Next Czech PM warns EU over migration policy

Andrej Babiš says Brussels’ actions will fuel the rise of populists.

The Czech Republic’s Prime Minister-designate Andrej Babiš fired back at the European Union over its decision to sue the country for not complying with the bloc’s migration policies.

In an interview published Saturday by the Pravo newspaper, Babiš said the EU’s push to force his country to accept asylum-seekers would only fuel the rise of extremist parties.

“The (European) Commission can withdraw the charge at any moment. We have to negotiate on this and to offer different models, like guarding the borders or help to other countries. But we don’t want any refugees,” Babiš said, according to Reuters.

The Commission said Thursday it would take Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to the European Court of Justice over their refusal to take in asylum seekers.

The Commission also took legal proceedings over Hungary’s asylum law to the next step, by issuing a formal request for Budapest to comply with EU rules. It said Budapest’s response to a Commission letter expressing concerns about the law was “found to be unsatisfactory as it failed to address the majority of the concerns.”