Image: EC - Audiovisual Services
Vladimír Šucha, the director-general of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre evidence service, is retiring from the Commission at the end of October.
A Commission spokesperson confirmed Šucha’s departure to Research Professional News on 6 September, after it was reported by news websites in the official’s native Slovakia.
Šucha himself then confirmed the news on Twitter, saying: “I decided to join new pro democratic and pro EU forces in Slovakia to protect and nourish values of liberal democracy and strengthen #education #research #innovation ecosystem.”
Šucha has been director-general of the JRC since January 2014, having served as deputy director-general since July 2012. He joined the Commission’s education division in 2006, prior to which he was director of the Slovak Research and Development Agency.
“At this stage, we cannot speculate about any activity which Mr Sucha is going to undertake after his time at the Commission,” the Commission spokesperson said before Šucha published his tweet.
“In any event, should he wish to engage in an occupational activity after leaving the Commission, he would have to respect our rules on occupational activities which senior officials can perform after the end of service. This include the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance of certain appointments or benefits.”
The spokesperson added: “When it comes to his successor, in line with our standard practices, senior management appointments in the Commission are decided by the College of Commissioners. In the meantime, the Commission has a set of sound internal rules to ensure business continuity in similar cases.”
The JRC has a budget of about €1.9 billion for 2014-20, and a proposed budget of €2.2bn for 2021-27.
This article was updated on 9 September with the comment from Vladimír Šucha.