National identity should not be suppressed in the European Union, national identity should form the basis and part of the concept of European identity - declared Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Friday at the international conference on national sovereignty and European identity in Prague.
"Our membership of the European Union cannot present us with a choice, in reality it should guarantee both. National sovereignty should form the basis and part of the concept of European identity in the regulations of the European Union project. The two ideas should be connected to each other," stated Andrej Babis. He noted: in his opinion, however, this is not the case at the moment.
The coalition government of Andrej Babis submitted its resignation on Thursday, which was accepted by President Milos Zeman, who entrusted it with the management of current affairs until the formation of the new government.
After the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union is trying to enforce the concept of European identity, and there are attempts to concentrate decision-making to a greater degree, Babis believed. He pointed out: tendencies of interference in the internal affairs of individual member states can be observed in the European Commission. He mentioned Poland and Hungary as examples.
He stated: The countries of Central and Eastern Europe do not agree with the idea of a "supernational federation". Having been part of the Soviet bloc for half a century, these countries are very sensitive to the issue of national sovereignty.
The Executive Prime Minister sees that the European Union has changed over the past twenty years, since the Czech Republic has been a member of the organization, and that it does not meet people's expectations. According to them, the European Union does not push enough for the free flow of people, goods and ideas, but intervenes in everyday life with bureaucratic decisions.
The European Union has good results in some areas, but it needs to play a bigger role in solving international crises, for example in Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon or Iraq. "Without this, no one will take the European Union seriously," said Babis, who described it as a mistake that Bulgaria and Romania are still not members of the Schengen zone.
Source: szekelyfold.ma / MTI
Photo: MTI
