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Czech politicians have missed Friday’s deadline on passing a controversial EU amendment to its directive on the control of the acquisition and possession of weapons. The unpopular amendment has met with wide criticism from gun owners across Europe, many of whom see it as too restrictive and even counterproductive.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (Ano) said Thursday that the European Parliament was wrong to try to sanction Hungary and his government “stands behind” Viktor Orban, whom he called an “ally”.

Mr Babiš also said he would take up the issue with Ano party members who voted in favour of launching the so-called Article 7 process against Hungary.

It total 448 MEPs, including 21 Czechs, voted in favour of triggering the sanctions procedure over Orban’s challenge to EU rules and values on media freedom, migration and rule of law dating back several years. Four MEPs elected on the Ano ticket voted for the sanctions – Pavel Telička and Petr Ježek, who are no longer in the party; and Dita Chrazanová and Martina Dlabajová.

Mr Babiš told journalists the move only served to divide Europe and that MEPs should be focusing on issues such as Brexit.

The European Union needs unity in its foreign and trade policy, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš told the German daily Bild.

The Czech prime minister said the trade dispute with US President Donald Trump showed how badly Europe needed to stand together and act in unity. He said Brexit was bad in every way for Europe and Brussels must prevent further departures from the bloc.

As regards the Czech Republic, Babiš said the country’s departure from the EU would be a disaster.

On the domestic front, the Czech prime minister rejected the idea that the Communists, who supported the minority government of ANO and the Social Democrats, had acquired significant influence on national decision-making.

The Czech minister of agriculture, Moiroslav Toman, is set to meet with European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan in Brussels on Monday. One of the topics on their agenda will bet EU’s plan to cut direct subsidies to farmers.

Under the planned EU’s budget for 2021-2027, farmers would receive around 232 billion euros in direct support, which represents a drop of more than 30 billion euros from the current seven-year budget.

According to the Czech Agrarian Chamber, Czech farmers would receive around 4.1 percent less than in the previous seven-year period.

The Czech Republic will not manage to introduce a European Union directive tightening gun controls by the deadline of 14 September, the speaker of the lower house, Radek Vondráček, said on Thursday. A number of Czech agencies had objections to a draft government decree meant to implement the directive into Czech law. These must now be dealt with by Ministry of the Interior.

The European Parliament passed the directive, aimed at preventing terrorists getting their hands on arms, in spring last year. A number of Czech politicians objected to the provision as it would affect around 300,000 holders of gun licenses in this country.

The Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, held talks with his Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, in Rome on Tuesday. The pair discussed the protection of the European Union’s external borders, cooperation with third countries and migrant return policies, the Czech Office of the Government said.

Mr. Babiš and his host also spoke about the European Union’s relations with Russia and the US, as well as bilateral cooperation.

In July the Czech leader agreed to visit Rome after Mr. Conte sent an open letter in response to Mr. Babiš’s refusal of an Italian request to take in 450 migrants.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has said that to bring a halt to illegal migration a comprehensive action plan for the entire European Union is needed – and the Czech Republic is ready to prepare just such a proposal. To stem the tide, he has even floated the idea of the protection of EU borders being transferred to the Nato level.

At a meeting of Czech ambassadors in Prague on Monday, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stressed the importance of being a reliable and active partner in the EU and NATO. At the same time the head of government defended the country’s stance on migration and its decision not to join the Eurozone in the foreseeable future.

The Czech prime minister, Andrej Babiš, says he does not want to accept “even one migrant”. Speaking at an annual meeting of the country’s top diplomats in Prague on Monday, he proposed a “Marshall Plan” for Africa that would encourage would-be migrants to remain in their country of origin.

Mr. Babiš called for a common European Union approach to the issue of migration but again rejected a policy of sharing out refugees among member states. He said the EU should focus more on ensuring the continent’s security.

The prime minister also said that anybody speaking about a possible Czech departure from the EU was threatening the country’s future and pointed to the fact that 83 percent of the Czech Republic’s exports were to other EU states.

The Czech Republic has rejected Italy’s request for EU members to share out some 450 asylum seekers rescued at sea. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said Italy’s decision to admit more migrants went against the agreement reached at the last EU summit and stressed that Europe must send out a clear signal that its doors were closed to further asylum seekers.