EU migration pact gains Czech support as Babiš government adopts new rules

Nineteen European Union member states, including the Czech Republic, signed a letter to EU Council President Charles Michel and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urging stricter migration policies. The letter stresses the need for democratic decisions on who may enter and remain in EU countries and highlights recent EU adoption of a return regulation aimed at speeding up the deportation of failed asylum seekers and establishing return centres outside the Union.

The Czech government, led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, has formally accepted the EU migration pact despite earlier criticism. The pact tightens measures against illegal migration, introduces a new return directive that can create migrant camps in third countries, and allows the detention of unaccompanied minors only as a last resort. Officials cite a reported 52% drop in illegal migration to the EU over the past two years. While the Czech cabinet supports many provisions, it says it will not fully implement the pact’s “mandatory solidarity” clause, prompting criticism from NGOs who claim the new rules reinforce existing inequalities.