Czech president calls for referendum on Czechout of EU, Nato

Czech President Milos Zeman has called for a referendum on exiting the European Union and NATO, only a week after Britain voted to leave the EU, public radio said Friday.

Zeman insisted he himself would vote against leaving when he spoke with voters in a small Czech town on Thursday, Czech Radio said on its website.

“I disagree with those who are in favour of leaving the EU,” the 71-year-old outspoken leftist said.

“But I’ll do my best to have a referendum so they can express themselves. The same goes for a NATO exit.”

Forty-nine percent of Czechs support staying in the EU, while 34 percent are in favour of leaving, according to a June poll by the Median agency.

The Czech Republic, which joined the NATO Western defence alliance in 1999 and the EU in 2004, does not have a referendum law.

But in March, parliament began debating a referendum bill that would need backing from 120 of 200 lawmakers to pass.

The bill would give the green light to referendum proposals backed by at least 250,000 signatures in the country of 10.5 million people.

However it would not allow voters to decide on issues — such as an EU exit — that would lead the country to breach international obligations.

source: AFP