Right from the outset the EU was designed on a principle of inequality with Western European member states exploiting Central and Eastern Europe as their 'colony,' Vladimira Vitova, the chairwoman of the Alliance of National Forces movement, told Sputnik Czech Republic.
"From the very beginning the EU was arranged in such a way that Central and Eastern Europe only serve as a colony for the West and ensure its enrichment," Vitova told Sputnik. "Otherwise, our salaries wouldn't have been 3-4 times lower than, for example, those in Germany (and this is not related to labor productivity)."
The Alliance of National Forces, a Czech political platform, which brought together a number of minor patriotic parties, movements and organizations, is looking forward to the upcoming Czech legislative election. Those who support the movement's agenda are running for Parliament for the Czech National Social Party, one of the oldest in the country.
"Some of the best economists of our party confirm that after withdrawing from the EU the economy of the country will not collapse, quite the contrary — it will start to grow!" Vitova underscored.
The politician specified that judging from the publicly available data provided by the government, the membership of the Czech Republic in the EU is not profitable for the country, as the republic donates more than it receives from Brussels.
Vitova remarked that contrary to popular belief that a vast number of Czech political parties are advocating the country's exit from the European bloc, facts on the ground prove otherwise.
According to Vitova, the upcoming legislative elections are far more important than referenda, since they could have provided the Czech electorate with a unique opportunity to voice their stance on the republic's EU membership.
"The same goes for the issue of leaving NATO — in regard to this the parties' programs seem to be even more vague," Vitova said, bemoaning the fact that many Czech voters do not even read the programs of the participants of the 2017 legislative election.
However, although the ruling Social Democratic Party is not calling for leaving the EU, it has repeatedly stressed that there is no need for NATO military bases in the country.
Speaking to Sputnik on August 25, the Czech ambassador to Russia, Vladimir Remek, signaled that Prague "continues to hold the view that there is no need for any military bases, including American ones."
Vitova emphasized that although the Alliance of National Forces has no access to radio and television broadcasting, there is public demand for the movement's agenda.
The politician pointed out that according to the movement's estimates, with the participation of 7 million eligible voters, the Czech National Social Party could receive 9.07 percent of the votes and 19 seats in Parliament.
The 2017 Czech legislative election is scheduled to be held in the Czech Republic on October 20-21, with 31 Czech political parties running for Parliament. During the vote all 200 members of the Chamber of Deputies — the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of the Czech Republic — will be elected while the leader of the ruling coalition will become the country's prime minister.
