About: Bohuslav Sobotka Archives

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has invited the heads of state and government of ten member states to attend a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on 18 February, in Brussels.

Most of the Union’s members have reservations with regard to the possible limitations of in-work benefits for EU workers in the UK, contained in the proposals from Brussels to address David Cameron’s demands ahead of the Brexit referendum. The EURACTIV network reports.

Prague will host an extraordinary summit of the Visegrad group, three days ahead of the February EU summit, to discuss the migration crisis and a possible “plan B” in case of a widening divide with the older Schengen members.

A majority of EU countries seem to be hostile to the idea of a "mini-Schengen", capable of better controlling its common borders, which was floated by the Netherlands at the end of last year.

The attacks carried out against women, in Cologne on New Year's Eve, are still reverberating across Europe, auguring for more resentment against immigrants, and eroding the remnants of multicultural attitudes. The EURACTIV network reports.

The ‘Visegrad Four’ countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) found a powerful ally at the EU summit which ended today (18 December) in the person of Council President Donald Tusk, who repeated most of their arguments against the Germany-favoured project.

Unable to decide on establishing a “European Border and Coast Guard”, EU leaders on Thursday (18 December) tasked the incoming Dutch Presidency to move forward with the divisive issue.

Four eastern EU member states yesterday (3 December) rejected the idea of cutting the 26-member passport-free Schengen zone down to include fewer countries as a way to cope with the refugee and migrant crisis.

Milos Zeman, the President of the Czech Republic, attended a rally against refugees and Islam in Prague on Tuesday (17 November) on the anniversary of the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which peacefully toppled Communism in then Czechoslovakia.

Reports of a Syrian passport found near the body of one of the gunmen who died in Friday night's attacks may change attitudes towards migrants across Europe. The EURACTIV network reports.

Member states are affected in very different ways by the refugee crisis. But all of them worry about what will happen when Germany’s capacity to absorb asylum seekers reaches saturation point. The EURACTIV network reports.

The Czech government has proposed that three central European states send hundreds of troops and police to help protect Hungary's borders against the flow of hundreds of thousands of refugees into Europe's Schengen passport-free travel zone, officials said on Friday (5 October). 

Having considered taking the EU to court over the decision to distribute 120,000 refugees across the bloc, the Czech Republic finally decided to de-escalate tensions with Brussels. EURACTIV.cz reports.

A European Union proposal to find spaces for 120,000 refugees will not work unless reception facilities are provided for tens of thousands at any time, the UN refugee agency said on Tuesday (22 September).

As EU leaders prepare to meet Wednesday (23 September) for an extraordinary summit, one question will haunt them: How to distinquish economic migrants from asylum seekers. EURACTIV Czech Republic reports.

Several countries have already changed their tune on refugee quotas, while others, particularly in Eastern Europe, remain hostile to Jean-Claude Juncker's proposal. EURACTIV France reports. 

A summit of the “Visegrad Four” countries – the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland – held in Prague on 4 September rejected mandatory quotas for taking refugees, but said the group wanted to contribute to tackling the crisis and protect the Schengen border-free zone.

Greece will vote on its future in the eurozone on Sunday (5 July). If such a poll were to be conducted across the EU, it is far from certain that a majority would back further concessions to Athens as the price for keeping the Union intact. The EURACTIV Network reports.

The European Commission has submitted a proposal to find a fairer way to admit and distribute asylum seekers in the EU. But it’s up to the member states to decide, and many don’t accept the proposed distribution of migrants. The EURACTIV network reports.

The Czech Republic would benefit from membership in the eurozone, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Sunday (31 May) after meeting the president, finance minister and the Czech National Bank governor on the issue.

Thousands of Czechs welcomed a convoy of US troops to Prague yesterday (31 March) on their return from exercises in the Baltic, defying expectations that pro-Russian groups would protest over the country's alliance with the west.

Although the Czech Republic is not a direct target of large movement of migrants from Syria and other political unstable countries, foreign politicians are telling the government of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka that it should take part of the burden. EURACTIV Czech Republic reports.

Czechs marked the 25th anniversary of the fall of communism in Prague on Monday by again marching in protest, this time waving red cards, rather than jangling their keys to serve notice to unpopular rulers.

The two-day vote for the European elections in the Czech Republic ended yesterday (24 May) with a record low turnout, lower than 20%. According to pre-election surveys, the winners will probably be the parties represented in parliament. The results will be released late at night. EURACTIV Czech Republic reports.