What is Czech-Out (Czexit)

Czech-out is a Czech Republic version of the term Brexit, which entered the lexicon in June of 2016 after the United Kingdom voted to split from the European Union. Other countries have similarly adopted EU exit nicknames, including France (Frexit), Italy (Italexit or Italeave), Austria (Oustria) and Portugal (Departugal).

BREAKING DOWN Czech-Out (Czexit)

Reasons for Leaving the European Union

Across the European Union, mainstream politicians and parties tend to embrace EU unity and reject the notion of splitting. However, fringe parties exist in various countries that advocate to split. Fear is at a high point due to terrorist attacks and threats over the past few years, as many people attribute the success of these attacks to the ease with which immigrants can navigate through the EU once they've entered. Currently, once a person has entered the EU, he or she can travel freely between member countries. Splitting from the EU would allow a country to enforce stricter border policies and control immigration.

Czech Politics

As with mainstream politicians in other European countries, Czech President Milos Zeman rejects the idea of splitting from the European Union. President Zeman has expressed that he would be open to holding a referendum so that the people can vote on the issue, as many Czech citizens favor splitting from the EU and also from NATO. However, the Czech government does not intend to allow the results of this vote to dictate the country's future, so this referendum is unlikely. The government, including Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, believes that membership in the EU and in NATO provides the Czech Republic with security.

Zeman and Sobotka represent two opposing sides of mainstream Czech politics: Zeman's views are conservative, while Sobotka leans liberal. The Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) is generally the ruling party, with Sobotka as its leader, but Zeman's views align with the far-right faction of the CSSD, although he himself does not identify as a party member. The CSSD is closely aligned with the European Parliament and would therefore reject a Czech-out movement.