On May 1, 2004, the country joined the European Union. Huge celebrations broke out. The year before, 77 percent of voters voted in favor of entry in the referendum. Gradually, however, the enthusiasm cooled. There were more and more people who were dissatisfied with the Union. They mainly blame it for bureaucracy, the uncontrolled wave of migration from Asia and Africa, and excessively green politics. This is so despite the fact that the revenues from the Union significantly exceed the expenses that the Czech Republic sends to Brussels. Our state also owes its membership to the development of the market and the legal system.
POLL: Should the Czech Republic remain in the European Union?
| Video: Diary/Kateřina Součková
Citizens of the Czech Republic have k European Union the coldest relationship of all member countries. According to a survey by the STEM agency, satisfaction with the EU at the beginning of 2024 only exceeded fifty percent. Czechs perceive the freedom to travel, work and study positively, they see it negatively as an overly directive actor that robs the Czech Republic of its independence.
Almost thirty percent of the population is in favor of leaving the Union, by far the most of the twenty-seven countries. This is evidenced by a big survey of readers of the Diary. Only 35 percent of those polled in it would vote for joining the Union in a referendum today. Support is higher among young people, which is also shown by surveys.
We present the first part of the results of our large European poll, which was participated by almost 6,800 readers:
Today, only a third of readers would be in favor of joining the EU. The weak defense of the Czech Republic’s interests is also a problem
Vaclav Klaus, who applied to join the EU as prime minister in 1996, has been one of its biggest critics in recent years. “I do not consider twenty years of membership to be a happy period in the development of the Czech Republic,” he said this week. They see nothing positive about our participation in the European project.
On the contrary, the current president Peter Paul is a staunch supporter of membership. He recently spoke out in favor of the rapid adoption of the euro.
Our future in the Union is not questioned by any of the parliamentary parties – with the exception of the SPD, which had ten percent of the votes in the 2021 elections.
What is Black and White for?
We are told not to see the world in black and white. This column seems to deny it. But not if we can see at the same time black and whitewe look in color.
Opinion. We all have an opinion. We have the right to freedom of opinion. But what is it? “A Jew is not a man” is an opinion. And it is both heinous and criminal. “Gypsies on the gas” is an opinion, but you can also end up in the bass for it. We intuitively understand why, but where is the freedom?
Leaving the criminal law aside, the above statements are not worth arguing about. As with someone who claims that the covid vaccination is mass-killing, or that we are chipped by it. Or with someone who denies that Russia is the aggressor and has started a war against Ukraine and that it has the right to reclaim the looted territories.
Then there are questions that depend on our nature, upbringing or knowledge: If there is a God or not. If a holiday by the sea or in the mountains is better. If it is better to donate to an animal shelter or the homeless, if punk or the Vienna Philharmonic is better, if a stork or a lizard is prettier. If the rain is disgusting or beautiful, if it is necessary to cope with colonialism even in Central European conditions. If Uber, or Bolt, Matuska, or Gott. And so on.
And then there are disputes where both sides have good arguments. When is it useless to argue? When we should understand each other and look for the best solution. I’ve been watching and writing opinions for thirty years, I think I know a little about them. IN rubric Black and white I summarize factually and logically the arguments of both sides for you, the readers of the Journal.
Please write us your opinions in the discussion below the article, or send us observations or stories to the address [email protected]. We are happy to publish them.
