Czeching In, 21 Years After: The Czechs’ View on the EU

The Czech entry to the European Union (known as “Czeching In” in Czechia) in 2004 is a very complex topic. Why? Czech society is heavily polarized about many political issues. In the Czech political scene, the far-right populist side regularly wants to create a referendum and leave the EU. Then there is the populist center-left side with Andrej Babiš. It is mostly not for leaving, but heavily criticizes the EU’s climate change regulations policies for example. The center and right-wing groups mostly do not want to leave and like the EU. The left parties like Piráti (the Pirates) are the loudest EU supporters.

And there’s Russia. Or rather, the issue of people’s position on Russia, the communist/socialist past of Czechia and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The loudest voices in Czech media are against Russian influence and have a critical stance towards the communist past of the country.  However, some parts of the population still support Russia as a former Soviet ally to socialist Czechoslovakia and thus is against the Western influence like the EU. They are a minority, but they need to be taken seriously.

And there’s Russia. Or rather, the issue of people’s position on Russia, the communist/socialist past of Czechia and the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The loudest voices in Czech media are against Russian influence and have a critical stance towards the communist past of the country.  However, some parts of the population still support Russia as a former Soviet ally to socialist Czechoslovakia and thus is against the Western influence like the EU. They are a minority, but they need to be taken seriously.

Being part of the EU is most definitely connected to many advantages: we can freely travel between countries which are part of the Schengen area. The possibilities that lie within travelling or moving abroad freely are immense. We can study abroad and have better working conditions. We can also marry someone from a different country of the EU without significant problems. One of the EU’s biggest pluses is its support to less developing countries. Unfortunately, some Czechs do not see all aspects positively.

I ask myself to which extend Vladimíra represents her generation as such. A generation that has lived under a Socialist regime and hasn’t grown up with a European identity at all.

One of the opposing views against EU policies by some parts of the population is having Euro currency as our national currency (we still use the Czech Koruna). It is one of the things Czechia promised to do, but it didn’t fulfil that promise. The problem might have been that the Euro issue wasn’t resolved right at the beginning of our EU journey. One group is for accepting the Euro as our currency. The opposing group is louder and is radically against accepting the Euro.

Some of the arguments against the Euro currency claim that we are a sovereign country and therefore we should keep our national currency, that we should not be “controlled“ by a central bank from abroad. The same people fear the Czechs losing control over their own economy. However, in the bigger picture – focusing on Czech companies, the international trade and on the economic growth of Czechia, entering the EU has many advantages which outweigh the disadvantages.

The Czech Koruna is very closely tied to the Euro anyway therefore the argument that we can regulate our own currency is not valid. Accepting the Euro as our currency would help small businesses which do not have the capacity to have evidence of sales in different currencies to sell abroad with ease. Travelling between countries would also be easier. There are also a lot of other factors from our EU existence – foreign policy, ecology, etc. Some Czech citizens are even in favour of leaving the NATO, which would make us very vulnerable – especially when it comes to power claims and threats from the East.

The most surprising statement for me was by 75 year-old Vladimíra, stating that being in the EU contradicts having a Czech national identity. Personally, I hope that the next elections (fall 2025) will end up without the far-right populists having many seats in the parliament. At the moment, not many Czechs are radically pro-Czeching out. I hope that we will stay Czeched-In for as long as possible.