The Czech ANO party launched its EU election campaign on Wednesday, with the fight against the EU Green Deal and the migration pact being among its top priorities, further distancing itself from its European partners in the liberal Renew Europe group.

On Wednesday, ANO kickstarted its EU campaign with the motto: “Czechia, everything for you.” Aside from criticising the new EU’s migration and climate policies, the party is also strongly committed to protecting Czech sovereignty.

“After the European elections, we will change the entire migration pact or abolish it altogether,” said Klára Dostálová, ANO’s lead candidate for the EU elections.

According to her, the pact recently approved by the European Parliament threatens Czech security and culture, and “instead of addressing migration, it encourages it.”

Dostálová also warned against the “green ideology” which took over Europe.

ANO’s election programme clashes with the positions of the liberal EU group Renew, of which it is a member.

According to Renew’s political programme for the 2024 elections, the Green Deal has paved the way for an economically viable transition to a sustainable future. ANO, on the other hand, sees the Green Deal as a threat.

Renew has also welcomed the EU’s new migration deal. In a press release issued after the vote in the European Parliament in April, the EU group said: “The candidates standing in the EU elections who voted against this agreement are those who don’t want changes but surf on people’s misery”.

Renew also referred to its members of the Czech delegation as the current three ANO MEPs who voted against the migration pact.

While the differences between ANO and its liberal European counterparts have previously been reported on, ANO remains part of the EU group.

While it is not yet clear what will happen after the European elections in June, Dostalová said in an interview for Euractiv in March that ANO is still a liberal party “and if Renew can count”, they should be interested in working together in the future.

(Aneta Zachová | Euractiv.cz)

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