ČRo: The Czech Republic and the EU Summit

Our director Vladimír Bartovic commented for Český rozhlas the EU Summit. He was also talking about the position of the Czech Republic and the mandate of the new prime minister Andrej Babiš.

What mandate does Andrej Babiš have in his negotiations?

The government has approved a comprehensive mandate covering all areas to be discussed. These include, for example, defense, social issues, culture or migration. (...) The Czech Republic is known mainly for fighting against the mandatory quotas and for repeating the stance that the causes of the migration wave have to be solved and that the external borders of the Union have to be protected.  Andrej Babiš will support this view.

Can the new prime minister play an active role?

Definitely yes. Andrej Babiš can play an active role in the Czech politics and I am convinced that he will play it in the EU as well. (...) There are several prime ministers he already knows. He also speaks English, so he can communicate without problems.

The whole interview (in Czech) is available here. [11:13-15:46]

Vladimír Bartovic
President

Expertise: EU institutional issues, Economic and Monetary Union, € and European budget, Brexit, EU foreign policy, EU enlargement with the focus on Western Balkans, Slovak foreign and domestic policy and economic issues