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The European Commission is due to unveil its long term proposal about how big EU funds should be, where they are directed, and which countries will turn out to be the biggest beneficiaries and paymasters. All indications are that dramatic changes are in the pipeline, something that the Czech Republic appears to have reservations about.

Though long based in Wales, where he teaches at the Cardiff School of Law and Politics, Professor Jiří Přibáň is a regular commentator on politics in his native Czech Republic. Last week I discussed the rise of populism, the chances of a vote on leaving the EU and the outlook for Czech liberals with the sociologist and theorist of law and constitutionalism. But I first asked Jiří Přibáň how Andrej Babiš’s ANO had, in little over five years, succeeded in becoming the dominant force in Czech politics.

The newly-appointed Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini held talks with Czech top officials in Prague on Wednesday on what was his first foreign trip since taking office. Twenty-five years after splitting up, the two neighbor states are cooperating closely to defend their national interests and boost their position in the EU.

Almost 80 percent of locally-based companies are disturbed by a recent debate in the Czech Republic about a referendum on leaving the European Union, suggests a new survey. And over a quarter of firms would consider upping sticks if what has been dubbed Czexit were to actually take place, the study indicates.

Attending an informal EU summit on financing post-Brexit on Friday, Czech Prime Andrej Babiš said his country wanted to be able to decide where to channel the money it was granted from EU cohesion funds.

Mr. Babiš said that while it was understandable that certain conditions would have to be met, individual states themselves should be allowed to decide on their given priorities, particularly since the money available would be significantly reduced in the coming years and the difference between contributions and subsidies would diminish.

As regards the method of selecting a new Commission president, Mr. Babiš said a new head of the European Commission should be chosen by national presidents and prime ministers and not be dictated by who wins European Parliament elections. The current system in place means that the lead party candidate from European Parliament elections are effectively shoehorned into the job. That was the case with current incumbent Jean-Claude Juncker with national governments largely left to rubber stamp a fait accompli.

Amid recent heightened talk about the possibilities a Czech exit from the European Union or a referendum about it, a survey of five Central Europe countries has sought to gauge how positive local populations are towards the European concept.

Czech are the biggest Eurosceptics in Central Europe, suggests a survey carried out by the think tank Europeum, which was presented on Wednesday.

According to the survey, 54 percent of Czechs would vote for staying in the EU, while 34 would vote against. Young people and pensioners are among the biggest supporters of Czech EU membership, while most Eurosceptics can be found in the age group from 36 to 50 years of age.

Both the Czech prime minister and president have stressed that membership of the European Union and NATO are not up for discussion. The comments follow the resurgence of concerns about so-called ‘Czexit’ as party negotiations about forming a stable government continue.

Eastern European countries in the European Union who are net recipients of EU funds, should count on receiving less from the EU budget in the future, Austria’s Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has said. He made the statement in an interview for Austrian daily Der Standard.

The chancellor said that the Visegard Four’s view was at variance with Austria’s when it came to the EU’s budget plans. The V4 is made up of Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Kurz told the daily that the Austrian government saw eye-to-eye with the V4 on other topics, such as the rigorous protection of the EU’s external borders to clamp down on illegal migration.

Czech Foreign Minister Martin Stropnický welcomed his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijarto in Prague on Thursday for talks focusing on European issues, the Visegrad Group and bilateral cooperation. It was their first meeting since minister Stropnický took up his post in the new government.