Leaders of the ANO, the SPD, and the Motorists party said this week that they are united in rejecting the European Union’s migration pact and will make its rejection a top priority once a new government is formed.
“The European Union will not govern us. We will respect certain rules that apply there, but we are accountable to our voters,” said ANO First Deputy Chairman Karel Havlíček, adding that the pact could be rejected “at the first meeting” of the new cabinet.
ANO leader and likely future prime minister Andrej Babiš reiterated the stance earlier this week, declaring, “In our first government, we will reject the migration pact and we will reject ETS2,” referring to the EU’s emissions trading system for transport and buildings.
Both the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and the Motorists movement share ANO’s opposition to the measures. SPD chairman Tomio Okamura said the parties had reached a “compromise” on tightening residency permit rules and confirmed that “we have already agreed that we will reject the migration pact at the first meeting of the new potential government and that we will reject ETS2 emission permits because it only brings about higher prices.”
The EU’s migration pact requires member states to either accept relocated migrants, pay €20,000 per migrant they refuse, or contribute alternative assistance to states most affected by illegal migration. ANO and its allies have long criticized the outgoing government of Petr Fiala for supporting the pact, calling it a violation of national sovereignty.
Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia have all vowed to also reject the pact, setting up a potential showdown between Brussels and the Visegrád Four.
Havlíček said there was “consensus in the emerging coalition” to reject the pact and dismissed concerns about potential EU sanctions, insisting that “politicians are accountable to Czech voters, not the European Union.”
Last week, Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok spoke to iROZHLAS about the incoming Czech government, saying Bratislava would stand in solidarity with Prague on both the migration pact and ETS2. “It is a social massacre,” he said of the EU’s proposed emissions allowance system. “For the average Slovak household, it means a burden of €3,000, which is literally impoverishment.”
On the migration pact, Eštok added, “We refuse to pay financial penalties for not wanting illegal migrants. I am convinced that, just like the meaningless Green Deal, the entire European Union will reconsider.”
Talks between the three Czech parties appear to be nearing completion, with the coalition expected to secure a parliamentary majority. Under the current agreement, ANO would control nine cabinet posts, including the premiership, the SPD three, and Motorists four, according to iDNES.cz. SPD leader Tomio Okamura is expected to become Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.
“We have agreed on everything,” said Motorists leader Boris Šťastný. “We will manage to agree on everything by Friday, 99.9 percent of the time.” Havlíček confirmed there were “no fundamental contradictions,” and Okamura added that “we are able to come to an agreement.”
