“We have to end the welcoming culture, people want security.” Vondra on migration and Ukraine

The guest of the pre-election special Echo Pavel Štrunce was MEP and leader of the Together for European elections coalition Alexandr Vondra (ODS). “We have to end the welcoming culture, we must not welcome in Europe absolutely everyone who wants to improve themselves a little. Uncontrolled migration, mainly from the regions of the Near and Middle East and North Africa, brings people who are often unintegrable,” says Vondra, emphasizing in the interview his concerns about uncontrolled migration and its effect on security and social cohesion in Europe.

According to him, people in Europe want security and this is also a topic that will be prominent in the election campaign. “If we do not take the security of Europe seriously, it can break the Union as such. Europe has suddenly found itself in a situation where the Americans innovate, the Chinese produce and we seem to have to pay for everything. A politician must reflect people’s fears and must offer some solutions to eliminate that fear,” adds Vondra and claims that fear as an election campaign tool is bad: “Fear is a bad adviser, that’s such a nice Czech saying, fear can’t be a motive our actions or even to spread fear as the goal of our activities. No way.”

Vondra claims that the fact that the Czech government abstained from voting on the migration pact signals disagreement with the final form of the pact: “I understand it to mean that the coalition of five parties did not agree. It is the fault of the Austrian minister, who first agreed but did not realize He adds that although the Czech government has shown its disapproval by voting, the final impact of the pact will depend on the majority decision of the EU: “But it is only a demonstrative act, because it does not change anything in the matter itself. That is a matter subject to a majority vote.”