eduard Janota

Minister for European Affairs|

* Štefan Füle
* Juraj Chmiel

Minister of Interior|

* Martin Pecina

Minister of Industry and Trade|

* Vladimír Tošovský

Minister of Justice
Chairperson of the Government Legislative Council|

* Daniela Kovářová

Minister of Labour and Social Affairs|

* Petr Šimerka

Minister of Transportation|

* Gustáv Slamečka

Minister of Agriculture|

* Jakub Šebesta

Minister of Health|

* Dana Jurásková

Minister of Education|

* Miroslava Kopicová

Minister of Environment|

* Ladislav Miko
* Jan Dusík
* Jakub Šebesta
* Rut Bízková

Minister of Culture|

* Václav Riedlbauch

Minister for Regional Development|

* Rostislav Vondruška

Minister without Portfolio
Chairman of the Legislative Council|

* Pavel Zářecký

Minister for Human Rights|

* Michael Kocáb

* v
* t
* e

European Commissioners from the Czech Republic

* Pavel Telička
* Vladimír Špidla
* Štefan Füle
* Věra Jourová

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany

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