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Czech Prime Minister reported saying that Eu’s rotating Council presidency is nothing more than ‘blathering with sandwiches’

cde.news desk · 1 min read
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epa07377521 Andrej Babis, the Czech Republic's Prime Minister and Slovak-born billionaire, attends the convention of the ANO ('Yes') political movement, in Prague, Czech Republic, 17 February 2019. Babis during the convention was re-elected leader of the ANO movement. EPA-EFE/MARTIN DIVISEK

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš suggested scrapping his country’s turn with the EU’s rotating Council presidency because it is a waste of money and nothing more than “blathering with sandwiches,” according to local media.

Politico refers to a report by the daily Deník N which said that Babiš told Cabinet ministers in a meeting on Monday that the country’s six months running the presidency of the Council of the EU, in the second half of 2022, would cost a lot of money and bring no benefits, and therefore he suggested they should skip their turn.

Babiš later denied that he suggested giving up the presidency and said that he only complained about the cost. He told Deník N that the Czech Republic will be taking on the presidency as scheduled.

The last time the Czechs held the rotating presidency was in 2009, when it cost an estimated 3.5 billion koruna (€135 million), according to the newspaper report.

Via Politico and Denik N

Topics Andrej BabisCzech RepublicEuropean Council