The woman in charge of preserving the essential values of the European Union arrived in Brussels six years ago without any experience in EU politics and was given a portfolio she did not want, but she proved herself very successfully. Now Vera Jurova found herself at the center of two major battles that will determine the future and survival of the EU, writes nova.rs.
As the vice-president of the European Commission in charge of values and transparency, the Czech politician found herself at the center of the conflict between Brussels and Hungary and Poland over the rule of law. The conflict flared up so much that it called into question the EU budget worth 1,8 billion euros and the aid package for the fight against the coronavirus.
At the same time as the conflict over respect for the rule of law, Jurova worked on a plan to protect democracy in the EU in light of the wave of disinformation and the decline of free media in some member states.
Jurova thus found herself faced with fundamentally important questions for the EU. Is it possible to achieve a balance between freedom of speech and the preservation of democracy that will satisfy all 27 member states? Can these countries agree on the basic concepts of what the rule of law actually means and, if the answer is "no", does the EU have a future?
Most of this was news to Jurova when she arrived at the Commission in 2014 after just a year in the Czech government where she was regional development minister – her specialty – and hoped for a similar position in the EU administration.
She ended up as Commissioner for Justice and built a reputation as an experienced and sharp politician with a modest demeanor and memorable lines. She was promoted to the position of vice president last year and became in charge of the Commission's work on implementing the rule of law and protecting the democratic system of the EU from external influences.
In that role, she combined powerful public commentary with a more careful and conciliatory approach behind the scenes. She openly criticized leaders who undermine the democratic values of the Union, such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which is why his government cut off all relations with her. But she also pushed for a new scheme linking payments from the EU budget to respect for the rule of law.
"This is not an issue that can be solved by a lone sheriff"
She publicly accused China of spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, sided with Twitter in the conflict with US President Donald Trump and described Facebook as a "highway of hate" and a "channel of filth".
And yet, in an interview with Politika, she described herself as a "centrist who leans towards the left" and described her approach to politics as "let's not overdo it, let's listen to each other".
She also very honestly assessed that, when it comes to the rule of law, a miracle cannot be expected from the Commission because their powers are limited and governments and citizens must also participate in it. "The rule of law is a shared responsibility and we all have to fulfill our obligations. This is not an issue that can be solved by a lone sheriff," she said.
Jurova cannot be a lonely sheriff. The commission can only propose measures, not impose them, and any significant decision requires the support of other commissioners and governments, and critics say that currently - when it comes to the rule of law - there is none.
Jurova's pragmatism has also enraged some MPs and activists who resent her for not taking a tougher stance when it comes to corruption in Bulgaria or against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš who is accused of stifling media freedom and conflict of interest.
Personal experience
What Jurova undoubtedly has is personal experience in all the issues she is fighting for. As someone who grew up under communism, he has first-hand experience of how dangerous misinformation and restrictions on free speech can be. She also knows what happens when the rule of law disappears – she spent a month in detention in 2006 after being falsely accused of corruption.
Alberto Alemano, professor of EU law at the HEC business school in Paris believes that Jurova is more than qualified to attack Warsaw and Budapest when it comes to the rule of law. "She is the only one with the political courage, personal history and legitimacy to face those countries," he said.
However, in order to succeed in this, it needs the support of President Ursula von der Leyen, who has so far had a soft attitude towards these countries and other EU member states, which, although in principle support the plan to tie EU funds to respect for the rule of law, do not they insist too much on it.
Dark and cynical
Live, Jurova is a gentle person with a dark sense of humor. She revealed that she plays the piano and that she can “destroy and ruin anyone. Tchaikovsky? No problem". He likes the books of compatriot Milan Kundera because "they are dark and cynical enough and when I read them, I see reality better."
No one in Brussels mistook her calmness and soft voice for fragility. "I always had the impression that beneath that friendly exterior lay steel," said former European Security Commissioner Julian King.
Jurova grew up in the traumatic period of Czechoslovakia, she witnessed the Prague Spring and saw her parents lose their jobs after her father dared to call the Soviet intervention, which halted reforms in the country, a military invasion.
She started her career in the mid-1990s in the city administration of her hometown Trebič, and then went into regional and national politics. After being falsely accused of corruption, she worked as a consultant and returned to college in her 40s to get a law degree. Due to the unjustified imprisonment, she was later compensated.
Babiš, the current prime minister of the Czech Republic and then a successful businessman with political aspirations, noticed Jura's potential and invited her to his ANO party.
Babiš "needed people who are known and have credibility in society," said Petr Just, a political analyst from Prague. "He could say that Jurova was a victim of an incompetent state, that she was unjustly accused and that he has now come to heal the system and help the people who were its victims," he added.
In Brussels, Jurova presents himself as a European in the style of the former Czech president Vaclav Havel – a playwright, intellectual and activist during the communist era who later became a politician.
For many, her relationship with Babiš, the richest man in the Czech Republic, is inappropriate to her role as a fighter for the rule of law. Even at the very beginning of her work in the Commission, Jurova was criticized for her lukewarm reaction to the accusations of fraud against Babis. From that moment, Jurova became more cautious and distanced herself from the prime minister.
A rough start
The beginning of Jura in Brussels was difficult. President Jean-Claude Juncker appointed her as justice and gender equality commissioner and people close to him were initially worried but then left impressed.
The unnamed official said that Jurova understood the potential of her portfolio - that data protection and disinformation could interest citizens.
That doesn't mean that everything was easy for her. Her position was shaken earlier this year when Europe's top court rejected a data protection deal she negotiated with the US to allow the flow of data between the EU and the US.
However, this did not prevent von der Leyen from taking her as a deputy and appointing her as the guardian of the rule of law. The new role has also brought fresh attacks, particularly from Hungary and Poland, which accuse her of waging an ultra-liberal campaign against their traditional Christian and conservative beliefs. Hungary announced that it was ending all cooperation with it because it accused Orban of "bad democracy" which it dismissed as "foolishness".
When it comes to concrete actions, Jurova is much more cautious and this approach of hers was seen well in September at the meeting of the European Parliament where Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov was criticized for corruption.
"I do my job objectively"
Irish leftist Claire Daly, visibly annoyed, told Jurova that her assessment of the situation in Bulgaria is completely out of line with the real state of affairs. "My conclusion is that you are either terribly incompetent or you serve the interests of Borisov because of his connections with certain influential groups in the Parliament and the EU," she said.
Jurova told her with a smile that the situation in Bulgaria is very serious, but that the Commission is neither a judge nor a prosecutor nor an arbiter of the domestic political situation. "I reject your accusations that I am an associate of Borisov. Please don't insult me like that again. I do my job objectively and honestly," Jurova said.
Jurova then presented a new measure - an annual check of all 27 EU member states regarding respect for the rule of law, and she also announced new legal measures against countries that violate EU laws.
Offensive on disinformation
Jurova also continued to fight against misinformation, bypassing EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell when it comes to China and openly accused Beijing of spreading misinformation about the corona, even though the EU slightly softened its policy towards Chinese officials.
In her fight against misinformation on social media, Jurova tackled one of the biggest challenges facing Western democracies – how to deal with online misinformation that is generally classified as harmful but legal, while preserving freedom of expression. Any significant action in the EU in the fight against disinformation implies a confrontation with the technological giants, propaganda from Russia and China, and a concerted approach by the member states.
Jurova's approach to have social networks self-regulate posts has been controversial as fake news and misinformation flourish during the pandemic. She warned of the pitfall of creating a "ministry of truth" - a reference to George Orwell's novel "1984". Neither the Commission nor the EU nor the moderators and heads of the platforms have the right to be arbiters of the truth. But, at the same time, we have to do something against misinformation without censoring the content at the same time, she said.
She took a much tougher stance when she became the face of the EU in the fight against disinformation after agreeing on cooperation with Google, Facebook and Twitter. Her efforts have been met with mixed reviews. Media companies have complained that social networks have been given the freedom to publish misinformation, while digital rights NGOs and tech giants have argued that they are under no obligation to be transparent about how they deal with the issue.
European action plan against disinformation
This led Jurova to declare in September that self-regulation was no longer enough and that a much more determined fight against the spread of false information online was needed, leading to the creation of the European Democratic Action Plan dealing with the transparency of political advertising and electoral integrity.
For now, it is not clear how effective this action plan will be, but Jurova is determined to implement it.
"We are under constant attack from Russia and from my personal experience with the communists: I know how effective such propaganda is," Jurova said.
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