ANO MEPs absent from meeting with PM in protest at comments on new Patriots for Europe group

MEPs from Andrej Babiš's opposition ANO party did not attend a meeting with Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Friday because of his earlier statement that the new Patriots for Europe parliamentary group, of which ANO is a member, serves Russian interests, a spokesperson for the party said.

Mr Fiala commented on the matter on social media site X, saying that while MEPs from almost all elected parties across the political spectrum attended the meeting at the prime minister's official Prague residence, ANO MEPs did not. He wrote that Andrej Babiš had probably forbidden them from attending, which showed that the party was clearly not concerned with the interests of the Czech Republic at all.

The prime minister had said on Monday that the new European Parliament group Patriots for Europe, of which several far-right and populist parties from different European countries are now members, serves the interests of Russia whether wittingly or unwittingly, and thus threatens the freedom and security of Europe. Mr. Babiš hit back, saying that the prime minister is a pathological liar.