He said:

 

“I believe these elections will bring an end to the old grand coalition between the EPP and the Socialists. I would like to see a new center-right majority, that would be business friendly and that would address the real concerns of people of Europe. I believe such a coalition would be a breath of fresh air for the European Union.”

 

Zahradil, who is the first ever Spitzenkandidat coming from Central and Eastern Europe, admitted one of the reasons for his bid was the fact that Brussels overlooks candidates from these countries for the top EU positions such as Commission President. 

 

“If you want to change the negative feeling of Central and Eastern Europeans towards Brussels, you need to give them a reason to believe their voice is equally heard as the one of for example France or Germany. As Commission President I would treat all member states equally and fairly, big or small, old or new, Eastern or Western.”

 

As part of his Retune the EU campaign, which was launched last November, Jan Zahradil visited thirteen countries, spoke at twenty different conferences and press conferences, gave over a hundred interviews and participated in five Spitzenkandidat debates.

 

“The next Commission President should promote a scaled-back, flexible and multispeed European Union which would give its member states enough flexibility to decide what is best for their countries. No EU country should be forced to accept every policy that comes out of the Franco-German axis.”

 

“This is the reform of the European Union I am able and ready to deliver,” concluded Zahradil.

 

Unlike the European Parliament that has pledged to only support a Spitzenkandidat, Jan Zahradil respects the right of the European Council to nominate their preferred candidate, even if they aren’t among the ‘lead candidates’ put forward by the European political parties.

 

 

Contact:

 

Eva Bouchalova

Spokesperson of Jan Zahradil’s Spitzenkandidat campaign

Tel.: +32 471 78 21 40

e.bouchalova@acreurope.eu