Remix News

Tag: Czech Republic

  • Immigration increases the Czech population

    The population of the Czech Republic increased due to foreign migration, the balance of which amounted to 17,700 inhabitants. Year-on-year, both the number of immigrants and emigrants increased. A total of 29,200 people migrated to the Czech Republic, which is 7,800 more than the year before.

    On the contrary, 11,500 inhabitants moved out of the Czech Republic abroad, 2,600 more than in the first half of 2017. The largest number of immigrants and emigrants were the citizens of Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria.

  • The migration period has begun

    We are mature, cultural, and democratic. We have more advanced technologies and weapons than Rome did. And also a far more developed society. More than others.

    Like in Rome in the year 300 but 170 years later, almost nothing is left. Today, another population lives there and speaks another language. The Roman civilization collapsed. The area, then, reached similar technological and cultural levels only and now it will probably be repeated.

    The empire collapsed from the pressure from outside, but it was defeated as a result of already being disintegrated from inside. Thus, Europe is in danger of a similar destiny.

    Civilizations simply disappear sometimes, but not all of them in the same way. For instance self-destruction of our civilization is new. The Romans did not send volunteers and legions to rescue Germanic “refugees“ in the Alps and did not bring them to Rome. They did not have the feeling that it was their fault that other civilizations were poorer than them.

    Cultural Marxists and those who are digging a grave to our civilization try to narrow the current issue of migration to legal/illegal. Like if it gets a little bit legal, it is not the same problem, but it is. 

    Multiculturalism does not exist. It is a round square. The newcomers either assimilate or they do not and then there is a conflict, even after a couple of decades.

    And countries change. Within a few years, criminality has increased and the composition of offenders has changed. The data is being hidden or trivialized. The face of cities is changing. The atmosphere and security in schools. The original inhabitants are being pushed out of public space, and when they oppose, the media label them as neo-Nazis and right-wing radicals.

    Perhaps, we are the Eastern Roman Empire which lasted a thousand years longer. But let´s not act as if nothing is happening. In Saxony (and Sweden), our civilization’s future is being decided on. God protect AfD and the Swedish Democrats.

  • Sweden is divided, anti-immigrant rhetoric paid off

    The polarized country has to deal with a party that nearly one fifth of voters wants but no one will govern. Social Democrats won once again, but their prospects are unusually bad.

    Just like in Germany, Hungary or the Czech Republic, the success of Sweden Democrats showed that there is not a topic that should be tabooed in a campaign or in general, and that political correctness will no longer be a mainstream for most political parties and the media.

    The elections have shown that Sweden is no longer an example of a country where everything is fine and where there are no problems at all. That´s why the eurosceptics from Sweden Democrats succeeded.

    Pre-election surveys also failed once again. More and more popular Swedish Democrats gained a little less than expected. In some surveys they even led, but they actually finished third. They were doing well in internet surveys but they are always different from actual voting.

    In any case, the Sunday elections mean a huge change for Sweden. Hardly anyone can question the impact that mass migration has on a welfare state, which has been untouchable for Swedes.

  • Most Czech MEPs support Orbán

    It is unclear which way the vote will go but Orbán is likely to benefit from some support from his political group (EPP). Also members of ECR are expected to vote against the measures.

    For example, MEP Tomas Zdechovsky (Christian Democratic Party) sharply criticized the Sargentini report, saying it is evidence of an effort to discredit Hungary at all costs. “I will vote against it. For any state, there is no fundamental threat to democracy, when there is no 100 percent gender equality in the country and the family is still defined as mom-dad-children,“ Zdechovsky said.

    Also, MEPs who are members of the Civic Democratic Party will not support any calls for sanctions on Hungary. According to Jan Zahradil, V4 countries must stick together and Central Europe should not be penalized for its different views, for example on migration policy.

    Social Democrat Jan Keller sees sanctions as a direct attack on the solidarity of the V4 countries. Also Jaromir Kohliček (member of The Communist Party) is going to vote against sanctions, saying it would be a gross interference in the internal affairs of Hungary. The only MEP who will support the sanctions is Jaromír Štětina (TOP 09).

  • Soros is not the only one

    Popular economist Marketa Sichtarova focused on the case surrounding a pedophile and an elite psychiatrist, who worked for the Norwegian social service Barnevernet. This is the well-known office that takes children from families on the basis of fictitious accusations. In the Czech Republic, the broadly medialized case of Eva Michalakova is particularly well-known in connection with this organization.

    Although George Soros is considered the most significant exporter of the new liberal leftist doctrine, he is not the only one. While Soros took especially mixing of nationalities and migration from this doctrine, Norway, through the so-called Norwegian funds, is rather interested in gender and (anti)family topics.

    In the countries where the Norwegian funds operate, even cases which have little to do with politics, are politicized. Exactly such is the case of children taken away from their parents. Another case happened in Switzerland where a Czech woman was without justification declared to be mentally ill, and the authorities then took her child away. This is what the new book called The Solen Son is about.

    Society is divided. On the one hand, there is multiculturalism, neo-Marxism, positive discrimination against minorities, growing racism against white people, militant feminism, an attempt to destroy national states and family ties. On the other hand, there is recognition of nations, recognition of families, recognition of personal responsibility. These two concepts are also reflected in cases such as the case of Eva Michalakova or the Stolen Son.

    Some people are afraid that if it turns out that law is on the side of parents and their children, it would be a direct attack on the state and therefore the entire liberal left-wing religion. Then the arguments and facts are completely overlooked because, like any religion, neither left-wing liberalism does not need the facts for its faith. And through the social democratic politicians especially, this new religion is being forced on us.

  • Crazy migration plans of the European elite

    There are millions of people currently trying to find their way in Europe. And they do not want to become Germans, British, Italian or Swedes, but to live in better material conditions. This is a threat to European countries, not the fact that migrants are coming illegally.

    The massive legal arrival of migrants causes the same problems as illegal migration. There is a threat that illegal migration will be legalized but the fundamental problem of colonizing Europe with non-adaptive migrants remains.

    The legal arrival of migrants in Europe is therefore not a victory of common sense, but simply another mad plan of the gradual ethnic transformation of our continent.

    We should also not celebrate the end of the debate about quotas. If Western European countries are willing to give asylum and residence permits, then they are opening the doors to the entire Schengen area. No government will be able to solve it.

  • The rise and fall of Emmanuel Macron

    Economic growth in Fance is almost zero. Unemployment remains at a high level of around 8.9 percent. French public spending is at 56.4 percent of GDP and is still the highest in Europe. France is also often paralyzed by public transport strikes and the so called no-go zones continue to expand.

    Also there is the case of Alexandre Benalla, the President’s personal bodyguard, who brutally attacked two people in the center of Paris. At first, Macron was completely silent. After six days he said he is taking responsibility for Benalla’s affair at a private meeting with MPs and ministers. He probably hoped to scare the critics but he did not succeed. The anger of his opponents only intensified. They marked Macron’s reaction as scandalous, insulting and inappropriate.

    As far as European policy is concerned, Macron is one of the major defenders of multicultural, post-national, post-democratic and post-Christian Europe. An increasing number of Europeans see that this trend leads only to the destruction of their own civilization and vote for the leaders who are fighting against this development.

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán won the election with the campaign aimed at defending European Jewish-Christian roots, national sovereignty and against Muslim immigration. The new Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has a similar program and the Polish and Czech governments have similar attitudes as Kurz and Orban.

    Politicians who support the same vision of Europe as President Macron have been excluded from the political scene in recent months, or their positions have been significantly weakened. Italian Matteo Renzi was defeated in the election in 2018. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, once identified as “the strongest leader in Europe,” now survives only because she has agreed to measures aimed at the restriction of further immigration into Germany.

    The days when Macron was able to marginalize his political opponents has come to an end.

  • Babis: We need a strong Europe

    Apart from the Euro, the Czech PM is interested in the new budget, immigration issues and Brexit. 

    “What we need now is a strong Europe. Europe has problems; we now need unity in foreign and trade policy. Just look at the business dispute with Donald Trump, the development with Putin and Turkey, which as a partner in NATO buys Russian weapons,” Babis said during an interview with German daily Bild.

    The head of the Czech government expressed the opinion that the elections to the European Parliament next year will show what the “silent majority” thinks about migration. He rejected claims that refugees needed to be admitted to the EU and that they needed protection. “In my view, they are all economic migrants. I consider them illegal immigrants; young people who aren’t fleeing from war,” Babiš said. 

    Adopting the Euro was also discussed. According to Babiš, however, it is not the key topic. The Czech Republic is not yet ready to adopt the common currency and it is also necessary to reform the Eurozone, because there are countries that do not fulfill the Maastricht criteria for deficit and debt.

    As in the recent past, Babis also repeatedly expressed the conviction that the Communists do not influence his government and guaranteed that there is no corruption in his government. “For me, money has long been no motivation,” said the politician who is currently being prosecuted for suspicion of subsidy fraud.

  • V4´s pledge to fight cybercrime

    At a three-day meeting, V4 prosecutors discussed the European Public Prosecutor´s Office (EPPO) and committed to working together to fight cybercrime.

    The meeting which took place from Monday to Wednesday was attended by Supreme Public Prosecutors Pavel Zeman (Czech), Péter Polt (Hungary), and Jaromír Čižnát (Slovakia) and the deputy to the Polish Supreme Public Prosecutor Bogdan Świeczkowski.

    The European Public Prosecutor´s Office will investigate and prosecute crimes against financial interests of the EU, particularly the misuse of EU funds, but also large cross-border VAT frauds.

    The office, the existence of which is anticipated by the basic EU treaties, was established by twenty countries in Luxembourg in the autumn last year after years of negotiating on its form and power. The Czech Republic is, unlike Poland and Hungary, among the member states.

    The Supreme Prosecutors agreed that the establishment of the EPPO must not weaken currently existing forms of international judicial cooperation. They also promised to pay close attention to all forms of cybercrime, in particular attacks against computer networks, intellectual property disruption, child pornography and Internet identity fraud.

  • More than 50 refugees disappear from Diciotti ship

    Fifty out of 177 refugees have disappeared from migrant reception centers following the docking of the Diciotti ship, according to La Repubblica daily,

    Matteo Salvini has ironically remarked that he was right when holding the refugees back on the ship. However, he is now being persecuted for that decision.

    “More than 50 migrants who disembarked from the Diciotti ship needed protection, food and accommodation so much so that they decided to leave (to receiving centers) and disappeared! So didn´t I keep them (on board) by right?,“ Salvini wrote on Facebook. “It is another proof that not everyone who is coming to Italy is nothing but skin and bones and is running away from war and hunger,“ he added.

    “If only one of them committed a crime, who would be responsible for it? The end of uncontrolled migration and immediate maritime blockade,“ Giorgia Meloni who leads the political party Brothers of Italy wrote on Twitter.

    The migrants, mostly from Eritrea, were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard during the night of August 16th. Salvini conditioned their disembarking in the Sicilian port of Catania by redistributing them among EU states. After a ten-day stalemate, Albania and Ireland agreed to receiving around twenty migrants and the Italian Catholic Church promised to take care of the rest.

    Salvini is now being prosecuted for illegal detention of people, misuse of power, neglecting of the office exercise, restrain of personal freedom and pressure on the EU institutions to force the redistribution of immigrants.  This case will be handled by a special court dealing with crimes committed by members of the government. Salvini is facing up to 30 years in prison according to the Italian Criminal Code.

  • Seehofer: Migration is the mother of all problems

    The government should, according to German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, learn quickly from Chemnitz, otherwise it will lose voter confidence.

    “Migration is the mother of all problems,“ Seehofer said. His statement is in contrast with that of Chancellor Angela Merkel who criticized in particular the demonstrations of the opponents of migration which she calls the far right.

    At a closed CSU meeting in Neuhardenberg on Wednesday, Seehofer said that when people revolt it does not mean they are Nazis. He added that if he were not a minister, he would go to the streets as well.

    Those who performed the Nazi salute at the demonstration deserve a punishment, but it does not mean that when someone comes into the street, he or she is a neo-Nazi.

    “Many people now associate their social problems with the issue of migration,“ Federal Interior Minister Rheinische Post said along with a statement that if Germany does not change its immigration policy, traditional political parties will keep losing voters´ support.

    The traditional political parties indeed lose support. Based on the survey released on Wednesday, the political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), anti-immigration party, has the second largest support in the country.

    Die Welt also recalled that Saxon Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer also spoke differently than Merkel who condemned the “hunt for foreigners“. The events in Chemnitz must be described correctly: “Naturally, there were no crowd, no lynch, no pogrom“.

  • Andrej Babiš sets the agenda

    He was the only Czech politician who discussed migration in Italy. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán dealt with Babiš, not with Hamacek or Poche. And it was Babiš who flew to the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday.

    Poche has reportedly given up his nomination and will leave it to his assistant from the European Parliament, Tomáš Petříček.

    However, he criticized President Milos Zeman as well as Prime Minister Babiš last week and, in contradiction with the government’s program, he advocated the adoption of the euro. Babiš then criticized Poche, and the new quarrel ended Poche’s “retreat plan.”

    CSSD chairman Jan Hamacek can do nothing but follow suit. He has to hope it will turn out somehow, because if he gives up the fight over the post of foreign minister, President Zeman will likely give it to Babiš.

    In addition, every quarrel with the Social Democrats over Poche is welcomed by Babiš. People can start to think that the issue of the Foreign Ministry is the main and only agenda of ČSSD. And that’s good for Babiš before the election.

  • Czechs are more afraid of migrants than in other countries

    A study published by the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences has found that Czechs have issues with the Roma community, finding them less acceptable than Muslims.

    The data also shows that Czechs would rather accept unskilled workers from closer countries than educated Muslims.

    The study found that compared to the European average, Czechs are less open. They consider an arrival of people of other races, inhabitants of poor non-European countries, or Jews less acceptable.

    About 63 percent of the respondents are against the migration of Roma to the Czech Republic, and 55 percent of the respondents do not want to accept any Muslims.

    “People are afraid of migration, and the Czechs are no exception. They are worried about rising criminality, and the only difference that the Czech Republic shows is that the fears of the Czechs are double compared to other countries,” says Jaroslava Pospíšilová, co-author of the study.

    While in Europe, on average, 30 percent of university-educated people are afraid of migration, in the Czech Republic it is more than 60 percent. The biggest concern about migration is felt by right-wing voters, a total of 79 percent of them. Also, 79 percent of those with the lowest income are worried about the immigrants.

    “The results show that most important for the Czechs are work and material security, health took, although tightly a second place,” explains Pospíšilová.

    Amongst the most satisfied nations of Europe are the Danes, the Swiss and the Norwegians, the least satisfied are the Portuguese, Latvians, and Hungarians.

    However, experts point out the relative nature of such a measurement, because happiness and satisfaction may mean something different for different nations and thus the evaluation is not objective at all.

  • High-speed rail to link Visegrad region

    Hungary’s foreign minister has revealed that the Visegrad Group has agreed to build a high-speed train linking the region.

    Péter Szijjártó said the route will make it possible to travel from Budapest to Bratislava and Brno to Warsaw at a speed of up to 250 km per hour.

    During the Economic Forum in Krynica, Minister Szijjártó also announced that the study of the project should be completed in the autumn of 2019 and that the Hungarian government will allocate 1.5 billion HUF to the project.

  • Refugees continue to distort Czech-German relations

    After talks with Babiš, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the redistribution of refugees remains a controversial point of discussion between the Czech Republic and Germany. Overall, however, they both consider the relationship excellent.

    It was Babiš´s first official visit to Germany as Czech Prime Minister. Upon his arrival, there were about 30-40 protesters who chanted slogans like “Babiš is a liar and thief”, “Babiš to jail” or “Babiš is a threat to Europe”.

    The topics discussed between the two leaders included European issues, the EU-US relationship, migration, and bilateral relations. At a joint conference, both politicians confirmed that they did not agree on the issue of the distribution of migrants.

    According to the Chancellor, it is not possible to leave all the responsibility on Italy. The prime minister stressed that the European Union must clearly define the borders of the Schengen area. According to Babiš, two systems for fighting illegal migration cannot work in Europe at the same time, and every visitor to Europe should have a working visa.

    However, there were some agreements reached during the meeting. Merkel has listed such areas as the protection of the external borders, the fight against smugglers and investments in the countries of the migrants´ origin.

    Another area in which the two politicians agreed on is the need to conclude agreements with other countries similar to the deal on migration between the EU and Turkey.

  • Chemnitz in the spotlight

    It is not surprising at all that the events in Chemnitz, close to the border generated so much attention in the Czech Republic and in the countries of the Visegrad Four.

    The murder of a citizen by an Iraqi immigrant seeking asylum is fulfilling the darkest fears of societies, which have been present since 2015 when masses of immigrants were heading to Central Europe. And it is not just about the murder but the uproar it caused in Saxony and later in Germany.

    Demonstrations are being organized, the police clash with the masses and hooligans are attacking asylum-seekers. The founder of the initiative Pro Chemnitz Martin Kohlmann is asking for more independence of Saxony and calls for stronger cooperation with the Visegrad countries.

    The murder is tragic. The asylum-seeker from Iraq killed a local citizen on the streets with a couple of stabs. His request for asylum was rejected two years ago, but Germany was unable to send him back despite committing crimes, drug abuse and his reputation of being a dangerous man. This is an exemplary case for unleashing the rage.

    Germany is unable to cope with the rejected number of asylum-seekers, unable to solve the protests in the streets of Chemnitz. The locals have the feeling of being left alone with the issue. From our viewpoint the most interesting is the high proportion of nervousness surrounding the conflict. The well-organized German society is neurotically trying to get rid of the disarray down to the smallest of details.

    Saxony cannot organize its own Brexit, but what will they do? Possibly seek a strong leader, just like the Visegrad countries. The desire for stability in an unstable world is understandable.

  • V4 launch Warsaw-Budapest high-speed rail study

    The relevant ministers of the four countries agreed to jointly complete the study, Hungarian Finance Minister Mihály Varga said at the Krynica economic forum in Poland, Magyar Hírlap reported.

    The rail line will link Warsaw, Bratislava, Brno and Budapest and will have a top speed of over 250 km/h (155 mph). The Hungarian government will contribute HUF 1.5 billion ($5.3 million) to the feasibility study. The public procurement tender for the study will be announced shortly in order to have it completed by next autumn for decision-makers.

    Varga also said that at the forum Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine signed a declaration of intent to devise a strategy for the creation of a Carpathians economic region. The work will last two years and the aim is to boost the participant countries’ competitiveness, sharing of infrastructure and resources and to bolster cooperation between the region’s institutions.

    The Czech Republic, Moldova, Romania and Slovakia will also be part of the cooperation – Romania was already present at the last project meeting. Varga said the participants will also work on concrete projects such as rail and road network development and digital transition.

    In addition to funding from the participating states, Varga hoped that the project will also receive funding from the European Union, the business sphere and private investors. He also said that the new cooperation must be closely integrated with the existing Carpathians framework and the Danube region strategy. 

  • Muslims benefit from weak European politicians

    Examples in Vienna and Poitiers show that Muslims are very successful in building a strong position across Europe nowadays. They do not need a majority, because liberal leftist parties are standing on their side. It will not take much time before European history would be rewritten. Austrian and French authorities are not doing anything to stop it.

    The statue of King Jan III Sobieski will not be placed in Vienna. The authorities think that such a monument would have an anti-Turkish tone and it is not a good time to erect the statue.

    Another interesting discussion can be seen around the mosque in Poitiers, France. The mosque is presented with a different name for the French and for the Muslims. It is officially called the Great Mosque of Poitiers. Muslims, however, named it “Paved with Martyrs“.

    It is illogical and idiotic to blame Muslims for that. They only take a chance offered to them by the current social and political regimes in Europe to propagate their point of view on history, society and policies.

    Perhaps students in France will soon learn of the evil Karel Martel, who hurt the poor Muslims that have spread Islam to the territory of today’s France. Teachers in Austria will tell the stories about the evil Jan III Sobiesky, who led the coalition forces in the battle against the Muslim Ottoman Empire near Vienna, and his victory delayed the Islamization of Austria.

    Muslims do not even need to represent a majority of the population in European society. Multicultural and left-wing activists who hate the original European conservative anti-Jewish-Christian civilization would like to help them.

  • The battle for the European Parliament

    The victory of nationalists in the EP elections is more likely than surveys suggest. Salvini and Orbán are the main determinants of the agenda. The only other determinant of the agenda is French President Emmanuel Macron. They are now true rivals in European politics, and it is not clear who is going to win.

    Orbán’s Fidesz is part of the faction of the European People’s Party (EPP), Salvini is part of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF), a member of which is, of course, the French extremist politician Marine Le Pen. Salvini, who wants to enforce migrant redistribution quotas, has a single common goal with his otherwise opponent Orbán – to demonstrate that the EU is failing to deal with the migration crisis.

    Part of the EPP wants to get rid of Orbán, but without much hope of success. They cannot afford to lose him. EPP will lose many seats next year in the European Parliament elections, but the Orbán MEP’s contingent will remain as strong as it is now.

    The advantage of the nationalists in the European Parliament is also that they have no common positive agenda, so they are not jealous of each other. Moreover, despite what appears on the surface, Angela Merkel is de facto a political opponent of French President Emmanuel Macron, especially when Merkel has practically rejected all of Macron’s proposed Eurozone reforms.

  • Macron’s government is falling apart

    Sports Minister Laura Flessel surprisingly announced yesterday that she has decided to step down.

    Flessel is the second popular member of President Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet to resign in a week. The resignation of the immensely popular Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot was also a blow for Macron.

    Her decision comes as Macron attempts to inject new energy into his reform drive. Although the popular former Olympic fencing champion said she had “personal reasons“ for leaving, other sources claim her decision to leave was linked to her fiscal situation.

    Macron’s office announced that Flessel would be replaced by Roxana Maracineanu and the new Environment minister will be Francois de Rugy.

    Macron also faces an unprecedented decline in popularity. According to an Ifop poll, only 31 percent of French voters are now satisfied with his performance. Even his predecessor Francois Hollande was more popular at the same stage of his presidency. 

  • Babiš meeting with Merkel

    PM Babiš is on his first official visit to Germany today where discussions with Angela Merkel are expected to focus on European issues and EU-US relations, migration and bilateral relations.

    Before his departure, Babiš reiterated that his main topics were the EU budget and migration. “I do not want to engage in any talks about the next European elections; I am engaging myself as the PM of the Czech Republic, who, of course, has some opinion on the solution of migration, and of course the migration solution is connected with money,” he said.

    He added that Europe is unable to solve the problem of migration systematically, and therefore he declares that the Czech Republic will not accept a single migrant. On the other hand, this does not indicate a lack of solidarity, according to him, when the Czech Republic has contributed financial support of almost 100 million euros to other countries since 2015.

    Babiš criticized the draft of the EU budget, in which he sees 75 billion euros that could be used to address migration. Instead of raising Frontex spending, Babiš sees the solution in support of the “first-line” countries – Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain.

    Also, Babiš reiterated the need for an agreement with the states of North Africa – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya or Egypt – which, according to him, Merkel has “intensive relationships“ with.

    The prime minister is going to meet the head of Parliament and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, too. Babiš named Germany the Czech Republic’s most important economic partner, with a third of Czech exports heading there.

    Today’s meetings will be held in the light of recent meetings with Giuseppe Conte and Viktor Orbán. The Czech media recalls the advantageous situation in which Babiš is located due to the fact that the Czech Republic still has no proper Foreign Minister.

  • Murder in Chemnitz? Only the tip of the iceberg

    It is very disturbing to follow the news about current events in Chemnitz. Not only because riots are taking place near our borders, but above all, because the murder that triggered protests and violent clashes is only the tip of the iceberg.

    These events are evidence that European political elites fail to deal with the effects of the migration wave.

    The migration policy of a number of European countries has completely failed. The consequence of events and political decisions made a few years ago has led to the breakdown of society, decrease in security and the growing popularity of radical and populist movements promising quick solutions. However, as we know, quick solutions do not exist and lead only to the violation of the rule of law and democratic principles.

    The ostrich policy practiced by the German government in highlighting the problems that have been brought by the migration wave, and showed that disputable past decisions were completely wrong. If we do not face the problems and offer specific solutions, the breakdown of society will continue and then, only a small spark will be needed to ignite a fire of hatred as happened so many times in the past.

  • Smugglers are risking more and more, says UN report

    According to the UNHCR´s report Desperate Journeys, the number of refugees coming to Europe across the Mediterranean has fallen, but mortality rates have increased.

    Smugglers risk more while transporting people from Libya to Europe, as Libyan border guards supported by the EU have been able to hold back more ships with migrants and the likelihood that people on these vessels will lose their lives is rising.

    “It is already too late, when the refugees make it to Libya. Europe must intervene in the countries they come from,“ says Vincent Cochetel, French official for the UNHCR.

    Although the European authorities made efforts to reduce illegal migration in 2017, according to UNHCR they failed to secure access to a safe and legal way for those in need of international protection.

    The UNHCR stated that 2,276 people died while attempting to get to Europe last year which is one victim per 42 incoming. This year, 1,095 people died which means one victim per 18 immigrants, another 500 people have disappeared without a trace.

    The UNHCR points to the fact that nowadays many people die when trying to get to Libya as a departure point for their travel to Europe and stay in crowded retention camps. Many of them return back after unsuccessful attempts at traveling to the European continent. While many of them fall into smugglers’ hands who sell them as slaves.

    In recent months, UNHCR, together with the International Organization for Migration and other agencies, has been asking for a common approach by all countries in the region to address the migration issue with clear procedures and empowerment of resettlement programs.

    The UHNCR also urged European states to offer refugees seeking international protection faster asylum procedures and increased protection of children. The reason for this demand is an increasing barrier by which the European countries are trying to defend their territories against migration flows.

  • ANO is still the most popular party

    According to a poll by the Kantar TNS agency, ANO could win an election on 28 percent of the vote.

    However, the result of the survey is a bit tricky for government leaders as the movement has lost two percent since October´s elections. The Czech Pirate Party who got under 11 percent in October would now receive 15 percent, and 13 percent of respondents said they would vote for the Civic Democrats.

    The survey also showed that participation in the government coalition does not help the Social Democrats to achieve better results. They would receive 6.5 percent, even The Communists or Freedom and Direct Democracy would receive more. Nine parties would enter the Chamber of Deputies.

    The study also paid attention to sociodemographic indicators. The popularity of ANO significantly increases with age. More than 40 percent of people over the age of 60 would vote for the party formed by Andrej Babis. On the other hand, Pirates are attractive especially for young people.

    Several differences are also reflected in the category of education. People with basic education tend to choose the Communists and Freedom and Direct Democracy. Right-wing parties such as Civic Democrats or TOP 09 are more popular among the people with higher education.

  • PM Babiš to be the head of European election campaign

    “I will not stand in the election, but I will be the leader of the campaign,” PM Andrej Babiš said in an interview with Lidové noviny.

    The election to the European Parliament will take place in the second half of May, but quarrels and discussions have already begun. The most discussed topic is definitely migration, and according to Babiš, it will be the most important issue of the elections.

    “Orban was the first to stop illegal migration. He introduced special measures, built a fence and proceeded according to the Dublin Agreements,“ said Babiš, praising the Hungarian Prime Minister. However, he thought it would be President Macron who would understand the attitudes of the Visegrad Four, but that didn’t happen.

    According to Babiš, the redistribution of migrants is a way to hell. It’s just an invitation for them  – an invitation for illegal migration. The EU needs to reach a financial agreement with all North African countries, mainly with Libya and Morocco. This will help to normalize the situation.

    We can save on Frontex spending. The budget of this organization is projected to rise to €10 billion between 2021 and 2027. That’s unnecessary, let’s use this money to find a solution with the African states.

    Babiš wants to discuss these proposals with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting on September 5th. The subject of the discussion will also surround the European budget, which the Czech Prime Minister does not agree with.

  • The EU should not force countries to accept migrants

    PM Andrej Babiš and ČSSD Chairman Jan Hamáček welcomed the words of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas as a positive shift in German foreign policy.

    According to Maas, it is not wise to force states to accept refugees. The states that refuse to accept any migrants should help to improve the situation directly in Africa.

    During an interview with Bild, the German foreign minister also warned that we should not allow the migration issue to continue to divide the EU.

    Maas suggested that V4 countries rejecting the acceptation of migrants, should help another way and take responsibility elsewhere, for example by fighting the causes of migration directly in Africa.

    Leading Czech politicians appreciated Maas’s statements. “Our diplomacy has always advocated that the solution should be to help the countries where the migrants come from,“ Hamáček wrote on Twitter.

    Maas also suggested a reform of the EU´s foreign policy, which should be discussed right after the European Parliament election in May next year. According to Maas, unanimity should not be required in the foreign policy questions, unlike the issue of migration.

  • Macron Vs. Orbini

    French President Emmanuel Macron is right when he talks about escalating conflict between nationalists and progressors in Europe. But the truth is that he contributed a lot to this escalation.

    Without naming Orbán, Macron was scathing of politicians who scapegoated migrants in his speech in April.

    Orbán and Salvini named Macron as their main opponent at their meeting in Milan. While he is the leader of those who support migration, Hungary and Italy want to stop illegal immigration.

    There is no need to doubt the existence of a block of anti-immigration forces in Europe. Denmark and Austria run a policy similar to Hungary’s, and the rest of the Visegrad Group is doing the same.

    However, Macron has not yet been able to get any significant companions in other European countries. Even Germany is not interested in joining the criticism of Salvini.

    Immediately after his victory over Marine Le Pen, Macron’s Movement (En Marche) began to establish branches abroad. One was established in the Czech Republic with the name “So Yes“. Its chairman is Martin Rozumek from the NGO “Organization for Aid to Refugees” but the movement does not show any activity except its terrible looking website. And as far as I know, the effort of Macron´s movement wasn´t successful anywhere in Europe.

    Emmanuel Macron’s main problem is that he missed his time. En Marche would fit perfectly into the second half of the nineties. He is something like the French equivalent of Tony Blair. However, the current problems force politicians to send their army to the border. And that’s exactly the kind of activity that does not suit politicians of Macron’s type.

  • Zeman: Weakening of the V4 would be a huge mistake

    President Zeman praised the Czech Republic’s current activity in the EU and said weakening of the Visegrad group would be a huge mistake.

    Zeman is very glad that there has been a fundamental shift since Czech politicians stood in the corner during meetings of the European Council in the past. He also appreciates that the Visegrad Group has succeeded in the fight against migrant quotas, reminding that Angela Merkel recently declared that the refugee quotas were a mistake.

    Efforts to abolish or weaken the Visegrad Group would be a gross political mistake that would also weaken the Czech Republic’s position, he said.

    Zeman also paid attention to discussions on renewable resources and the European budget. These will be the two biggest battles the Czech Republic has to win. The European Union suffers from a fixed idea that the share of renewables in the energy mix should be increased.

    Member States have to oppose this idea. According to Zeman, Green fanaticism has already led to the fact that Germany has the most expensive electricity in Europe because it has restricted nuclear power plants and hopes for subsidized renewable sources.

    Regarding the EU budget, Brexit will mean a 15 percent decline in revenue. “I believe that European countries should promote a simple principle of subsidiarity,“ Zeman said. Each country should therefore be allowed to choose the structure of subsidies.

    At the end of his speech, Zeman said there are no striking differences between his and the government’s attitude toward Czech foreign policy.

  • The secret meeting between Babiš and Orbán

    The news that Czech Prime Minister Babiš was heading for a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was revealed to journalists at the airport just a few moments before departure.

    During the meeting, the two politicians discussed migration and the European budget. Both prime ministers criticize the budget, according to sources. Babiš, for example, disagrees with raising money for the administration.

    At both the V4 and EU summit, Babiš is going to promote his proposal to address the migration crisis. There should be a plan similar to the Marshall plan for the African states, as PM Babiš has repeatedly said before. Migration should be addressed in the north of Africa, where money should be sent, not in Europe.

    Babiš also told reporters that PM Orbán had accepted an invitation to Prague and would visit the city at the end of October along with a business delegation.

    PM Orbán, after the meeting, expressed his sympathy for Babiš, who made the migration policy his main topic over the last few weeks. “I trust people from business. European politicians usually just repeat their political blah blah,” said PM Orbán.

  • Italy joins Central European anti-migration drive

    So far some could think they can easily dismiss the Central European countries’ anti-migration stance but since Italy joined their position that is no longer the case, Levente Boros Bánk, director of the Médianéző Institute told Magyar Hírlap in an interview.

    One of the crucial aspects of the Orbán-Salvini meeting is that the Central European cooperation has been joined by a Western European frontline country directly affected by migration

     

    Now Italy has also declared that illegal migration must be stopped. This also has the potential to threaten the Brussels elite and the ruling powers because it could be the nucleus of a broader political cooperation.

    Although the Orbán-Salvini meeting in Milan was not meant to be a campaign opener for next year’s European elections, it might as well have been, judging by the vehement reactions it triggered. There is no question that illegal migration will be the central issue of the EP campaign and elections next May.

    Referring to the protests in Chemintz, Germany after the murder of a German citizen by migrants from the Middle East, Boros Bánk said those were in equal measure prompted by the killing itself and the inability of the German authorities to tackle migrant criminality. If politicians fail to take effective countermeasures, even larger protests can be expected.

    He also spoke about David Cornstein, the new U.S. ambassador to Budapest who steadfastly refuses to condemn Hungary as a country where democracy is lacking. Washington’s foreign policy has changed, it no longer condemns Hungary and left-liberal opinion-mongers have so far been unable to extract a single condemning statement from him.

    Regarding Hungarian opposition parties’ preparedness for the EP campaign, Boros Bánk said they are in an obvious disarray and so far there are no signs that they could or are even attempting to formulate a cohesive strategy.

  • Mice and cocaine found in MEP offices

    Mice and cocaine have been found in MEP offices in Brussels, it has been reported.

    What’s more, the repair bill for revamping EU offices could cost half a billion euros, a secret the bloc tried to keep quiet before the elections.

    MEP Jiri Payne found mice in his office in Brussels and published photos of several damaged documents on his Facebook page.

    “Mousetraps, that were banned by the EU, are all over the office, but the mice seem to respect the ban and are biting European documents instead,“ Payne joked in his post. At the same time, however, he also warned that the building has many issues, hot water does not flow and the whole building is infested with cocaine.

    The repair of the building would cost half a billion euros. However, this amount could harm the pro-EU camp in the election, so they have kept it quiet.

    “After today’s experience with the mouse, I have again clarified the idea of how the European Union works: it cannot defend itself against mice, bacteria, thieves or immigrants,“ Payne wrote at the end of his post.

  • Politicians and media label demonstrators in Chemnitz

    Opponents of migration are not neo-Nazis. Tell it to politicians and media.

    Western governments former decided that there should never arise National Socialist dictatorship once again. Real fascism almost disappeared, but politicians had to invent his followers in time to maintain their superior moral goal.

    This is a good set up for politicians, especially during massive demonstrations against immigration policy, which imports criminals. The demonstration in Chemnitz was attended by about 5,000 people, a few dozen of them were supporters of the far right. But the media, as well as Angela Merkel, focused only on these neo-Nazis.

    However, arrogantly pushing thousands of ordinary citizens into one bag with neo-Nazis will lead to the opposite of the intended. Politicians chose to mark everyone who is against mass imigration as racist and fascist, not only in Germany.

    They know these stickers are fake, but they think it will pay off. How will they behave when they find out that politically unacceptable views expressed attitude of the vast majority? Rather, do not think what a silent majority will do if the politicians will overlook it for a long time. We should hope that this conflict will be solved  by the elections.

  • The Visegrad Group has been cooperating since the Middle Ages

    In 1335, three Central European kings met in the Hungarian medieval royal palace Visegrad and signed a co-operation agreement. It was an anti-Habsburg alliance.

    In 1991, three Central European presidents met in the same place to follow up on this 656 year old treaty. Cooperation was also intended as a defense against the then-existing USSR.

    The declaration was signed on February 15th, 1991, and its aim was to create a formation that would help its member states with shaping a new political and economic arrangement in Central Europe. When Czechoslovakia split into two states in 1993 the original Visegrad Three became Visegrad Four.

    In 2000, V4 states established the International Visegrad Fund that supports activities in the field of cultural cooperation, scientific exchange, research, education, youth and cross-border cooperation among V4 states, and also among V4 states and other countries. The Fund finances projects involving as many V4 entities as possible.

    One of the interesting events supported by the Fund is a project “Visegrad reads to children“. The intention of the project´s authors is to raise awareness of the benefits of reading to children. Within the Week of reading to children took place a number of interesting events during which participants could get to know literature for children of Czech, Slovak, Polish and Hungarian authors.

  • Visegrád Group support Orbán and Salvini

    All sides are mustering their troops for the upcoming European elections and public opinion in the Visegrád Four clearly supports the Orbán-Salvini line, political analyst István Pócza said.

    The campaign for the EU elections has started early and at high intensity, Pócza, lead researcher at think-tank Századvég, said in an interview with Origo.hu.

    “On one side, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and French President Emmanuel Macron have clearly stated their position for a United States of Europe, while on the other side we see two firm proponents of sovereignty, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Italian Minister of Interior Matteo Salvini,” Pócza said

    Usually European elections don’t trigger major political debates, but this time the position on migration is an issue that clearly highlights the fault lines between the concepts regarding the future of Europe.

    But, while the German Foreign Minister’s position is undermined by Chancellor Merkel’s statement that “it is only his personal view” (i.e. not official government policy) and President Macron is quickly losing support at home, both Orbán and Salvini enjoy substantial popular support at home.

    “I am certain that the Visegrád countries will rally behind the group spearheaded by Orbán and Salvini,” Pócza said.

    With regard to migration, it is evident that should the proponents of a U.S.-type approach come out on top, that would result in a Europe of mixed ethnicities, whose cultural foundations are shaky and security is questionable.

    On the other side there is a Europe with deep Christian-Jewish roots that can guarantee security and “where most of us want to live,” Pócza said.

     

  • Soros-founded university to stop helping refugees

    Central European University has ended a program for refugees, following the implementation of the “Stop Soros” law.

    The Hungarian Prime Minister has already said that migration is a burden on the state budget. The law package approved by the Hungarian government came into effect last week and it restricts non-governmental organizations which helps migrants, charging them with a 25 percent tax.

    CEU announced suspending of such a program. The University also said that its programs were “only for persons legally admitted to Hungary.”

    Some non-profit organizations have also announced the end of their activities. These include, for example, the Migration Aid, which provided blankets, food and other life needs as well as medical and legal aid.

    In May, the billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations moved staff and offices from Hungary to Germany.

  • European policy trap

    Political contradictions point to a fundamental dilemma – how to remain compassionate and not change Europe and new Africa at the same time.

    We don´t want to let others die because of the terror of their rulers or bad weather. We realize, however, that our asylum rules are beginning to be unsustainable. There are several examples of such contradictions.

    Kamberský highlighted views on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. When he started to build a fence on the southern border of Hungary, many criticized him. But when the same thing was done by Turkish President Erdogan, it was considered as a success of European diplomacy.

    Also the disputes between the Czech and Italian prime ministers are a good example. Both of them want to stop immigration from Africa. But their different views have become a quintessence of quota dispute.

  • Muslims offer reward for killing Geert Wilders

    Chairman of the Dutch Freedom party plans to organize a Prophet Mohammed cartoon contest.

    Protests in Pakistan are growing and there has even been a reward put up of US$24,000 for killing Geert Wilders and his far-right party colleagues.

    On Monday, the Pakistani Senate passed a resolution condemning the forthcoming drafting contest.

    Dutch deputy and anti-Islamist fighter Geert Wilders plans to hold a drawing contest on the theme of the Prophet Mohammed in autumn, right in the premise of the Dutch Parliament, in his office. He has already gathered 200 contest contributions.

    The American cartoonist Bosch Fawstin will be a judge at this content, and the anger of Pakistani Islamists is, therefore, also aimed at the United States.

    The Dutch counter-terrorism office has authorized the contest. However, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that it was hard for him to understand “what positive aims“ the contest could bring. But at the same time he stated that Wilders is only exercising his right to freedom of expression given by the Dutch law.

    The contest was rejected by Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, and new Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Kureshi complained about the competition to his Dutch counterpart and also contacted the UN and the European Union on the issue.

    Pakistani cricket player Chakid Latif has announced a reward of US$24,000 for Wilders and his right-wing party colleagues´ heads. The Dutch police already arrested a 26-year-old man on Tuesday suspected of planning an attack on Wilders.

  • Will Zeman or Babiš visit the USA?

    The US are intensively preparing for a visit from a top Czech politician but it is not yet clear who it will be. PM Babiš and President Zeman are both in the running.

    Hynek Kmonicek, the Czech ambassador in Washington and the former head of the foreign department of the presidential office, made the revelation over the uncertainty in a recent interview on Czech Television.

    At the same time, he denied that the earlier invitation of Zeman to the White House was only a courtesy. He emphasized, however, that an unpredictability is a characteristic trait of US President Donald Trump.

    Zeman had been invited to the White House before Donald Trump´s inauguration in December 2016. However, the visit has not yet taken place.

    “The State Department is now working intensively with the White House on a realization of – an now I quote – a visit at a higher level than ministerial,“ Kmoníček said. Nevertheless, he refused to say when the visit could take place.

    The Ambassador admitted that “Americans have a long-term tendency to focus on the person of the prime minister in the non-presidential regimes“. Thus, the preparations could also end up with Donald Trump welcoming Andrej Babiš. Although, Kmoníček did not want to suggest this option.

  • The naiveté and political correctness of “Democrats” boosts populists

    Naiveté in the interest of the general good and sweeping things under the carpet will not solve anything.

    The two things mentioned above may seem like two completely different and unrelated things, however, as recent news from Sweden shows, they may share more than you think.

    Swedish activist Elin Ersson tried to prevent deportation of a 52-year-old Afghan from Sweden back to his country. But it turned out that the Afghan was a former convicted criminal. The girl showed her “pathological altruism”. In her naive pursuit of doing good, she actually helped the opposite. She supported a person who committed a serious crime.

    Similarly naive is Swedish politics since the mid-70s, when Sweden began to aspire to become a multicultural humanitarian power, welcoming people from all over the world

    The situation in Sweden has worsened also by efforts not to talk about things that are not consistent with the predominant thinking. The problems of mass immigration have been overlooked for a long time, and any criticism has been rejected by the constant repetition of the mantra that the presence of people from other cultures must always be beneficial and enriching for the society in question.

    Obvious and eye-catching problems can not be overlooked indefinitely. Especially after 2015, when Europe was shocked by the migratory crisis, and Sweden became one of the most sought targets for asylum seekers because of its generous immigration policy. It is no wonder, therefore, that immigration has also become one of the main topics of this year’s Swedish elections.

    When the problems are not discussed it helps the populists as Swedish Democratic Party and Germany AfD to succeed. Similar parties have already been successful in most European countries. They point to real problems, but they do not offer any feasible and legally possible solution.

    Therefore, it is absolutely silly if all democratic politicians who draw attention to the problems of migration, are labeling such as fascists and agents of the Kremlin.

  • Czech Republic is a small country but influential

    The first day of the Czech Ambassadors’ meeting, held from August 27th to 31st in Prague was devoted to the direction of Czech foreign policy.

    In addition to Prime Minister Andrej Babis and a number of diplomats, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Hamacek also took part.

    The main direction of Czech foreign policy does not change. It´s about continuity and strong anchoring in European and transatlantic structures. Priorities include the promotion of the Eastern Partnership and the opening of accession talks with Macedonia and Albania.

    Among discussions surrounding the main challenges faced by the Czech Republic and Europe, the head of diplomacy included violent conflicts around Europe, climate change and related population movements. Our main goal must be to create a belt of security and prosperity around Europe. Therefore it is necessary to give people the vision of a dignified and meaningful life in their homelands.

    The Czech Republic will therefore strengthen its international engagement through participating in military missions, and also by increasing resources for humanitarian and development aid.

  • Babiš-Conte meeting in Rome

    “Conte understands us,” says Czech PM Babiš after discussions with Giuseppe Conte in Italy.

    Once again, Babiš said to Conte that the Czech Republic will not accept a single migrant. “He understands because this simply is not a solution,“ the Czech PM said.

    Conte invited Babiš to visit Italy in an open letter in July after the Czech PM refused an Italian request for help with 450 migrants rescued from a fishing boat in the Mediterranean sea. Babiš then justified the rejection by saying that the EU must send a signal that illegal migration is inadmissible and accepting more migrants worsens the issue.

    Babiš repeated this position to Conte in Tuesday´s meeting. Illegal migration and smugglers must be stopped in front of the borders of Europe, which is why it is necessary to provide financial support to the southern European coastal states, the North African countries and those states where the refugees usually come from.

    In Rome, Babiš also visited the European Union Naval Force headquarters, known in the Mediterranean as the EUNAVFOR MED Sophia, where Czech soldiers are involved. The aim of the military operation is to fight smugglers trying to get migrants from North Africa to Europe.

    From Italy, Babiš departed for a visit to Malta, where he met with PM Joseph Muscat. The focus of discussion was migration, as it was in Rome. After talks with Muscat, Babiš reiterated his opposition to migrant sharing in the European Union.

  • Orbán to Salvini: Don´t give up

    According to Orban, Salvini is the first politician in the Mediterranean who has taken responsibility when he tries to stop migrants sailing across the sea from Africa to Europe. Hungary supports Italy in its attempt to defend the Italian maritime border.

    „European security depends on your success,“ Orbán said. He also reminded, that he has been criticized a few years ago for protecting Hungarian borders.

    Hungary, at the time of the mass wave of migrants coming to Europe through the Balkan Way, built a plot on its borders in 2015 to stop the wave. Afterwards, other European countries have also tightened controls at the borders.

    According to Salvini Europe is very close to the historical turning point for its future. Without further details, it has also been mentioned that in Europe an alliance with right-wing ideals is formed. It will emphasize the European identity and its associated values.

  • Italy’s PM threatens to veto EU budget

    “Above all, there is no dogma about approving the Multiannual Financial Framework of the next seven years,“ Di Maio wrote on Facebook. He pointed out that Brussels will insist on the approval of the budget in a hurry before the next European election and that is something that Italy will not allow.

    Di Maio’s threat was in relation to the dispute over who will take in the migrants from the Diciotti boat. The Italian authorities had refused to let the refugees disembark because the government demanded other EU members take some of the migrants.

    Italy has long been seeking help from other EU countries. In June and July, some countries helped Italy and Malta with migrants disembarking at their ports.

    In May, the European Commission proposed a budget of €1.135 trillion in commitments, which is about 1.11 percent of the EU´s Gross National Income (GNI) for the years 2021-2027, which is the period directly after Brexit.

    The plan, which counts higher contributions from the 27 states, is slightly reductive in the areas of structural funds and agricultural policy, but it adds money to areas such as security, defense or migration. The Commission also wants to link access to European money to the quality of the legal state law in the recipient countries.

  • Hunt for migrants and protests in Germany

    Protests took place in the German town of Chemnitz. The reason of the tension is a quarrel that ended up with the murder of a German citizen. The suspects are two men from Iraq and Syria, who have been detained by the court.

    Due to the protests of right-wing radicals who declaim slogans such as “We are the nation” and attack immigrants, the City Hall prematurely cancelled local town festivals.

    The events in the city were sharply criticized by the German Federal Government. “What happened in Chemnitz yesterday, and what is visible on some records, does not have a place in our state,” government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Monday. Attacks were also condemned by opposition politicians. Some of them doubt that the Saxon authorities still have the situation under control.

    Organization RAA Sachsen, which helps victims of right-wing violence, has called on migrants to avoid the Chemnitz centre. There is a threat of further violence.

  • Babiš: We are part of both the West and the EU

    According to PM Andrej Babiš, the government is criticizing the EU when it promotes Czech national interests. That does not mean an anti-European attitude, he says.

    PM Babiš delivered a speech at the Ambassador’s Annual Meeting. He said that Czexit would be a dangerous path for the Czech Republic to take and pointed to the fact that 83 percent of the Czech Republic’s exports were to other EU states. The European Union must, however, return to its essence – a safe and prosperous continent based on the internal market.

    The EU should focus on ensuring the safety of the continent and searching for an agreement on the return of refugees with North African countries following the example of the agreement with Turkey. Babiš also reiterated that he would not accept a single migrant in the Czech Republic.

    The next European election will be extremely important, Babiš believes. The Czech Republic has to fight for Europe to change, to strengthen the role of the European Council and the Member States, so that we do not play the part where someone dictates to us.

  • Thanks to the V4, we were able to reject migrant quotas

    We have lost three years through pointless debate, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in an interview before heading to Italy.

    Babiš also pointed out a need for intensive cooperation on migration. He praised the V4 partnership, because thanks to co-operation, the Czech republic have made a major step forward in preventing itself from accepting quotas.

    The PMs´way is the result of his public argument with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte about the reception of migrants. Babiš has long refused to accept even a single migrant saying it´s a key gesture, symbol and message to migrants and smugglers that it makes no sense to sail to Europe.

    The EU must have a clear concept and plan, but Babiš doesn´t see it even though the problem is huge.

    “We have solved only our problem and the problem of the V4 countries, but not the overall problem of European illegal migration,“ Babiš said. There needs to be a discussion about the budget and the rational use of €35 billion planned for border protection.

  • Sebastian Kurz – Austrian political superstar

    Meet Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz – a 32-year-old politician who is one of the most influential politicians in Europe. His view of migration is close to that of the Visegrad Group and not only because of the rejection of migrant quotas.

    Kurz unexpectedly won the Austrian election not only because of his charm, but also because of his decisive attitude towards migration policy. During his first months as chancellor, Kurz introduced a series of measures to deter migrants from choosing Austria for a new life.

    His voice has been even more strengthened since Austria took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU with the motto “Europe that protects”. He agrees with the V4 countries that the decision on partial questions should be taken at a national level. Among other things, he promotes the setting-up of detention centers outside the Union and also the strengthening the power of the Frontex Agency.

    And there´s more. Even as the youngest Foreign Minister in EU, he focused on the crisis in eastern Ukraine and also hosted an international meeting on the Iranian nuclear program in Vienna. And he did not hesitate to oppose Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. At the time of the culmination of the refugee crisis in Europe, it was also him who set out to close the Balkan route.

    It is also important to highlight the fact that Austria is the only country in Europe, where the so-called right-wing populists party (FPÖ) is part of the cabinet.  However, Europe does not protest against them because the time has changed. Once again thanks to Kurz.

  • Aggressive Muslims are under protection

    Political analyst and university lecturer Alexander Tomský criticized the approach to Islamic migrants as well as today’s so-called neo-Marxists, in which he sees one of the greatest dangers for Western civilization.

    According to Tomský, the problem is not immigration (to a certain extent), but the arrival of people who believe that their sectarian puritan and patriarchal habits are superior to our democracy and way of life.

    This has strong political consequences. They have already induced censorship and punishments for disagreement. The tragic human victims of Islamist assassinations are in this context a marginal affair; terrorism does not defeat the West.

    Today’s neo-Marxists (though this term is inaccurate) advocate the egalitarianism of bizarre sexual groups, ethnic minorities, and the style of their lives. They believe in the united humanity of abstract rights, mixed society without borders, without any difference in cultures. In their anti-discrimination efforts, Tomský sees hatred of the majority or normative civilization of the West (or what has left of it).

  • Jakub Landovský to become new Minister of Foreign Affairs

    Social Democrats´ chairman Jan Hamáček will resign as the head of Czech diplomacy and will be replaced by Jakub Landovský, according to Právo.

    Landovsky will probably replace the current nominee of CSSD, the political secretary of the ministry and also MEP Miroslav Poche. The nomination of Poche has long been opposed by President Milos Zeman and many Social Democrats believe that the party should not fight with Zeman.

    Landovsky, who is currently the Social Democrat leader in Prague, did not comment on the news. Accourding to several rumors, however, president Miloš Zeman would accept his nomination with no problem.

    The CSSD presidency will discuss the issue on Friday, but it is expected that Prime Minister Andrej Babiš will discuss the situation around the Foreign Ministry at today’s meeting with President Zeman. Babiš has already said that the CSSD should agree with Zeman, which means he did not recommend Poche´s nomination.

    However, Poche insists on his nomination and is not willing to give up voluntarily. He feels strong also because he recently helped Jan Hamaček to become the chairman of the CSSD. Hamacek is therefore in a difficult situation.

  • Zeman: Kiska will not be our Shadow President

    Miloš Zeman has broken his silence over ignoring the commemoration of 1968. The Czech president believes that he is not affected by the historical events.

    “Due to the anniversary those people should speak, who were affected by the invasion. If the so-called normalizational communists are talking, who were members of the Communist Party until 1989, we should also know they had to approve the soviet occupation. It is bizarre that now they are taking stance against it. This is the reason why I was not joining,” said Zeman.

    He also pointed out that the crowd were cheering Milan Štěch, the president of the senate and the member of the party from 1978 to 1989, while Andrej Babiš and Radek Vondráček were booed because they were members of the ANO.

    “Andrej Kiska is voluntarily ending his period in Slovak politics next year and that is not possible that he would be our shadow president. But he could be the shadow president of the TOP 09,” Zeman said.

    Zeman is convinced that the Czech Republic is not threatened by occupation from Germany and even the Soviet Union, due to the fact that it fell apart and believes that the protesters before the Russian embassy were not recognizing this fact.

  • Czech economic confidence rose in August

    Overall confidence in the Czech economy rose by 0.4 points to 99.1 in August, following a decline in the previous month.

    According to official figures, the construction sector is doing well thanks to a very high demand.

    In month-to-month terms, while the confidence indicator of entrepreneurs increased, the consumer confidence indicator decreased by 1.5 points to 110.3.

    Apart from raising prices, consumers fear a worsening of an overall economic situation. But people want to save less, and they are also not afraid of losing their jobs

  • Frontex: More intensive expulsion of migrants is a necessity

    FRONTEX chief Fabrice Leggeri says the EU cannot get rid of illegal immigrants and a more intensive expulsion policy is a necessity, otherwise the problem cannot be solved.

    Although a number of immigrants who illegally entered the European Union has decreased to around 75,000 this year compared to 1.2 million in 2015, the number of those who illegally stay in the EU is constantly rising.

    “If we continue to do so, we send all potential immigrants a message: Try to get to Europe at all costs because event if you are caught you have a huge chance of staying there,“ Leggeri said and also appealed to EU countries to harmonize their rules and procedures related to expulsion.

    Another question to ask is where should the ships with immigrants disembark and why can’t there be some entrance center somewhere else in Europe.

  • No deal on redistributing migrants? No more money from Italy to EU

    Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio and his Five Star Movement to suspend funding to the EU unless other states agree to take migrants. The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, then criticized the V4 for their unwillingness to accept migrants.

    On Thursday night, 29 underage migrants disembarked in Italy. However, 148 migrants still remain on board a vessel in port and according to Di Maio they will stay there until EU states promise to redistribute them.

    “If tomorrow nothing comes out of a European Commission meeting on redistributing migrants from the Diciotti ship, the 5-Star and I will not be willing to give 20 billion euros each year to the EU,“ Di Maio said on Facebook.

    Di Maio further said that his goal is to introduce an Australian approach to migration. Australia does not allow refugees to settle in its territory and prefers to pay for operating camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

    The President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, criticized V4 countries for their unwillingness to accept migrants from another EU country. According to Tajani, if the EU countries had approved the European Parliament’s proposal to reform the Dublin system, they would not be dealing with the Diciotti problem now. This was the key to solution, in his point of view, because it supposed an immediate redistribution of migrants.

  • How does Babiš´ cabinet fulfill promises?

    Some of the Czech government’s promises have not made any progress, others have been postponed, but most are carried out. The Cabinet is now working on investments of CZK 56 billion.

    The first promises are being finalized, besides the state loans and fare reduction for young people, it is also a betterment for senior citizens.

    The tax reduction proposal was postponed, which was supposed to be part of the tax package to be valid from next year. It was eventually put off for lack of political support. Alena Schillerová, the Minister of Finance, will try to push its amendment next year in the framework of the new Income Tax Act.

    What’s more, a lower amount than Babiš originally announced will be used for increasing the salaries of teachers. Slightly less money than Babiš originally promised will also be invested in sports and especially sports infrastructure. On the contrary, larger funds will be used for the development of the Mladá Boleslav District.

    Promises to increase wages in drug prevention and to reduce public transport fares for students and seniors have been achieved. Money has also been granted to regions for transport infrastructure.

    The government continues to promise to reduce VAT on some services and products, including water, draught beer and fresh-cut flowers. However, the change is linked to the last phase of EET, which should cover the budget deficit. A possible increase in medical salaries is also still unclear.

  • I support Czexit, the EU is risky for us

    Ladislav Jakl, Secretary of the ex-President Václav Klaus, criticized bureaucracy in the EU and also explained why he had decided to be a Senate candidate for the far-right SPD.

    If he succeeds in the election, he intends to vote in the Senate against all specific implementations from Brussels bringing new orders and prohibitions and against similar Czech-made proposals, as well as against any concessions on immigration. He would support, for example, the exit of the Czech Republic from the European Union, as he sees the country’s membership as more and more risky.

    Jakl sees SPD as the only functioning party that consistently protests against Brussels centralization and organized mass migration. “SPD does not ask me to change in any way and adopt all its policy. It wants support in the two main points that I fully agree with,” Jakl explained.

    “My relationship to the far right? I am the far right. If the left promotes a high degree of redistribution and prefers collective decision-making, while the right is individualistic, defends the freedom of the individual and fights against the expansion of the state, then I am definitely the right-wing extremist,“ Jakl explained his attitudes towards the extreme right.

  • Putin should apologize for August 1968

    Russian non-parliamentary opposition politician Leonid Gozman reproached President Vladimir Putin for not apologizing to Czechs and Slovaks for the suppression of the Prague Spring on the occasion of the Soviet invasion´s 50th anniversary.

    “The Russian Federation is the legal successor of the USSR. The country that invaded Czechoslovakia 50 years ago, burying not only the Prague Spring but also the hopes of reforming the communist system,” wrote Gozman on Facebook. But not only the past, also the relationship to it, is important. As a citizen of Russia, Gozman therefore called on the one who now leads the country to appear on television and ask the Czechs and Slovaks for forgiveness.

    In 2006, Putin recognized Russia’s moral responsibility for the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia in August 1968, condemning the act, but declined that Russia should apologize for it, as he thought it held no responsibility for this action.

  • Jan Zahradil, future head of the European Commission?

    Jan Zahradil (ODS) is interested in being the leader of the Conservatives in the upcoming election, but his chances are not high say critics.

    Zahradil wants to win an influential post as a candidate of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) where his ODS within the European Parliament belongs. According to media, however, Zahradil has small chances if the political power distribution in the European Parliament remains the same as it is now.

    Leaders of EU member states will elect a new Commission head after the European Parliament elections which take place in May. After that, MEPs must confirm the choice. Most MEPs are pushing for the new head of the European Commission to be a politician who announces his candidacy ahead of the European elections. So the member states cannot propose whoever they would like.

    ECR, unlike in 2014, has accepted these conditions but, according to Zahradil, insists that the Commission’s chief should not automatically be one of the so-called lead candidates. According to the ECR, such a candidacy system limits the powers of the member states to choose their own candidate.

    Even if Zahradil became a top candidate of the ECR, his chances of eventually becoming president of the European Commission are not high. His faction is now the third largest in the European Parliament, but the main word has the alliance of European People´s Party, socialists and liberals. They have a clear majority of votes.

    In addition, the ECR will lose its main pillar due to Brexit – the British conservatives. Question is, whether the ECR will survive after Brexit but according to Zahradil, the distribution of forces will change significantly after the elections. For example, French President Emmanuel Macron is likely to “hunt” members of the current faction and to form his own European political group. Also, it is expected that the current main factions, especially the Socialists, will be weakened in the elections.

  • Integration of refugees is successful, claims German Labor Office

    The integration of refugees into the German labor market has been successful, claims the German labor office.

    According to the Federal Employment Agency, more than 300,000 people from countries whose citizens are granted a right for asylum have found a job in Germany, roughly 88, 000 more employed refugees than a year ago.

    A total of 238,000 employed refugees are required to pay social insurance. On the flip side, 187,000 refugees are officially registered as unemployed.

    The report found that the integration of young people is very successful. Nearly 28,000 young refugees, according to the agency, have started attending training courses.

    “We have always said that those who come as children or adolescents have the greatest perspective in the labor market,” said Detlef Scheele, head of the Federal Employment Agency.

    Last year, a total of 292,000 refugees attended training courses to increase their employability in the German labor market.

  • A ship carrying 177 migrants has docked in Sicily

    The Italian coastguard ship Diciotti docked in the Sicilian port Catania on Monday night. The fate of 177 people on board, however, is still uncertain as Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini has not given authorization for the refugees to disembark until the Italian government has received a promise from EU countries to redistribute the refugees.

    The Italian daily La Repubblica wrote on Tuesday that the Diciotti ship officially had a “technical break” in Catania to refill fuel, water and food. The Italian Minister of Transport, Danilo Toninelli, authorized the entry of the ship into the port on Monday. Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, then repeated that he would not allow any single refugee to disembark until the EU confirms the refugees would be received by other EU countries.

    There were originally 190 refugees on board, but after an intervention of the Italian Coast Guard, 13 refugees in a serious medical condition were transported from the ship to Lampedusa Island. The ship with the remaining migrants on board was staying in international waters while Rome tried to negotiate the conditions for the refugees to be received by Malta. Malta refused to accept them.

    Malta itself applied a similar procedure for redeploying the migrants across several EU countries, like last week after it allowed the Aquarius ship with 141 migrants from the Libyan coast to dock in Valletta.

  • Babiš booed off stage? Disrespect for the whole act of reverence

    Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was booed on Tuesday at a ceremony to honor the victims of the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia.

    Reports highlight that when politicians are unveiling a memorial plaque to the people killed by Soviet gun barrels, they stand there as representatives of the state. The state that does not have either too many heroes or too much time to celebrate bravery. Catcalls at such a moment – however directed against a particular politician – are an expression of disrespect for the whole ceremony.

    The objection that the current government relies on the voices of the Communists can’t succeed even for a second. Such an objection itself distorts any piety. It makes sense to confront the government with the support from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM) on February 25th, but not on August 21st when the Communist elite had the biggest support.

    Let’s boo Babiš off the stage some other time and somewhere else. Maybe today at the Government Office, maybe tomorrow at the Czech radio building. But do not make noise during acts of reverence.

  • Protest against PM Babiš overshadowed 1968 memorial

    A memorial ceremony outside the Czech Radio building was one of the key events of the anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion. But it turned into a demonstration against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

    Among the speakers at Tuesday’s ceremony were Senate chairman Milan Štěch and the station’s director general, René Zavoral. Both of them met with applause from the crowd.

    When Prime Minister Andrej Babiš attempted to speak he was drowned out by protestors, who whistled and screamed. Protestors reminded the crowd of the fact that Babiš has been accused of collaborating with the StB (Communist-era secret police).

    “Thank you all for your support, I thank our fans for raising preferences,“ Babiš said at the end of his speech. The media pointed out that this sentence was not in his original speech transcript and was therefore taken as a provocation against the protesters.

    “When the former member of StB recalls the victims of occupation, it is an insult to those victims. But what can be done. He became the Prime Minister in legitimate way and PM had had to speak before the Czech Radio. But when, at the end of the speech, he thanked to ANO fans for preference, he consciously brought shame on the Act of piety,“ former finance minister Miroslav Kalousek /TOP 09/ wrote on Twitter.

  • Lesson of 1968? Those who deny that we belong to the democratic West betray the nation

    Chairman of ODS, the largest conservative party in the Czech Republic, criticizes statements of Communist Vojtěch Filip and recalls the historical and symbolic role of August 1968.

    The gradual bagatelization of communism and the rehabilitation of various forms of socialism led us to the left-wing merging government, directly involved by the Communists.

    According to Fiala the public space overwhelms the ridiculous statements. Unfortunately, sense is no longer what decides the media.

    The fragile existence of our independence can only be defended through the democratic system. Only democratic states with their rule of law, public decision-making and guaranteed freedoms are a guarantee of security and sovereignty for other democratic states.

    Not nations and sates, but ideologies, authoritarian regimes and lack of freedom are a threat for us. This is the lesson from August 1968. Our future must be democratic. Another journey will sooner or later bring only tanks.

  • Ample Strike will take place between September 3rd and 14th

    Almost 1,200 soldiers from 19 countries will participate in one of the biggest military training exercises in the Czech Republic, which will include the US B-52 bomber, the Gripen, German tornadoes and the Eurofighter.

    The aim of the training is to reconcile the activities of the pilots and air guides, the so-called JTAC, who guide pilots of planes and helicopters to the target, serving as their “eyes”. On that account, they often move in battlefields or in enemy territory.

    Almost all bodies of the Czech army will participate in the training. “We need to secure, for example, healthcare, provide training ammunition, technology as targets, allocate resources for transporting people and material, and secure food preparation,“ said Zdeněk Gabriel, head of the training. Costs related to the training are paid by each of the participating countries on their own.

  • Brave Czechs contributed to a united Europe, Merkel says about August 1968

    Angela Merkel regards the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the troops of the Warsaw Pact countries in 1968 as a sad culmination of the Soviet Union’s policy of oppression. This was stated by her spokesman, Steffen Seibert. Brave people in Czechoslovakia, according to Merkel, have contributed to a united Europe in the following years.

    According to the head of the German government, the events of August 1968 have to be seen in one line with the suppression of the rebellion in the GDR in 1953 and the revolution in Hungary in 1956 or the declaration of the state of emergency in Poland in 1981.

    “All these very different historical events have in common the fact that people behind the Iron Curtain did not want to reconcile with their fate having been imposed on them by the elites of the Communist parties,” says the Chancellor.

    She thinks that the year 1968 brought at least the basis of the demands which were then fulfilled in 1989 when the will of the people finally broke through. In particular, it was the desire to overcome the communist regime and live in democracy and freedom. 

    Today, Germany as well as Europe are fortunately united according to Merkel. “And it is quite clear that brave people in the today’s Czech Republic and Slovakia have contributed to it a lot,” says the head of the German government.

  • Zeman and Babiš will visit Germany to meet Chancellor Merkel

    Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and President Miloš Zeman will visit Berlin in September. According to reports, they both have the chance to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel on their official visits to Germany. Zeman will also have a meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

    The head of the Czech government is to be received by Angela Merkel with military honors on September 5th. The Berlin Chancellery will push negotiations on bilateral relations and co-operation on modernizing the cross-border infrastructure. Furthermore, both politicians are unlikely to avoid discussion on European issues and the topic of migration on which their opinions are fundamentally different.

    Czech President Zeman will arrive in the German capital several weeks after Babiš. His two to three days long visit should take place around September 20th, according to reports.

    Zeman, who could also be heading to other parts of Germany during the visit, should meet Chancellor Merkel as well even though she rarely meets with foreign heads of states who are not heads of the government. The meeting of the politicians, who are widely perceived as counterparts in the issue of migration, is very important for Czech diplomacy.

  • Security needed for the Gas Triangle

    The navies of Poland, Denmark and Norway are currently incapable of operating in the Baltic Gas Triangle which contains three of the most important EU gas infrastructures: Nord Stream, Świnoujście LNG Terminal and the future Baltic Pipe.

    The Triangle is located between the towns Świnoujcie and Niechorze in Poland and Lubmin in Germany.

    The Świnoujście LNG Terminal accepts gas from ships from Qatar, Norway and the United States. The Baltic Pipe in Niechorze is a planned pipeline between Norway, Denmark and Poland.

    Nord Stream and the planned Nord Stream 2 pipelines transfer gas between Germany and Russia.

    One of the main threats to the Gas Triangle is sabotage as part of hybrid warfare

    One of the main threats to the Gas Triangle is sabotage as part of hybrid warfare. To tackle this threat modernization of Norwegian, Danish and Polish navies is necessary. Denmark doesn’t possess any submarines and both Norway and Poland own heavily outdated vessels.

    When it comes to fighting submarines, the situation is slightly better. Poland’s navy is equipped OHP frigates and Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Norway possesses the Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft and Denmark has based its fleet on modularity and can adapt their navy to the required combat.

    Any modernizations should include the need to protect the critical gas transmit infrastructure. Its liability to attack has already been proven when in 2015 Swedish media informed about a drone carrying explosive devices found near the Nord Stream pipeline. Although it turned out to be a device meant to disarm mines during the Second World War, the transmission of gas had been halted.

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  • Agreements on returning of migrants do not address the problem

    Recent and pending agreements between Germany and Spain or Greece to regulate the return of migrants to their country of entry do not solve the problem because the law makes it technically impossible to return the migrants. The laws and conventions must be changed so that the migrants could be unconditionally returned to where they came from.

    The agreement between Germany and Spain (or Greece) concerns the migrants who have applied for asylum in another EU country before coming to Germany. The agreement is certainly better than ongoing disagreement and as such it will probably be well received, at least in Germany. After all, Angela Merkel needs it at a time when her popularity is steadily declining.

    The agreement could perhaps be applied in reality in some cases and migrants will be returned. So far, however, experience has not offered anything to believe that it will function on a large scale, and there is nothing to suggest that this is a solution to the problem.

    Those who entered Europe in these recent migration waves are on the territory of Europe, and if they refuse, it is technically impossible for many reasons to return them to where they came from. The new Italian government is trying to fool itself when it promises to return 600,000 migrants. This can’t be done simply because it is technically impossible. This, of course, will have permanent social and political consequences, and those countries that have allowed it will leave it for future generations.

    More practical considerations demand that attention be directed to other challenges – how to prevent things that happened from getting worse. Specifically, that requires stopping mass migration, and this possible only by blocking the Union’s external terrestrial borders and protecting the sea border and by unconditionally returning refugees to where they came from. But that would violate current laws and conventions, and that’s why those laws and conventions must be changed. That, however, runs counter to the interestes of those states that support migration. They should be pressured into co-operation, for example by economic sanctions targeted at specific persons responsible.

  • Malta sends ship with migrants to Italy

    The dispute between Italy and Malta continues over a ship carrying 177 migrants. According to Maltese Minister Michael Farrugio, the ship must be docked in an Italian port, but Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini insists that EU members should share the migrants.

    “The only definitive solution is to disembark (migrants) in Lampedusa or another Italian port. If Italy wants to keep on solving such cases as a rescue at sea, Lampedusa is the closest safe place according to the conventions,” Farrugia said.

    The Maltese minister was addressing a situation in which migrants are traveling on a ship of the Italian Coast Guard, which let them embark on August 16th in Maltese waters, allegedly after Malta refused any assistance and attempted to escort them into Italian waters. The Maltese authorities claim that the ship previously carrying the migrants was not in need and lives of the migrants were not at risk.

    “Either Europe decides to really help Italy and starts by accepting 180 migrants aboard the Diciotti ship, or we will be forced to do what definitively stops the smuggling business and start escorting the people rescued at sea to the ports of Libya,” said Italian Minister Salvini.

    Last week, Malta allowed the Aquarius ship with 141 refugees aboard to anchor at its shores. Five countries of the European Union (France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Luxembourg) have agreed to admit them.

  • Berlin and Athens to conclude an agreement on the return of migrants

    Berlin and Athens have reached an agreement on the outlines of a deal concerning the return of migrants who have already applied for asylum in another EU country before coming to Germany. The announcment follows news earlier this month of a similar agreement between Berlin and Madrid, while negotiations are currently under way with Italy.

    “The agreement (with Greece) is to be finalized imminently,” said a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Interior, adding that the outlines of the pact were settled last Thursday evening and only a final piece of correspondence remains.

    Meanwhile, negotiations with Italy on a planned migration agreement “have already gone a long way” at the ministerial level, the spokesperson said. Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear that she would also engage in the talks with the Italian government, if necessary, DPA reported.

    The agreement that Berlin and Madrid concluded earlier this month has already entered into force. It says that migrants arriving from Spain can be returned there within 48 hours of arrival at the German border.

    The pending agreement with Athens concerns persons detained at the Austria-Germany border who have previously applied for asylum in Greece and, similarly, would allow those migrants to be returned within 48 hours.

    Spain did not request any reciprocal measure from Germany. Italy and Greece, however, asked Germany to accept additional incoming migrants. Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer, however, rejected it, saying that Germany cannot possibly accept more migrants than the number that are sent back.

  • Babiš: Europe must send a clear signal to migrants: Sorry, we’re closed

    The notion that when migrants are at sea Europe must take them in is a road to hell, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in the interview. On the contrary, Europe must send a clear signal: Sorry, we’re closed. 

    The prime minister was responding to remarks by MEP Miroslav Poche of the Czech Social Democratic Party asserting that the Czech Republic could show solidarity with Italy by handling some asylum applications on its own territory. Migrants would then be granted asylum in another country or repatriated, an idea flatly rejected by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in an interview with the daily Právo.

    “Together with Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán and the V4, we campaigned at the EU summit for quotas to be abolished and we succeeded,” said Prime Minister Babiš. “Our opinion is that nobody will impose anybody on us and that Czechs will decide who will live in the Czech Republic. That is the basis. And now we should engage in pan-European migration. First of all, we must send a clear signal that it is closed, that nobody can get into Europe any more. The message must be: You must stay home, we will help you there.”

    First of all, we must send a clear signal that it is closed, that nobody can get into Europe any more. The message must be: You must stay home, we will help you there.

    “[M]igration is a big problem and must be stopped,” he said. As a deterrent example, he mentions Sweden where gangs set 80 cars on fire, but MEPs keep publicly silent on this issue. 

    “Everything must follow a certain set of rules. Ukrainians, for example, can come to the Czech Republic on the basis of a working visa and after being checked. It’s not like embarking on the Aquarius ship without papers, disembarking in Europe, and wanting asylum. We must clearly say that the security of our people is the highest priority for us,” the prime minister said.

    Regarding th meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte planned for later this month, Babiš said that the Czech Republic is preparing a comprehensive proposal to address the issue of illegal migrants. “In the first place, we have to change the rhetoric. We can no longer make the impression that when migrants come to Europe, we will distribute them among individual countries. For illegal migration to end, we need to improve the conditions in the countries the migrants come from.”

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  • The hypocrisy of #MeToo

    Last week, a female politician committed suicide in the Netherlands. The 53-year-old councilor of the city of Haag, Willie Dille, was a politician of the PVV party founded by Geert Wilders. Before the suicide, she shot a video claiming she suffered from depression after a group of Muslim men had raped her in March 2017. No matter how unlikely it seems, the men were allegedly sent by her former party colleague Arnoud van Doorn who converted to Islam.

    The media (with the exception of the Dutch media and several British tabloids) evidently ignored this case. Willie Dille is a woman who claims that Muslims raped her. We are examining in depth whether this is true, questioning her statement, and waiting for the conclusion. Let’s deliberately try to compare this behavior with how the victims of sexual abuse that led to the #MeToo global movement have been dealt with.

    Actor Kevin Spacey is accused of sexual abuse, denied, fired, and investigated. We approach his victims with trust. But why is it not the same with Willie Dille? Why don’t we trust her? Is a statement of a Dutch politician less worthy than a statement of a Hollywood star?

    Is her life less worthy because she was a member of the Geert Wilders’ party? Has our self-censorship and political correctness really reached such a point that we turned into hypocrites unable to describe the reality around us?

  • SPD in trouble

    Members who have been dismissed from the Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) in recent months have made a motion to suspend the party’s activities or dissolve the party. They do not like the reasons why they were dismissed from SPD. They claim that undemocratic conditions prevail in the party.

    The motion to suspend the party was filed by Kamil Papežík, former vice-chairman of the SPD branch in Brno, on Friday. “I was expelled because of causing a long-term damage to the SPD party. There is no single piece of evidence or witness to prove that I have done so, except the fact that I tried to criticize some opinions. People have been expelled for similar reasons purposefully and therefore I decided to file a motion to suspend the party,” he explained.

    According to SPD spokeswoman Michaela Dolenská, Papežík was damaging the party, he did not act in accordance with its rule book, and damaged the results of the party’s political work. “His current activity fully confirms the legitimacy of his exclusion. Mr. Papežík now acts as a private person and the SPD leadership will no longer comment on it. If it goes beyond the legal framework, we will consult the issue with our advocate,” the spokeswoman said.

    In addition to Brno, SPD members have also been arguing in Ostrava, Pardubice and other cities. The reasons are the same everywhere and people with different opinions than the leadership of individual branches are often expelled.

  • “Never Babišers” are as hopeless as “Never Trumpers”

    “Never Babišers” want to defeat the ANO political movement in Prague in the same way as “Never Trumpers” want to defeat the Republicans in the US. In both cases, this is only an unfulfilled faith.

    A commentary criticizing Donald Trump’s opponents published in the latest issue of The Economist entitles these opponents “Never Trumpers”. The commentary predicts that the desire to defeat the Republicans in the next Congress elections will remain unfulfilled despite pre-election polls showing that the forces of both camps are balanced.

    Unfulfilled faith is also synonymous with the forthcoming municipal elections in the Czech Republic. “Never Babišers”, like “Never Trumpers”, have not realized that there is nothing like the Republicans and nothing like the ANO movement. There are only parties of Donald Trump and Andrej Babiš. Ninety percent of the Republicans agree with Donald Trump’s political positions, and even more ANO supporters could agree with the politics of Andrej Babiš.

    Babiš, like Trump, focuses on the main weakness of the opposition camp. That is mainly unwillingness to accept the fact that the victory of both the men is only a response to the actions of previous governments often perceived by the citizens as greedy or unscrupulous. Until the opposition accepts this fact, it can never beat its rivals. The opposition must also reorientate from criticism focused only on destroying Babiš (or Trump) to criticism of individual government steps.

    It is not easy to predict the results of the Prague elections. However, when you accept the “unfulfilled faith” factor that has worked reliably in the last few elections, it is fairly safe to say that ANO is very likely to win in big cities and maybe even in Prague. This is also suggested by previous surveys which predict ANO is going to succeed. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) is also expected to achieve a very good result and, therefore, a coalition between these two parties may be built on the municipal level in contrast to the government level where it proved to be impossible.

  • Kiska will give a speech on the anniversary of the occupation

    Slovak President Andrej Kiska has made a request for a special appearance on public radio and television on August 21st to give a speech on the 50th anniversary of the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia. Details of the speech were not specified.

    In August 1968, the invasion of the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries de facto ended the so-called Prague Spring, an attempt of the Czechoslovak communists to establish “socialism with a human face”. A long period of normalization then started in Czechoslovakia which ended in November 1989.

    On the contrary, Czech President Miloš Zeman is not preparing any speech. According to his spokesman Jiří Ovčáček, Zeman was courageous at the beginning of normalization when he was fired from his job because of his stance on the invasion. “Such a stance is worth thousands of purely formal and insincere speeches that will be heard on 21st August,” the spokesman said.

  • No speech is coming

    The upcoming 50th anniversary of the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact troops on August 21st, 1968, is causing a storm on the Czech political scene.

    Although President Miloš Zeman considers the occupation a crime, his spokesman has said that Zeman will not speak on the anniversary. Many politicians do not like it.

    “No speech is coming. The President was brave at a time when courage was not cheap. And this is more valuable than a thousand speeches after fifty years,” president’s spokesman Jiří Ovčáček said on Twitter.

    This has triggered criticism from some other politicians. “I urge you not to neglect your constitutional duties and to duly remind an event that resulted not only in hundreds of deaths during the Soviet invasion but also in more than 100,000 emigrants fleeing from Czechoslovakia by the end of 1969 and hundreds of thousands of people, who were fired from work or forbidden to study because they refused to sign consent to the Soviet occupation, ” wrote Jiří Pospíšil, chairman of TOP 09 to the president in an open letter.

  • Vojtěch Filip´s words about 1968 could be considered treasonable

    The Communist Party Chairman Vojtěch Filip´s words for The Guardian about the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops in August 1968 cannot be called anything but total lies and impertinence.

    His words could be described as treasonable because when Czech politician dares such a manipulation, then he has nothing to do in the Chamber of Deputies.

    In 1968, the 23rd Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party ruled in the Soviet Union. Its members had been in office from 1966 to 1971, and the Russians had the utmost predominance in the Politburo. Not just one Russian, as Filip claimed.

    Filip’s claim that “most of the invasive armies were Ukrainian” is not true either. No such troops existed in the Soviet Union at the time. It was a Soviet army composed of men of many different nationalities, including Ukrainian. It was logical that the Moscow government would not send to Czechoslovakia soldiers from Vladivostok or the border with China. Also, Soviet army commanders were mostly ethnic Russians.

    Filip’s claim that leaders of Soviet satellites, such as East Germany, Poland, and Hungary, were the strongest supporters of the occupation is another lie. In fact, in the Eastern Bloc, the opinions on the occupation were very different. The fundamental contradictions lasted several weeks even between the Soviet leaders themselves.

  • Cooling of the economy

    The recent decrease in economic growth looks like a dramatic change, especially when we see that the Hungarians and Slovaks are still growing at a level above four percent. It is, however, necessary to look at it a little soberly that an outlook of a year’s growth of over three percent is more than realistic. However, there are two possible problems, the moves of Andrej Babiš and Czech National Bank (CNB).

    The Czech economy has met its limitations. With full employment, it is simply impossible to increase production as fast as in the last two years. Moreover, if the growth of the Czech economy continues between two and three percent a year in the nearest future, it would be all right.

    The two problems are, however, Andrej Babiš and his generosity in setting the state budget expenditures and the excessive increase of the number of state employees who are absent on the labor market, and the CNB’s moderation in raising interest rates. Negative interest rates after overcoming the economic cycle are not optimal.

    If there is anything to deduce from the latest statistical data, it should be a more realistic fiscal policy and a faster normalization of monetary policy.

  • The European Union considers going against the Czech PM again

    For more than a year, there has been a case in Brussels involving Agrofert holding subsidies, which, as a result, may cost the Czech taxpayers millions. Brussels officials are also in the process of resolving a sensitive issue as to whether they will go after the country’s prime minister. The decision is to be announced soon.

    At the beginning of this year, the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) issued a report which was extremely unfavorable for PM Andrej Babiš in a case linked to drawing subsidies for the construction of the recreation area and farm, Čapí hnízdo.

    Last year, the Czech Republic received a twenty-two million CZK fine because of Jaroslav Faltýnek’s conflict of interests. Faltýnek sat in the supervisory board of the fund, which distributed the subsidy. At the same time, he was in the management of Agrofert and the agricultural committee of the Chamber of Deputies. And the subsidy recipient was, among others, Agrofert holding, which Andrej Babiš put into a trust fund.

    The Czech Republic has been seeking a settlement for the fine since last summer. “It is perceived as a highly sensitive matter. This is precisely because it concerns the prime minister of a member state. Moreover, the prime minister, whose subsidy was marked as a fraud by OLAF just a few months ago. The decision is about to come, it is only a matter of political context,” said a Brussels source familiar with the case.

    Officially, the European Commission has not commented on the deadline for issuing a verdict yet. However, a settlement does not have to mark an end of the case. The Czech Republic is ready to continue with further legal proceedings if its arguments were not successful. The defense of the Czech Republic is based on a claim that Faltýnek, despite his “triple role” could not influence the subsidies at all.

  • A Crisis in Europe?

    Europe is going through a very serious crisis, which also applies to the financial services sector in the European Union. One reason can be seen in the fact that the EU has 500 million inhabitants, but no real leader. There are only professional politicians without any vision. Our fundamental problem lays in a a critical lack of political governance.

    The organization of Europe after WW2 was created to ensure peace, freedom and economic growth. And It was successful for almost 30 years until the EU had been affected by bad dogmas. There are many rules and regulations that affect European citizens who increasingly tend to support the populist movement.

    Of course, migration plays a certain role, but it is not, in principle, what prevents Europeans from living the European dream. The reason is that the EU did not create a harmonious free space. It should not surprise us if we will have a populist majority in the European Parliament in 2019.

    There is only one way for the European Commission to prevent a wave of voices for populist parties – making EU law simpler and less costly (it was, moreover, the goal of the REFIT program). One quarter of European laws should be rejected and 50 percent of the remaining legislation should be discussed once again after a thorough evaluation of their impacts. Then Europe becomes – again – a free space for happy citizens.

  • Boris and the crazy Conservatives

    British politician Boris Johnson caused a political storm when he likened Middle Eastern women wearing burqas to mailboxes.

    The London Police Chief of Staff, for example, consulted with police specialists on whether Johnson commit a hate crime. Conservative Chairman Brandon Lewis and Conservative Muslim Forum Chairman Lord Sheikh then launched an investigation into Boris’s behavior.

    The Conservative Party is divided into two parts – those who support Johnson and Brexit on one side and those who are anti-Boris and anti-Brexit on the other. The latter want to punish Johnson and there is a threat that they will leave the party if Johnson becomes its leader.

    Pro-Brexit members consider these activities an attempted coup and an attack of political correctness on democracy.  “A gift to Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party swayed in blaming of anti-Semitism,“ Kuras said, quoting views of Conservative politicians supporting Johnson.

    Two popular authorities are arguing whether Johnson’s joke was good, or bad. “YES” says comedian Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), “NO” says Daily Mail columnist Peter Hitchens. Meanwhile, in Leicester burglars attacked a jewellery store and beat the jeweller to death – disguised in a burqa.

  • Chairman of the Communists distorts history

    “No one will write that the whole idea is based on anti-Russian attitude. In the Soviet politburo, there was only one Russian in that time who voted against (invasion). Brezhnev was from Ukraine. The main force of invasion armies was the Ukrainians, “ stated Filip.

    The Ukrainian Embassy in the Czech Republic named Filip’s statements as nonsense. Filip was further criticized, for instance, by deputy chairman of TOP 09 Markéta Adamová. “According to comrade Filip, Russians are not responsible for the invasion in 1968 because Brezhnev was a Ukrainian. Based on this logic, the Germans are not responsible for the World War because Hitler was an Austrian. The Slovaks brought about the normalization and Georgia is responsible for millions of dead people in the USSR since Stalin was born in Georgia,“ Adamová said.

    “The Communists have clear responsibility for August 1968 and consequent occupation of our country. And it does not matter whether Brezhnev was a Russian or a Ukrainian as well as it does not matter that KSČ was renamed to KSČM,“ added Zbyněk Stanjura /ODS/.

    President Miloš Zeman also opposed Filip’s statements. “Occupation was a crime, and the president’s opinion has been the same since 1968. Let us be happy that today we can freely say this truth,” the president’s spokesman Jiri Ovaccek wrote on Facebook yesterday.

    The others pointed out that it was Filip and his party that the current government relied on during the vote of confidence. “And such a whizz was chosen by the movement ANO as the first deputy chairman of the Chamber of Deputies, and the movement cheerfully governs with him. Better to honestly loose than to win with such teammates!,“ thinks Jan Bartošek /KDU-ČSL/.

  • Czech Republic to offer help to Italy and Malta to protect their borders

    During his official visit to Italy and Malta, PM Andrej Babiš will offer unmanned aircraft to help the two countries guard their borders and combat illegal migration.

    Migration will be the main theme of the PM´s visit, where Babiš wants to talk about smugglers. “It is a huge business, and these criminals are making billions of euros. Europe has to fight intensively against the smugglers,” said Babiš.

    For Babiš, the use of Czech aircraft is an alternative to taking refugees. That´s something Babiš has refused several times before when he described such a step as a “road to hell and motivation for smugglers“.

    The Czech PM promotes in particular the rigorous protection of the EU’s external borders, as well as assistance in those countries which are sources of migration.

    “We’ll see the reaction. It is good to present it in the world and say: This is what we want to offer,“ Babiš said, while visiting Primoco’s headquarters in Radotín, Prague, which is developing unmanned airplanes.

  • Raise the flags and be proud of our freedom

    The 50th anniversary of the Soviet occupation is an opportunity to reflect on the consequences of the events that happened in August 1968. Our autonomy and state sovereignty is closely linked to democracy and we should not be afraid of patriotism.

    Patriotism is a positive attitude, a value that various fools and extremists want to steal from us. That happened fifty years ago. Let us not lose the patriotism that is being developed and hindered by a democratic state today. It is time for the current democratic political representation to become more patriotic.

    Only few countries have such a historical and cultural tradition as we do. We have a lot of things to be proud of. But democratic patriotism is not only about defending the past or building of walls, it has to be also a proud and self-confident program. The main topics to be discussed should include the quality of the army, improving the quality of our education system or integration of the new trends in our economy.

  • No country wants to accept ship full of refugees

    The rescue boat Aquarius that took on board 141 refugees on Friday still has no permission to land from any European country. Two Italian ministers pointed out yesterday that Aquarius is sailing under the flag of Gibraltar and Britain should therefore take the responsibility.

    Sophie Beau, CEO of SOS Méditerranée, appealed on European states to take responsibility but Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said these refugees will not land in any Italian port. He wrote on Twitter that Aquarius was “owned by Germany, leased by a French NGO, has a foreign crew, is in Maltese waters and sails under the Gibraltar flag.”

    “You can go anywhere you want, but not to Italy, stop trading with human beings,” wrote Salvini. Similar attitudes were expressed by his government colleague, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Danilo Toninelli.

  • What are Czech Soldiers in Afghanistan dying for?

    The army is supposed to protect its own country. This is the task the Czech army is not capable of and its priority should change. Meanwhile, Turkey has almost the largest army in NATO but at the same time you will not find a single Turkish soldier in Afghanistan.

    The deaths of Czech soldiers in foreign countries is possible but it should have some clear reason and purpose. The writer apologizes for not seeing such a reason.

    Afghanistan is thousands of miles away and two of the world’s largest armies have failed there over the last forty years, both Russian and American. They captured the capital of Kabul and put a new loyal president in power, however, they didn´t succeed in putting the country under control. There is no majority in Afghan society waiting to be deprived of tyranny and to begin to democratically govern itself according to our ideas.

    Afghans see the world differently to what we do. People suffer from war and violence but they perceive US and Russian soldiers as occupiers and they are trying to kill and expel them. After seventeen years, the mission failed and the political and military situation returns to where it was – the Taliban controls much of the country.

  • The Czech Republic to reject U.N. Global Migration Agreement

    The idea of the Global Migration Agreement that the right to migration should be a fundamental human right raises criticism. According to candidate for Foreign Minister Miroslav Poche the Czech Republic will follow Hungary and reject the Pact.

    Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is very reluctant when it comes to migration. The concern about the Agreement was, however, expressed also by other political parties – for example by conservatives from ODS, Communists or populists from SPD (party of Tomio Okamura). Only the Pirates and TOP 09 have supported the Pact so far.

    “I think the formulation (about migration as a fundamental human right) is potentially very risky and we cannot accept that. Not even if this declaration is legally non-binding and unenforceable. Because it sets a certain atmosphere, a certain way of thinking about migration in general,“ MEP Jan Zahradil said.

    A document that rejects the pact could be prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the end of August.

  • Calls for no more Czech soldiers in Afghanistan

    Major General of the Czech Army in reserve Hynek Blasko replied negatively to the question posed by denik.cz about whether Czech soldiers should continue to participate in foreign missions.

    The goal of every operation is to fight against terrorism in the area of its origin and prevent its spread. But the Western governments, except the countries of the Visegrad Group, has opened the doors for migrants and therefore he doesn´t see any sense of sending soldiers to countries like Afghanistan.

    The Czech Republic and its Army has to make a decision, as did for example Poland, France or Canada. We are not able to skip centuries of progression and convince the tribal leaders that what works for us will work for them.

    In opposition to Boček stands Jakub Janda, the director of the think-tank European values. He answered that there is a strategic reason for fighting alongside our allies against barbarism either in the form of Islamic extremism or Russian aggression in our region.

  • Goodbye, Mr. Poche

    Miroslav Poche (candidate for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has long been refused by President Milos Zeman) gave an interview last week to the daily Právo.

    According to sources, his interview demonstrated the reasons why he could not become foreign minister. For example his attitude towards solving the migration crisis, the adoption of the Euro or his view of Israel.

    His views represent a minority of the interests of Czech society but what is more important they are different in all respects from what PM Andrej Babiš and President Miloš Zeman wants.

    For example, Babis said that receiving refugees is equal to helping smugglers. Poche, on the other hand, talked about extensive assistance in countries that are the source of migration and also about ensuring a better life for people living there.

    Another different attitude can be seen in the question of the common European currency. While the Government does not see any possibility of adopting the Euro at this time, Poche would like to start a debate that would lead either to a commitment to adopt the Euro or to a referendum.

    In addition, Poche has problems with his views also within the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD). He represents the views of the younger generation of the so-called left-wing progressives, who in the past influenced exPM Bohuslav Sobotka’s policy by orienting on the city liberals and euro optimist attitudes. However, this orientation eventually led to a bad result in the last elections, when the CSSD lost two-thirds of votes.

  • More Russians are now living in the Czech Republic

    The number of Russians in the Czech Republic keeps increasing, there are currently 37,000 Russians permanently living in the country, compared to 23,300 ten years ago.

    According to a survey carried out by CVVM agency, around one third of Czechs said they disliked Russians, while two fifths perceive them positively.

    Russians are currently the fourth biggest group of foreigners in the Czech Republic, making up seven percent of all foreign residents. According to statistics, three out of ten Russians are in the Czech Republic for work and business and nearly two-fifths are studying here.

  • The big European game of Viktor Orbán

    The current behavior and role of the European Commission has led Viktor Orbán to destroy the current system of party fractions and replace it with a new one – which will follow after the next election at the European Parliament.

    By regrouping national parties into a new system, Orbán intends to put an end to the current cartel of the People’s, Liberal and Social Democrats in the EP that has ruled European politics for at least 40 years.

    Sources say this could be the conclusions of a magnificent conference “Future of Europe“ which emphasized Central European unity and Visegrad identity that is currently most promoted by Hungary.

    The opening speech at the conference on Wednesday, 23rd May, was delivered by Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. According to him, Europe has to solve its security. He also said that there needs to be a strong Central Europe.

    But there were also many other interesting speeches. For example the one delivered by sociologist Frank Füredi and the whole discussion panel about clashes of cultures in Europe. Also, the ex-president of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus gave a rousing speech. In his speech, he welcomed that Hungary started to act actively.

    “The Czech Republic is not trying to do anything today. The same situation is in Slovakia, especially after the fall of Prime Minister Fico. Poland has become refreshing, but some of its attitudes are ambivalent,“ said Klaus, criticizing other V4 countries.

  • Institutional Racism harms Jews and white farmers

    Some people say Jewish emigration from France needs to be reviewed in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict. “So if the old Jew would admit to a beloved Muslim neighbor that Jerusalem is not really Israel’s capital city, and that Israel is actually an illegal state… He would not throw her out of the window?,” commentator Marek Stonis asked, reminding the reader of the recent case of an old Jewish citizen assaulted by a Muslim.

    At the same time immigrants are considered by many to be those who should bring some fresh air to aging Europe and build a multicultural paradise here.

    Similar is also the story of white farmers in South Africa. They are wealthy, they own a vast majority of farms, even though they have long been a racial minority in their country. A new constitution on expropriation of farms has recently been adopted. Nobody cares about the fact that the farmers have been working so hard for decades or that they have had agreements with former presidents.

    No international boycotts, no sanctions, and no Bob Geldof organizing a concert to support white farmers or their survivors. There is a more important agenda in world institutions such as the #MeToo campaign or adoption of anti-Israeli resolutions. And who does not like it, of course, is at least a xenophobe and a racist.

  • We want stay in the EU but with no Euro or fiscal policy

    It has been touted that the Czech Republic should be part of the single market or Schengen but with no common currency or fiscal policy.

    Meanwhile, terms like Eurosceptic or Pro-European have become obsolete. A eurosceptic is considered by everyone to be someone who criticizes or disagrees with some aspects of European integration.

    The Czech Republic must avoid both of these extreme views. On one hand, there is an enthusiastic and naive acceptance of every new integration initiative, on the other hand a negative view that the EU will fail anyway and we should prefer to get out of it.

    “We want to stay in the EU, we want to be part of the single market, Europe´s trade policy and also the Schengen Area. However, we do not want to belong to a “hard core” with a common currency, fiscal policy, tax harmonization, and a common asylum and migration policy,“ MEP Jan Zahradil said, presenting his vision of the Czech Republic in the EU. It does not mean an anti- or pro-european attitude, but a realistic view of the whole integration. The best option for the Czech republic is the golden middle way.

  • Kechlibar: Macron’s dreams of restoring the German-French Empire

    Once in a while, there are doubts regarding the future vision of Europe, which has again been raised by Emanuel Macron in his recent speeches.

    The French president would like to remodel the EU into three circles. The inner circle would be significantly more integrated than the EU is today. The second circle would share the common market and free movement of people. The third circle would include countries connected with the first two circles through trade treaties.

    The realization of Macron’s vision would only boost the Eurosceptics across the entire continent.

    Even now, there are strong conflicts among the countries which should form the core. German voters may not like that their savings would be used to pay huge debts for France. That could be beneficial for AfD which was established a few years ago on the basis of an idea of resistance towards the common European debenture bonds.

    The Netherlands may show opposition to Macron’s vision as well, since their people refused to accept the draft of the European Constitution in 2005. Moreover, the Netherlands represent the biggest payer into the European budget if the contribution is calculated per person, and their inhabitants have never been very happy about that. Furthermore, Macron may not find sufficient support even within France, since a survey conducted there during the Brexit referendum showed that there are even more French people than Britons with negative attitudes towards the EU.

    Why is Macron even building these castles in the air? He may want to differentiate himself from European technocrats who do not have any visions at all and attempt to maintain the EU structure functioning as it is. He may be hoping that the situation becomes more favorable a few years from now.

  • Migration to Europe: A profitable business not only for smugglers

    When the number of migrants sharply increased, their transportation turned into a huge business opportunity. Despite the fact that the former migrants were mostly poor people, the current migration arising from political instability affected all social classes and all professions.

    This is the conclusion of Loretta Napoleoni’s book Merchants of Men. The traditional African and Middle-Eastern merchants of men adapted their prices and services to the payment abilities of migrants. Even criminal organizations of eastern Europe started parasitizing in this business field, which even led to the fact that they reduced their other criminal activities.

    Non-European merchants of men successfully exported their criminal system of “pay when you get there” to the European Union, since this works for the migrants the best. They have used the insufficient EU politics in the field of their national borders and immigration. Some humanitarian workers further confirm that African and European criminals use the migrant routes for the transfer of drugs and prostitutes.

    The migration crisis then enabled the criminals as well as humanitarian organizations and businessmen to grow, since the refugees and migrants need to be accommodated, clothed, fed and transported. These activities are then financed directly from the pockets of taxpayers. The author illustrated this fact on the example of a Norwegian company Hero Norway or a Swiss company ORS Service AG.  

    There is an intensive feeling that the refugees are a source of profit for everyone. The industry which has emerged in connection to their tragedy provides jobs for hundreds of thousand people all across Europe.

  • PM Orbán’s use of Air Force planes is perfectly normal

    The fact that the Hungarian prime minister sometimes travels on Air Force planes during his official visits is standard practice in Hungary, as is in a series of neighboring countries such as Croatia, Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovakia.

    According to Origo.hu, the Hungarian Armed Forces announced on August 6th that the Hungarian air fleet has been complemented with a Dassault Falcon FX7 business jet which will also be able to carry out courier and transport missions.

    Opposition parties have attacked the government over this latest purchase, which follows a February delivery of an Airbus A319 transport plane, which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán used to fly to an official visit to Israel (pictured above).

    The article says that during the previous Socialist-Free Democrat governments their officials used Air Force transport on 100 occasions. More importantly, this is in line with the requirements laid out in a 2005 military doctrine which specifies that the Armed Forces is responsible for the transport of select state leaders.

    This practice is also seen in other countries of the region. Last year Slovakia also took delivery of its second A319, also used for transporting state dignitaries. The Czech Republic has several planes dedicated to presidential and governmental transport: two A319s, two Bombardier Challenger 600 business jets and two Yakovlev Yak-40 small airliners.

    Serbian and Croatian government officials use two aircraft in each country operated by their respective Air Forces.

  • Norway’s Soros troops on the offensive

    Norwegian NGOs mostly sponsored by billionaire financier George Soros continue their attacks against Hungary but other Central European countries don’t have it much easier either. Poland and the Czech Republic also had their share of protests.

    Following an article in Magyar Idők – which quoted Hungarian government officials saying that Norway should not interfere with the internal affairs of the country – Norway’s ambassador to Budapest stated again that they continue to support NGOs.

    In June, leaders of several Norwegian NGOs signed a joint declaration condemning the violation of human rights and the restrictions against human rights activists. The document singled out Poland and Hungary as countries that have passed restrictive legislation on civil society. All of the signatories of the declaration are financed by Soros.

    This was followed by an Amnesty International (AI) “global meeting” in Warsaw, where they said that the situation of human rights activists has worsened in countries such as Hungary, Poland, Turkey, Mexico and the Philippines. By doing this, they put Hungary and Poland – two safe and stable Central European states – in the same category with others where military coups, drug wars, civil wars or ethnic violence occur regularly.

    Soros-funded organizations have stepped up their Budapest activities immediately after the third consecutive election victory of the current ruling coalition, lobbying foreign ambassadors to act against Hungarian legislation requiring NGOs to declare foreign funding in excess of HUF 7.2 million (US$25,600).

    The latest development came just a few days ago when Norway entered a lawsuit at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against the Hungarian law on the side of the European Commission which started the proceedings.

     

     

  • Unemployment rate slightly rises but so do job vacancies

    The Czech unemployment rate registered a slight increase in July after steadily dropping for five consecutive months. However, the labour market is still tight and job vacancies are on the rise again.

    Data published yesterday shows the unemployment rate rose to 3.1 percent from last month’s 2.9 percent. There are currently 231 thousand people without a job, the lowest number measured in July for more than two decades. Compared to last year, joblessness rate dropped one percent. 

    According to the Labour Office, the main reasons behind the increase are caused by seasonal effects. Unemployment is usually higher in July, in part due to slower recruitment during holidays or new graduates looking for a job.

    Interestingly, along with the rising unemployment rate, there are 120 thousand more jobs available on the Czech labor market. 

  • The desire for gender balance in athletics is surreal

    Up to a few years ago, certain athletic disciplines were still only available for men. For example, women have only been competing in pole vault since 1999, while they were allowed to compete in race walk for the first time only last year.

    During the European Championships in Berlin seven female athletes participated in the 50-km race walk contest, but only four of them managed to cross the finish line. These completely exhausted girls moved at a pace of a person walking towards a bus stop during the race, and instead of fervor, the audience felt sorry for them.

    “Unfortunately, these are barely numbers without using any common sense – men compete in 24 disciplines, so women cannot compete in only 23 disciplines; moreover, the disciplines have to be exactly the same. There is no way that anyone would take few kilometers away from the girls,” Commentator Jakub Marek said about the decision of the International Association of Athletics Federations.

    The race in Berlin was nothing in comparison to what awaits female athletes at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar. At the beginning of October and even despite the night start, it will be more like a struggle for survival than a battle for medals – all of this only for the sake of gender balance.

  • Country pays homage to fallen soldiers

    The special ceremony, held at Václav Havel Airport, was attended by President Miloš Zeman, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Defence Ministry officials, family and friends. The three soldiers killed by a suicide bomber on Sunday in Afghanistan will be buried with military honors.

    While the army chaplain Jaroslav Knichal was the only one to speak at the ceremony, the sound of eight thousand sirens across the Czech Republic also honoured the memory of the dead.

    President Milos Zeman will award the soldiers with medals of bravery on October 28th. The Minister of Defence Lubomir Metnar said that he is going to visit Czech soldiers in Afghanistan in the next weeks.

    According to Lenka Šmerdová ,head of the Military Solidarity Fund, the soldiers’ deaths sparked a strong wave of solidarity with thousands donating to the families of the deceased.