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The outcome of Slovakia’s general elections over the weekend, which left the established parties badly weakened and opened the door to several newcomers including a far-right party, has evoked concern in the Czech Republic. Politicians in Prague point out that the fragmented post-election scene will make it hard, if not impossible, to form a stable government.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka hailed as positive the wording of an EU communique indicating the EU would declare the Balkan route “now closed” for migrants, suggesting the move vindicated the Visegrad 4 which had pushed strongly for the step as a so-called plan B. Germany has been against. The EU is pressing Turkey to take back migrants; the Czech Republic, meanwhile, is also in favour of increased measures against human smuggling in the Aegean. On Monday, Mr Sobotka indicated that greater cooperation on the part of Turkey was needed also within NATO; he expressed the hope that Turkey’s prime minister would send a positive signal and that NATO naval operations would go smoothly.

The Czech Republic is facing a major problem due to the fact that some environment assessments for major construction projects are up to 20 years old with most of the projects themselves still not far from the drawing board. The European Commission has been threatening to turn off the flow of billions of crowns for projects but a compromise for some now looks like it is taking shape.

In a resolution passed on Thursday the Czech Senate called on President Miloš Zeman to show greater restraint in his statements and actions so as not to divide society and harm the country’s image abroad. The president, whose outspoken views often clash with the government’s policy line, reminded the upper chamber that he had been elected by the people and would do as he sees fit.

Newly released Eurostat figures for 2014 suggest that Prague is the ninth richest region of all EU member states. According to the figures, which measure per capita GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity, Prague’s GDP stands at 173 percent of the EU average. London ranks number one in Europe at more than three times the EU average, followed by Luxembourg and Brussels. The entire Czech Republic is ranked at around 75 percent of the EU average.

Any proposals for the Czech Republic to potentially leave the EU were described by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka as "senseless, harmful and dangerous" on Wednesday. The prime minister and Social Democrat chairman also said EU membership was a "guarantee" of national prosperity and security, which had aided improvement of Czech society in the post-communist period. The prime minister was reacting to the debate surrounding the Brexit – a possible departure of Great Britain from the EU - if the British vote to leave in a referendum on June 23. Mr Sobotka said current debate on the Brexit would sooner or later be seized upon by extremist groups in the Czech Republic and other EU member states.

If the UK leaves the European Union there will be a similar debate in the Czech Republic in a couple of years, Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said on Tuesday. He warned against Czechs quitting the bloc, which he said would leave the Czech Republic once again in Russia’s sphere of influence; that would be an absolute negation of developments in this country since 1989, he said. British voters are due to go to the polls in a referendum on whether to remain in the EU in June.

A total of 98 transport construction projects in the Czech Republic worth 130 billion crowns in total face problems in drawing EU subsidies, according to the governor of South Moravia Michal Hašek. Previously officials said 64 construction projects worth 90 billion were endangered. The EU requires new Environmental Impact Assessment studies (EIA) for these projects, which will delay their construction and the drawing of EU subsidies. The Czech Republic is negotiating a special regime for the projects in question with the European Commission. In case the talks fail, Hašek has proposed an alternative solution in drawing subsidies for regional rail and road projects for which EIA is not required.

ANO leader and minister of finance Andrej Babiš has said future hotspots to process immigrants seeking refuge in the European Union should be sited outside Europe. Babiš made his comments before a meeting with the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte in the Hague on Thursday. The Czech minister pinpointed Turkey as the prime location for a sort of European Ellis island, a reference to the historical US immigration site outside New York. The Czech minister said operating such sites should be the responsibility of the EU adding that Greece and Italy had clearly failed in their responsibility to police the common Schengen area frontier. If the hotspots fail then a wall, such as that between the US and Mexico, might be an option, Babiš added.

Minister of Defence Martin Stropnický has said that the Visegrad four regional grouping should consider sending a rotating contingent of troops to the Baltic States for training with local forces. The minister made the suggesting during an ongoing two-day ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The idea would in part answer the Baltic States’ repeated demands for a stepped up military presence from its allies given the increased fears and tension with neighbour Russia.