Czech PM: EC should be impartial judge of member states’ performance

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said the European Commission should be more impartial in its assessment of how individual member states are meeting their obligations. During a working dinner with European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker, attended by Visegrad Group heads of government, Mr. Sobotka said it sometimes appeared as if the Commission was applying a double standard and punishing countries which were perceived as troublemakers for something other members got away with without reprimand.

The dinner with the Visegrad Group leaders, held on the eve of the EU’s October summit, is seen as an attempt to ease tensions between Brussels and the Visegrad group states which have been at loggerheads over migrant quotas and the EU’s planned directive on posted workers, which EU ministers will debate in Luxembourg on Monday.

The Czech Secretary of State for EU Affairs, Aleš Chmelař, said the two sides had agreed to intensify dialogue on sensitive issues in the future so as to ensure better understanding.

The EU’s October summit is focussing on EU reforms, the migrant crisis, the functioning of Schengen and the common market and the need to strengthen cooperation in the field of defence.