Press Advisories

9. 6. 201718:05

Prime Minister Sobotka: My congratulations to Prime Minister Theresa May on her victory in the parliamentary elections

My congratulations to Prime Minister Theresa May for her victory in yesterday’s parliamentary elections. I firmly believe that she will quickly establish a government which will have a clear mandate to negotiate Great Britain’s departure from the EU and lead the country through this process. In the current situation, I regard it as crucial that political stability be re-established in Great Britain as soon as possible. This is key to strengthening security cooperation in Europe, to enable it to better focus on combating the threats it is currently facing.

The Conservative Party’s loss of its parliamentary majority obviously shows that British citizens continue to have doubts about the future relations between their country and the European Union and particularly whether a “hard Brexit” is the right path. The snap election, which was also intended to confirm Great Britain’s position vis-à-vis the EU, has tended more to reveal the country’s lack of unity on this crucial issue. Even one year after the referendum it is still not clear what position Great Britain will adopt when negotiating Brexit with the EU27. The result of the election could be a strong incentive for a consensual assessment of the direction Great Britain will take. This is why I welcome the fact that political parties that were not associated with Brexit, including Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, made gains in the election. In any event, we need to start the negotiations as early as possible.

The Czech Republic has strong ties with Great Britain, whether through business investment or culture and relations between our compatriots. We still remember the part Czechs played in defending Britain during the Second World War and today we are allies in NATO. There is therefore every reason for our close partnership to continue with the government that emerges from these elections.

Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister, CR