Radoslav Procházka (source: SME, JOZEF JAKUBČO)
Former leader of Sieť, Radoslav Procházka, failed as a candidate for EU General Court judge because of "fears about the candidate's integrity, which weren’t dispelled". This stems from the statement of the advisory council explaining why they refused Procházka for the position, as quoted by the SITA newswire. The Judicial Council, who officially nominated him for the post, received the statement on January 2.
The statement mentions the will of the candidate to avoid tax with regard to some of the costs of his 2014 presidential election campaign. The statement does not give any more details on this.
At the same time, however, the Advisory Council in its statement describes the more positive qualities of Procházka, his experience in the judiciary, as well as his language skills and international experience.
Procházka’s candidacy mostly met with criticism due to his history in politics over the past two years.
Richard Sulík, leader of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) sent the information about Procházka’s political history to the Advisory Council. Procházka gave up his parliamentary seat at the end of October 2016, before the decision of the Advisory Council was known.
Procházka is the second candidate who has failed in running for the position of EU General Court judge. Mária Patakyová was not selected because she didn’t speak French – the working language of court.
