Czech prime minister in Brussels

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka who was in Brussels on a working visit has met with EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Mr. Sobotka declared the Czech government’s intention to bring the country back to the European mainstream and take a more constructive stand to European integration. He said the Czech Republic would join the fiscal pact and would no longer insist on an opt-out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights which was the former president Vaclav Klaus’ condition for signing the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The talks also focussed on the situation in Ukraine with the Czech prime minister stressing the need for a united EU stand, possibly the introduction of sanctions if the violence does not cease.