The Czech parliament has approved a controversial new law to restrict Russians’ access to Czech citizenship. However, opposition parties both on the Left and Right have criticized the move as an unnecessary and unethical form of collective punishment.
The measure will require Russian nationals to renounce their old citizenship before being able to apply for citizenship in the Czech Republic, essentially becoming stateless persons for the time of the process.
Critics say this is not only ineffective, unfair, and discriminatory for those who have already decided to leave Russia and settle in the Czech Republic, but also puts an unnecessary administrative burden on applicants, as gaining the approval of Russian authorities may be difficult or even impossible for many.
However, the center-right ODS-STAN-led government believes the national security threat posed by Russia is more than enough to justify the move.
“According to reports from all our intelligence services, the security situation in the Czech Republic is changing. Russian activities represent a clear threat. Addressing these risks is not discrimination, but a responsibility,” Interior Minister Vít Rakušan (STAN) said.
Still, the law was supported by only the EPP and ECR-affiliated government parties, while the opposition, including the leftist Pirates who recently left the ruling coalition, voted against it.
“Today I could not support a ban on all people of Russian origin, including those who actively oppose Putin, who have lived here for over 10 years, who work and contribute to society, from applying for Czech citizenship,” said Jakub Michálek, an MP of the Czech Pirate Party (Greens/EFA).
“The enemy is the Putin regime,” not the Russian people, he added.
Other than disincentivizing Russians from moving to the Czech Republic in the first place, it is unclear how this relatively minor change would help address real security challenges. Non-EU citizens already have to live and work for at least five years in the Czech Republic to apply, not to mention a whole host of other requirements.
“It will not affect the number of Russian spies and will not change the fact that the Czech Republic has the highest number of companies owned by Russians. Nor will it fix the fact that the Czech Republic has a large space for money laundering schemes,” Pavel Havlicek, an analyst at the Association of International Affairs explained.
Havlicek also noted that while actual spies working for state security agencies can easily produce papers that show they had renounced their citizenship, it would be impossible for known anti-regime activists to get approval from the state.
The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate but it is expected to pass without issues.
