At the same time, MPs made it more difficult for Russian citizens to obtain Czech citizenship.
On Wednesday, Czech MPs approved the seventh version of the Lex Ukraina law, which will allow further extension of temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees and also introduces a special long-term residence. In addition, it makes it more difficult for Russians to obtain Czech citizenship, and a new criminal offense of unauthorized activity for a foreign power should be created. According to a report from the Novinky.cz server, the TASR reporter informs.
There are currently approximately 380,000 Ukrainians in the Czech Republic who fled the Russian aggression. If they decide to stay in the Czech Republic, have a job and do not need temporary protection, they can apply for a special long-term residence permit. After five years, they could apply for a permanent one.
The House of Representatives supplemented the government’s version of the amendment with amendments criticized by the opposition. One of them introduces a rule according to which Russians must renounce their citizenship if they want to acquire Czech citizenship. According to the presenters, this should contribute to preventing Russian influence in the Czech Republic. The opposition considers it discriminatory and the application of the principle of collective guilt.
The second draft introduces the criminal offense of unauthorized activity for a foreign power and will make it possible to punish activity for the benefit of a foreign state with the intention of damaging or endangering the important interests of the Czech Republic. This is, for example, the collection of sensitive, even if not classified, information or the tracking of persons by intelligence means. The opposition also criticized that. According to Andrej Babiš (ANO), the wording of the crime is unclear, which leaves room for abuse.
The amendment should be effective from the beginning of February next year, it was originally supposed to be from January 1. However, the deputies discussed the amendment for many hours and during the debate they argued about its form and especially about the amendments. Deputies of the opposition movements ANO and SPD called them unrelated stickers. They recalled the recent position of the Constitutional Court, which ruled against unrelated stickers to laws. However, according to the coalition, these proposals are materially related in the content of the amendment.
