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Less than half of Czechs aged under 35 have a positive view of the European Union, according to research published by the Bratislava-based Globsec institute. The survey found that young Czechs were more sceptical regarding the EU than their peers in the other Visegrad Four countries, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

Some 43.8 percent of Czech 18- to 24-year-old survey respondents said they regarded the EU as a good thing. Among those aged 25 to 34 the figure was 41.3 percent.

If there were a referendum on whether to remain in the EU, just under half of young Czechs would vote for staying. A quarter of those surveyed said they would opt for leaving.

The Czech Republic gained CZK 55.4 billion more from the European Union budget than it paid in last year. The figure stems from data released by the Czech Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

In 2016 the country made a net gain of CZK 80.6 billion from the EU’s coffers. Ministry officials said this was because that year and in 2015 there was a cluster of payments from the 2007 to 2013 budget period.

The Czech Republic has been a net beneficiary in terms of funding every year since it joined the EU in 2004.

The speaker of the lower house of Parliament Radek Vondráček paid his first working visit to Brussels on Tuesday, emphasizing the Czech Republic’s pro-EU orientation in talks with EC President Jean-Claude Juncker. Vondráček said it was essential to assure the European Commission of the governing ANO party’s commitment to the EU.

The visit came just a day after Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš held one-on-one talks behind closed doors with the EC president on migrant-related issues and the EC’s decision to sue the Czech Republic for its reluctance to accept asylum seekers. He stressed the importance of communicating the Czech stand and seeking allies among EU member states.

Outgoing Czech prime minister and ANO leader Andrej Babiš is due to take part in a series of meetings with top European Union officials on Monday afternoon and into the evening.

One of the meetings will be with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. The talks should focus on the future shape of the EU, including the make-up of various funds and the overall budget, as well as the thorny issue of migration.

The Czech Republic and other Central European countries have taken a stand against quotas aimed at distributing immigrants who mostly arrived in Italy and Greece.

Attending the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday, outgoing Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, outlined his vision of a strong and united EU that would successfully preserve and develop what it had already achieved. Mr. Babiš is the first Czech top political leader to attend the forum in 18 years.

The heads of government of the Visegrad Group are holding a summit in Budapest on Friday. The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland are debating the establishment of a regional development bank, European issues and bilateral cooperation.

Prague has decided not to sign up to a legal appeal against air pollution limits approved by the European Union in 2017. The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade had argued that the country should join Poland in opposing the curbs, but the cabinet decided otherwise on Wednesday.

In his Christmas message to the nation, President Miloš Zeman highlighted the country’s economic successes, telling Czechs they had much to be proud of. As regards the country’s political future, Miloš Zeman ruled out early elections, telling politicians they would have to play the cards they had been dealt in the elections.

The European Commission has called on the Czech Republic to exclude expenditures from the controversial Stork’s Nest project from an EU programme for the Central Bohemia region. The Czech Ministry of Finance says it will decide on the matter within two months. However, the commission said on Friday that the Czech Republic would not be seeking the sum in question from the EU. This would mean that the Czech state would end up paying the CZK 50 million.

Eleven people were charged with the abuse of EU funds in connection with the Stork’s Nest farm and hotel complex. They include now-prime minister Andrej Babiš and his senior ANO colleague Jaroslav Faltýnek.

The pair have parliamentary immunity after being elected in October and the Czech lower house is to decide on whether to allow them to face trial in connection with the matter. They deny any wrongdoing.

Europe’s leading anti-immigration parties gathered in Prague at the weekend for a conference aimed at coordinating their policies and rallying anti-EU, anti-immigration forces on the continent. On their way into the heavily fortified hotel on the outskirts of Prague they were booed by hundreds of demonstrators chanting “shame” and “NO to fascism, populism and xenophobia”.