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The designated Czech vice-president of the European Commission, Věra Jourová, has been approved for the European values and transparency portfolio in the new European Commission. In a three-hour hearing on Monday, Ms. Jourová was grilled by members of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs committees on how she would secure rule of law and media freedom across the EU.

Věra Jourová, the European Commission Vice-President nominee, will be asked how she can independently supervise the observance of rule of law in the Czech Republic during her hearing in the European Parliament next Monday, the Czech News Agency reports. Ms. Jourová, who was chosen as European Commission Vice-President for values and transparency by the future commission president Ursula von Der Leyen, was proposed as the Czech candidate by the government of Andrej Babiš, who was found to be in a conflict of interests by a preliminary EU audit in May.

Damian Boeselager, a German MEP on the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO), told the Czech News Agency that unlike some Czech MEPs, Ms. Jourová has never opposed Mr Babiš and so it must be clear that she will not disregard any criticism regarding the rule of law in the Czech Republic.

Just as for other EU Commission candidates, Ms. Jourova’s hearing will take three hours, during which MEPs will have the opportunity to ask a total of 25 questions.

The Czech Republic’s Věra Jourová, responsible for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality in the outgoing European Commission, is likely to return to Brussels in a new role and with a higher status. If her candidacy is approved by MEPs in the coming weeks, Jourová will become this country’s first Vice President as of November, and likely split the “rule-of-law” portfolio with the next EU Commissioner for Justice.

Czechs' trust in the EU and the European Parliament has seen a slow but steady growth since 2016 when it was at its lowest since the country’s admission to the EU in 2004, the STEM polling agency reported on Thursday.

According to the results of a June poll, trust in the EU in June was at 41 percent, up by 2 percent compared to the same month last year, and that in the European Parliament was up by 4 percent, reaching 34 percent.

Trust in EU institutions was at its highest at the start of the Czech EU presidency in 2009, when the EU was trusted by 60 percent and the EP by 51 percent of Czechs.

However it slid to a record low in 2016 declining to 29 and 24 percent, respectively, a phenomenon that was attributed, at least in part, to the migrant crisis.

STEM analysts say Czechs have been gradually feeling a stronger identity with Europe in the past few years. According to the latest poll some 71 percent of Czechs feel they are “Europeans”.

Efforts to keep spending down could mean that the Czech Republic does not have enough officials to handle the country’s presidency of the European Union in 2022, the Czech Radio news site iRozhlas.cz reported. Individual ministries originally said they needed 600 new staff but the government says it will not provide funding for any more than 200.

iRozhlas said neither the Ministry of Finance nor the government possessed methodology or an analysis with regard to how to calculate the number of hires necessary.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in July that the proposed intake of staff should be adequate to handle the EU presidency. He said the government’s top priority was state budget austerity.

The Czech government on Monday approved the nomination of Věra Jourová to serve a second term as a European Commissioner.

Jourová has served as European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality as a part of the Juncker Commission since October 2014.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is hoping that she can secure an economic portfolio. Jourová said she is interested in digitization, the internal market, trade and transport.

She is due to meet the incoming EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday.

Věra Jourová, who currently handles justice, consumers and gender, is preparing to become the first Czech to serve two consecutive stints on the European Commission. Prime Minister Babiš is hoping that Mrs. Jourová can secure an economic portfolio, possibly with a view to securing political points at home.

The country’s ambassadors around the world should be proud of the Czech Republic and talk up its achievements. That was the message from Andrej Babiš to Czech diplomats currently gathered in Prague. The prime minister also emphasised the importance of the Visegrad Four and repeated his opposition to euro adoption in a broad-ranging speech.

The Czech Republic’s candidate for the post of the country’s European commissioner, Věra Jourová, says she would be interested in securing the digital agenda, internal market or trade portfolio. She made the comment to members of the Czech lower house’s European Affairs Committee in Prague on Tuesday.

Ms. Jourová is currently the European commissioner for justice, consumers and gender equality.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said that his government will formally nominate her next Monday.

The Czech Republic looks set to send up to CZK 700 million to African states in the next few years. The main aim of the aid, which is being prepared by a number of ministries, is to help deter illegal migration to Europe.