Czech Republic to "do utmost" for Britain to remain in EU: PM

After meeting with his British counterpart David Cameron on Friday here, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said that the Czech Republic is ready to do its utmost for Britain to remain in the European Union.

Sobotka said that Britain's remaining in the European Union (EU) will keep it strong and the Czech Republic is ready to further discuss on proposals of Britain.

Czech President Milos Zeman said he fully supports the reform efforts of British Prime Minister David Cameron.

However, Zeman said he believes it would be especially hard to promote the subsidiarity principle, or that maintaining decision-making processes at the national level. At the same time, Zeman warned that promoting changes in the functioning of the EU will be a very difficult struggle against EU bureaucrats.

Cameron is trying to negotiate with the EU countries about the terms of reforms on four basic areas -- competitiveness, sovereignty, free movement of people and an equal position of member states. Cameron believes that the agreement between the EU and Britain will be reached at the European Council summit in February. Britain is heading for a referendum on its EU membership.

For the Czech Republic, it is no big problem to accept three of the Cameron-presented demands, but it rejects the idea of an unequal approach to granting welfare benefits. One of the proposals is counting on the fact that only people who have lived in Britain for at least four years would be eligible for certain welfare benefits. Sobotka said the Czech Republic will not agree with any approach that would discriminate against its citizens.

Sobotka believes that the negotiations should be able to reach a compromise that will enable British citizens to vote for staying in the EU. The British prime minister expressed the same conviction.

Cameron promised to voters that the referendum on Britain's EU membership will be held by the end of 2017. Endit