#CzechRepublic: Old member states would lose most on shortening of cohesion

According to surveys, the Czechs take the most disapproving stance on European integration in the European Union. However, this resistance to the EU is not justified. The figures are more than clear. In ten years of Czech membership of the EU, the Czech Republic gained CZK 333 billion more than paid to the European budget, writes Tomáš Zdechovský MEP.

Moreover, according to information from the Czech Republic ministry of finance, at the end of 2015 the overall positive balance increased to CZK 561.2bn from 2004.

Obviously, the Czech Republic definitely profited on its accession to the EU and the current standard of living in the Czech Republic is one of the many proofs of this. It is the so-called cohesion policy that contributes most, and the cohesion policy has been recently wrongfully criticized by the old member states.

The Czech membership in the EU is beneficial not only to the Czech Republic but to the old states as well. Companies from the old member states also massively profit from the free market in Central Europe. It is not true that the Czech Republic only acts as a parasite on the EU and does not bring any benefit to other member states. The whole EU profits from Czech membership, because the accession of new states means new opportunities for business and investment.

The statistics of the Czech National Bank and Eurostat definitely show that since the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU, up to the third quarter of 2015 foreign owners gained CZK 2,003.9bn from the Czech Republic as profit from foreign investments. This amount significantly exceeds all grants from the EU in the past 26 years. And it is obvious that the majority of the foreign owners come from the EU's old member states.

The EU enlargement in 2004 meant new investment occasions for companies from the old states. Yes, it is true that the Czech Republic along with other mainly post-communist states is advantaged in grants, but it is not possible to ignore the fact that the old states, or rather their companies, benefit from the new members even more.

Some politicians from the old member states of the European Union call for the reduction of the cohesion money because the Czech Republic supposedly only accepts European money, but do not want to accept immigrants. I find these threats absurd. It is primarily the old member states who would deprive themselves of the multiple effects of their investments. But if these states want to reduce their profits this way, it is their concern. But I am afraid that the whole of Europe would lose.

Tomáš Zdechovský MEP is a member of the Budgetary Control Committee in the European Parliament.

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