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bne March 2018 Central Europe I 33
Migration remains a divise issue
A major division between old and new member states has been the question of migration, as eastern states have been rejecting the EU's migration quotas. The commission stepped up infringement
Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary restated their focus on “effective, responsible and enforceable (EU) external border protection to avoid obligatory quotas (being) applied, There was a consensus that key goal was not to
Christian way of life and refuse to give up the feeling of being at home,” he added.
The Visegrad countries rejected any plans for slashing development funds
to countries that have differing views within the EU, especially on migration. The issue of punishing Poland and Hun- gary has resurfaced from time to time seen as a way of putting pressure on two renegade countries to respect demo- cratic values.
At the summit, Orban also pushed for the EU enlargement to the Western Bal- kan region. The integration of Montene- gro and Serbia would strengthen Central Europe and would stabilise the Balkan region, he said.
“Orban needs allies as he has become increasingly isolated in Western capitals”
procedures in July against the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland for refus- ing to take part in the programme to redistribute 160,000 refugees from
Italy and Greece.
On migration issues, the heads of
“relocate but to prevent the pressure of immigration in Europe.”
The Hungarian PM called UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres' proposals about a global agreement on migration "dangerous". "We insist on our tolerant,
Social Democrats give Babis hope of becoming Czech PM
Robert Anderson in Prague
Billionaire Czech populist Andrej Babis appears to be in a stronger position to win a working parliamentary majority after the election of a new Social Democrat leader who favours an alliance.
Jan Hamacek, formerly the parliamen- tary speaker, was elected leader after winning a run-off against former South Bohemia Governor Jan Zimola by 272 votes to 224 at the CSSD party congress at the weekend. Former interior minister Milan Chovanec, who is against working with Babis, was eliminated after secur- ing only 116 votes. Zimola, a close ally
of former CSSD leader President Milos Zeman, who also favours an ANO-CSSD coalition, was elected first vice-president of the party.
Babis has failed to win a parliamentary vote of confidence, despite taking 78 seats out of 200 in October’s general election, because all the mainstream
parties have refused to accept him as premier while fraud charges are hanging over him. Only the hardline Communist KSCM, which has 15 seats, has offered to tolerate his government by walking out of the chamber during votes.
If Babis can also persuade the Social Democrats, who also have 15 seats, to join him in government, his Ano party would have a narrow majority of 93 out of the 185 remaining voting deputies in the chamber. Babis may also win at least the toleration of the neo-fascist Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) of Tomio Okamura, which has 22 seats.
The small centre-right Stan party, which has six seats, has also recently
changed its mind about negotiating with the agrochemical tycoon, in another sign that the united front against
Babis is beginning to fracture because
of the threat of an Ano government backed by the hard right and hard left. Nevertheless Stan still says it will not accept a suspected criminal as premier.
"In our effort to prevent the SPD and the KSCM from participating in the government, we will launch the negotiations in which we were previously rejected by Ano," leader Jan Farsky said last week.
The CSSD led the previous govern- ment but suffered a debacle in the October elections, losing two-thirds of its
“Babis has failed to win a parliamentary vote of confidence”
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