Prague, Nov 30 (CTK) – The European Union must not be divided into geographic zones, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and French President Francois Hollande agreed on Wednesday and added that the member countries must keep together.
They both took a positive stance on joint European defence and on cooperation in the protection of the Union’s outer border.
Sobotka called on French firms investing in the Czech Republic to raise the wages of their Czech employees. He said this will help close the gap in living standards in the EU.
Sobotka said French firms are the fifth biggest investor in the country.
“The Czech Republic is interested in promoting cooperation between the Visegrad Four (V4) and countries such as France which were founders of the EU.
The Visegrad Four is comprised of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
Hollande said the EU countries may take different stances, but they must fight for a single vision of Europe.
He said European politicians must try to raise the Europeans’ trust in the EU.
Sobotka and Hollande came out in favour of joint European defence, which would contribute to a better protection of the EU outer border.
This will also promote the struggle against terrorism which can launch an attack anywhere, Hollande said.
Both Hollande and Sobotka pointed out the long tradition of Czech-French relations.
France was the first country to recognise the independent Czechoslovakia in 1918.
Sobotka said that is why the Czech Republic is interested in France participating in the celebrations of the Czechoslovak state’s centenary in 2018.
