The Czechs like protectionism when it comes to… their market
(B2) The crisis, what a crisis. To hear some Czech politicians, the crisis is with others. And the Czech Republic would be a kind of protected island. Because its leaders, followers of the free market and not of protectionism, have been able to keep an efficient economic model. Not like those countries of old Europe stuck in their old habits.. -:)
Long live state aid... in others. Finally, it is true that if in Prague, we look with disdain on the initiatives taken in France, Spain, Italy to help the automotive industry, we still do not spit on the famous "scrap aid" set up in several European countries. Listening to the Czech media, this scrapping aid would benefit ... Skoda. Faced with the increase in orders on the EU markets, the Czech manufacturer, a subsidiary of Volskwagen, has decided to resume full-time production, especially for small inexpensive cars... Long live the state anyway when it is the other who somehow pays
A well-understood protectionism of the labor market. But the greatest of the Czech contradictions is expressed in the labor market. The liberal ideology finds there a limit and a very strong limit. It is in fact a question of doing everything so that the work in the Czech Republic goes to the Czechs as a priority. And to push the laid-off workers to return home. On a voluntary basis of course. With bonus in support: plane ticket paid and 500 euros in bonuses. And if they are not too tempted, we push them a little. Work permits are not renewed, so they become illegal. And if that's not enough. We send the police to carry out checks - a little massive - and whose objective is dissuasive.
The police in reinforcement to deter. Thus, according to Radio Prague, "thehe police of the Plzeň and Karlovy Vary regions carried out checks on Tuesday, March 3, of 521 foreign nationals - including 281 from countries outside the Schengen area". Mongols, Ukrainians... but also Europeans. If I count correctly, this means that nearly 300 Europeans were checked. And this control is no accident of a somewhat zealous police chief from a somewhat remote region. "In Prague and Central Bohemia the police checked 450 foreigners. These operations are part of an initiative of the Czech government which encourages foreign nationals who have lost their jobs in the Czech Republic because of the economic crisis to return to their respective countries..." specifies our Czech colleague. We are far, very far, from the beautiful principles of freedom, advocated in Brussels by the Czech government. But apparently it works. "The number of foreign workers in the Czech Republic fell by 12 in January. That's just over 000 people." NB: when the Czechs speak of foreign workers, it is all non-Czechs: Europeans included (Slovaks, Poles, Romanians...)...
For the Commission: business as usual. And, with this policy, a little muscular, the European Commission apparently has nothing to say. Vladimir Spidla, the Commissioner for Employment, a (theoretically) Czech socialist, explained it to me simply. These expulsions, contrary to European rules? "But not at all, you are not there Nicolas. I don't see any deportations, these are voluntary returns. People who are at the end of a fixed-term contract choose to return home. The Czechs are not breaking any European rules." Close the ban! The spokesperson for the Commission makes me understand that there are still other more important questions...
