Czech president says EU should not interfere in internal affairs of member states

Czech President Miloš Zeman has criticized the EU for trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the Visegrad Group states.

Speaking at the close of a two-day summit of the presidents of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in the High Tatras on Friday, President Zeman said this alienated the countries in question and led to new divides in Europe.

Slovak President Andrej Kiska, who hosted the summit of V4 presidents, said individual EU member states should listen to each other more and work towards mutual understanding, since each of them has its history, its problems and in many respects, also a different view of the EU.

He stressed that in the face of differences, the Visegrad Group heads of state should be more vocal in stating their allegiance to the EU and all members should work to prevent a new division of Europe into East and West.