President Zeman: Czech Republic should stand up for Hungary

The Czech Republic should stand up for Hungary in its dispute with the European Union, not only because it is a close ally, but because the Czechs themselves could one day find themselves in a similar position, President Zeman said in an interview for commercial TV Barrandov on Thursday.

The Czech head of state criticized the European Parliament’s decision to launch a procedure against Hungary over its alleged breach of core EU values.

Mr. Zeman said Hungary was defending itself against pressures to conform and the other countries of the Visegrad group – the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia – could find themselves in a similar situation in the future.