{"id":7600,"date":"2019-07-24T18:05:16","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T17:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/?p=7600"},"modified":"2019-07-24T18:05:16","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T17:05:16","slug":"europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the European Union changes leadership this year, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis leaves little doubt where his loyalties lie.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban and Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki, whose governments are both in prolonged disputes with Brussels over their control of democratic institutions, are his \u201callies,\u201d the billionaire businessman said in an interview on Monday. They share a staunch refusal to take in Muslim refugees and see eye to eye on the European budget and climate policies, he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have personal relationships and understand each other well,\u201d Babis said in his office in Prague. \u201cTogether we have a bigger influence in the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The continent\u2019s increasingly rebellious east represents one of the key challenges for incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen when she takes up the post in November: how to uphold the EU\u2019s rules on democracy while preventing\u00a0the former communist bloc from going rogue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The nationalist leadership in Poland has been threatened with unprecedented EU penalties over its power grab of the courts while Orban was castigated<\/a> last year in the European Parliament over what he calls his \u201cilliberal democracy.\u201d The Czech Republic and Poland have stood by Hungary, while Orban has said he would use his country\u2019s veto to block any action against Poland.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Babis hopes von der Leyen will manage to bridge the differences within the bloc, not least by avoiding a return to the question of immigration. The smaller members who joined in 2004 at times feel like they are in a \u201csubordinate position,\u201d he said. \u201cShe promised that she won\u2019t divide Europe, because that\u00a0would be unfortunate if we would have\u00a0migration back on the table again.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Indeed, Babis is keen to use other pages from Orban\u2019s playbook, not least as he tries to hold his fragile coalition together and remain in power. Babis sees his Hungarian counterpart, who has consolidated his control over the courts and media, as an experienced politician on a par with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He\u2019s attracted by the policy of social handouts that has helped Orban win three consecutive elections since he returned to power in 2010. The Czech government plans to give aid to families with three children where at least one parent is employed, he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet when it comes to Poland and Hungary\u2019s democratic record<\/a>, Babis sought to distance himself and blamed the media for creating a negative image of his allies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a problem with the rule of law in the Czech Republic,\u201d Babis said. \u201cIf the European Commission has a problem with Poland and Hungary, they\u2019re dealing with that. I don\u2019t need to comment on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Their united front was on display this month when the region helped to torpedo Frans Timmermans, an advocate of sanctions against countries undermining democratic standards, as a candidate for the job as commission president.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Babis has had his own run-ins with the EU, which is investigating him over allegations of a conflict of interest involving his business empire and position of power. He claims the probe is an orchestrated attack by his rivals to drive him out of office and from the top of popularity rankings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI do not have\u00a0conflict of interest,\u201d he said. \u201cThis audit was strange from the very beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This year has been a tough one for Babis on many fronts. He was also the target of the biggest Czech protests<\/a> since the end of communism when 250,000 people demanded his resignation last month, initially over the appointment of a new justice minister.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He also leads a fragile two-party coalition that he\u2019s not certain will last to the end of its term in 2021. Babis said he would try to avoid early elections should his junior partner leave the government because of a dispute about replacing one of its cabinet members.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Social Democrats threatened to quit the minority government unless President Milos Zeman makes their candidate the culture minister. The party called on Babis to ensure the appointment, but the prime minister says he\u2019s done all he could to keep the coalition together.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI have done my best to fulfill the coalition agreement,\u201d Babis said. \u201cI believe that they won\u2019t resign in August, but it\u2019s up to them really.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Via Bloomberg<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the European Union changes leadership this year, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis leaves little doubt where his loyalties lie.   Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban and Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki, whose governments are both in prolonged disputes with Brussels over their control of democratic institutions, are his \u201callies,\u201d the billionaire businessman said in an interview on … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7602,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3],"tags":[15],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nEurope\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg - Prague Business Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg - Prague Business Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the European Union changes leadership this year, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis leaves little doubt where his loyalties lie.   Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban and Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki, whose governments are both in prolonged disputes with Brussels over their control of democratic institutions, are his \u201callies,\u201d the billionaire businessman said in an interview on ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Prague Business Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/praguebizjournal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Atlas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@prague_business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@prague_business\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Atlas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt Atlas\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2f8fdfbdb2594475c8162df8ee336662\"},\"headline\":\"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\"},\"wordCount\":741,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Andrej Babi\u0161\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\",\"name\":\"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg - Prague Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1\",\"width\":460,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/\",\"name\":\"Prague Business Journal\",\"description\":\"News and views from the Czech Republic\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Prague Business Journal\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PBJ-logo-226x125.jpg?fit=361%2C120&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PBJ-logo-226x125.jpg?fit=361%2C120&ssl=1\",\"width\":361,\"height\":120,\"caption\":\"Prague Business Journal\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/praguebizjournal\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/prague_business\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2f8fdfbdb2594475c8162df8ee336662\",\"name\":\"Matt Atlas\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg - Prague Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg - Prague Business Journal","og_description":"As the European Union changes leadership this year, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis leaves little doubt where his loyalties lie.   Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orban and Polish premier Mateusz Morawiecki, whose governments are both in prolonged disputes with Brussels over their control of democratic institutions, are his \u201callies,\u201d the billionaire businessman said in an interview on ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/","og_site_name":"Prague Business Journal","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/praguebizjournal","article_published_time":"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":460,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Matt Atlas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@prague_business","twitter_site":"@prague_business","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt Atlas","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/"},"author":{"name":"Matt Atlas","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2f8fdfbdb2594475c8162df8ee336662"},"headline":"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg","datePublished":"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/"},"wordCount":741,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1","keywords":["Andrej Babi\u0161"],"articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/","url":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/","name":"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg - Prague Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1","datePublished":"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00","dateModified":"2019-07-24T17:05:16+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1","width":460,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/europes-rebels-in-the-east-stick-together-bloomberg\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Europe\u2019s Rebels In The East Stick Together: Bloomberg"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/","name":"Prague Business Journal","description":"News and views from the Czech Republic","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#organization","name":"Prague Business Journal","url":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PBJ-logo-226x125.jpg?fit=361%2C120&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PBJ-logo-226x125.jpg?fit=361%2C120&ssl=1","width":361,"height":120,"caption":"Prague Business Journal"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/praguebizjournal","https:\/\/x.com\/prague_business"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2f8fdfbdb2594475c8162df8ee336662","name":"Matt Atlas"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Andrej-Babis-Viktor-Orban-e1563987711965.jpg?fit=460%2C300&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7600"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praguebusinessjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}