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Prague – The Minister of the Interior in resignation Vít Rakušan (STAN) today sent a request to the European Commission for the Czech Republic to be exempted from contributions to the common budget for addressing illegal migration. He stated this at a press conference after a government meeting. The Commission published a report on Tuesday indicating that the Czech Republic, due to the large number of refugees from Ukraine, falls into the category of countries experiencing a significant migration situation. Therefore, it can request an exemption from the solidarity mechanism.
“I have today sent a letter to the Commission, where in full accordance with the rules I request that the Czech Republic be completely exempted from the obligation – because it has been designated as a country critically affected by the wave of migration – to contribute to the payment of anything into the solidarity European mechanism,” said Rakušan. In the event that the Czech Republic does not have refugees from Ukraine on its territory, according to Rakušan, what is agreed in the pact applies. “We will, for example, materially, technically, and logistically help to protect the external border of the European Union,” said the minister. He emphasized that the agreement never includes mandatory acceptance of migrants.
As of midnight on Sunday, there were 397,421 people from Ukraine with temporary protection in the Czech Republic, according to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior. Among them were over 92,500 children and young people under 18 years old and nearly 17,800 seniors. The ministry recorded 123,900 refugees of working age and 164,100 refugee women.
On Tuesday, the European Commission informed about which EU countries are under migration pressure and how other states should assist them. It also proposed the establishment of the first Solidarity Fund. The Czech Republic, as well as Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Austria, and Poland, are facing a significant migration situation due to the cumulative pressure of the last five years, according to the Commission, and can therefore request partial or complete deductions of contributions to the fund for the next year.
The migration pact, which was approved last year and is set to come into effect in June 2026, aims to lead to better management of migration, more efficient controls, and faster returns of unsuccessful asylum seekers. The approval of the pact was challenging also because it consists of ten legislative proposals. The Czechs abstained in all ten votes. (November 12)