In a press conference on the morning of 4 December 2025, populist leader Andrej Babiš confirmed that he will place his €4 billion Agrofert conglomerate into an independently-managed trust in order to comply with conflict-of-interest rules before President Petr Pavel asks him to form the next government. While the corporate restructuring dominated headlines, the bigger global-mobility story lies in the policy platform being negotiated by Babiš’s ANO movement with the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and Motorists’ parties.
Draft coalition documents obtained by Czech Radio say the incoming government will “resist mandatory solidarity transfers under the EU Migration Pact” and will demand the right to reinstate internal border controls with Slovakia and Austria "whenever migration pressure rises." The parties also agree to tighten labour-migration quotas, cap family-reunification visas and seek opt-outs from Brussels on the planned EU Blue Card recast. SPD leader Tomio Okamura told reporters that the coalition “will protect Czech jobs first” by raising the minimum-salary thresholds for Employee Cards and restricting lower-skilled recruitment programmes that currently benefit manufacturing employers.
![Babiš Pledges to Shift Business Empire to Trust as New Czech Coalition Signals Harder Line on EU Migration]()
For multinational companies, the proposed changes could slow inbound assignments and complicate regional staffing strategies. Automotive and electronics plants in Moravia—many of which rely on agency workers from Ukraine, Serbia and Mongolia—warn that further quota cuts would exacerbate existing skills shortages. Global HR teams should monitor the final wording of the coalition agreement (expected mid-December) and be prepared for shorter filing windows, higher prevailing-wage requirements and more frequent document checks at Czech consulates.
The coalition’s anti-migration stance may also ripple across the Schengen Area. If Prague joins Vienna in prolonging land-border checks, road freight and business travel between the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia could face additional delays during the first quarter of 2026. On the upside, Babiš reiterated that he would not push for a referendum on EU or NATO membership, easing concerns that a harder line on immigration might foreshadow a broader Eurosceptic turn.
In the immediate term, mobility managers should brief travelling staff on the likelihood of ad-hoc police checks, particularly along the D2 and D52 corridors, and begin contingency planning for longer lead-times on work-permit filings until the new government clarifies its quota allocations for 2026.
Draft coalition documents obtained by Czech Radio say the incoming government will “resist mandatory solidarity transfers under the EU Migration Pact” and will demand the right to reinstate internal border controls with Slovakia and Austria "whenever migration pressure rises." The parties also agree to tighten labour-migration quotas, cap family-reunification visas and seek opt-outs from Brussels on the planned EU Blue Card recast. SPD leader Tomio Okamura told reporters that the coalition “will protect Czech jobs first” by raising the minimum-salary thresholds for Employee Cards and restricting lower-skilled recruitment programmes that currently benefit manufacturing employers.
For multinational companies, the proposed changes could slow inbound assignments and complicate regional staffing strategies. Automotive and electronics plants in Moravia—many of which rely on agency workers from Ukraine, Serbia and Mongolia—warn that further quota cuts would exacerbate existing skills shortages. Global HR teams should monitor the final wording of the coalition agreement (expected mid-December) and be prepared for shorter filing windows, higher prevailing-wage requirements and more frequent document checks at Czech consulates.
The coalition’s anti-migration stance may also ripple across the Schengen Area. If Prague joins Vienna in prolonging land-border checks, road freight and business travel between the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia could face additional delays during the first quarter of 2026. On the upside, Babiš reiterated that he would not push for a referendum on EU or NATO membership, easing concerns that a harder line on immigration might foreshadow a broader Eurosceptic turn.
In the immediate term, mobility managers should brief travelling staff on the likelihood of ad-hoc police checks, particularly along the D2 and D52 corridors, and begin contingency planning for longer lead-times on work-permit filings until the new government clarifies its quota allocations for 2026.
