Czech Republic
| President
Prime Minister |
Miloš Zeman (Party of Civic Rights, since March 2013)
Andrej Babiš (ANO 2011, since December 2017) |
| Population | 10,649,800 (2019) |
| Size | 78,866 km² (30,450 sq. miles) |
| MEPs | 21 (joined the EU in 2004) |
| Next presidential election
Next legislative election |
2023
2021 |
| Presidency of the Council | July – December 2022 |
| Last meeting with Boris Johnson | None held to date |
| Brexit priorities | Following the murder of a 31-year-old Czech in London, the Czech government’s priority is to protect its citizens living in the UK. The authorities put the number of its citizens working in Britain at 37,000.
The Czech government has said it will play in active role in the negotiations to secure a good trade agreement that will not harm exports to the UK or endanger Czech jobs. Prague has been clear however that it fully agrees with the European Commission that a trade deal will only be negotiated after a divorce settlement is concluded. |
| What Prime Minister Babiš said on Brexit | “For Europe, it’s a very bad situation that the U.K. is leaving.”
On no deal: “We are, of course, considering this possibility, and we have to work to ensure that this threat does not become a reality for our people working in Great Britain.” |
| Czech Republic’s priorities | The Czech Republic held elections on 20-21 October 2017, which billionaire Andrej Babiš and his anti-establishment ANO party won, taking almost 30% of the votes. The party fell short of a majority, however, and lost a vote of confidence in the Parliament to rule with a minority government. The ANO party then agreed to form a coalition with the Social Democrats (ČSSD), thought still needed the support Communist party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) to get support from Parliament. This led to demonstrations across the country, as people were against the rehabilitation of a communist party.
PM Babiš has been accused of using tax-free bonds and EU subsidies for his own company. He denies the charges, which he has called politically motivated. The Czech police asked the parliament to lift his parliamentary immunity so that he can be prosecuted. The government’s main priority is to revive economic growth following the country’s longest recession on record. During the election campaign the ANO party said that the Czech Republic should not adopt the euro. The Czech government is currently at odds with the European Commission over the EU’s refugee relocation scheme. The Czechs have announced they will no longer take in any refugees from Italy or Greece due to security concerns. The European Commission is now thinking about imposing sanctions |
