In brief

• The European Commission has classified Czechia as a country facing a significant migratory situation, allowing it to seek full or partial exemption from the EU solidarity mechanism.
• Czechia was also newly placed among countries under migratory pressure, which gives it priority access to EU migration support tools.
• Belgium, Germany, Poland and 11 other member states share the same migratory-pressure category.

Commission classification

The European Commission has classified Czechia as a country facing a significant migratory situation, which means Prague can ask for full or partial relief from the solidarity mechanism (Evropská komise zařadila Česko mezi země ohrožené migračním tlakem – Seznam Zprávy) (Česko čelí významné migrační zátěži, podle Komise může žádat o výjimku – Aktuálně.cz). The assessment took into account the large number of people who arrived from Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion, the Commission said in its second annual migration report published on Friday (Migrační tlak řešíte, z další solidarity se můžete vyvázat, řekla Česku komise – iDNES.cz).

New status for 2026

This year the Commission also placed Czechia in the group of countries under migratory pressure. Members of this group get priority access to a permanent set of EU tools for managing migration (Česko patří mezi země ohrožené migrací, uvedla Evropská komise – Deník.cz) (EK: Česko je ohrožené migračním tlakem, může mít výjimku z mechanismu solidarity – Novinky.cz). The Commission said the status rests on a relatively high number of irregular arrivals, unauthorised secondary movements, asylum applications and temporary protection cases granted to people fleeing Russia's aggression against Ukraine.

Other countries in the same group

Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, France, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Finland share the same category. The Commission also flagged the risk that migration could be used as a weapon, which it said could create disproportionate obligations in the coming year.

How the mechanism works

The solidarity mechanism is meant to help member states facing a disproportionate migratory burden. Other countries can contribute by taking in some asylum seekers, providing funding or using other measures, and each state chooses the form of its contribution. Czechia may now decide whether to request an exemption, and the Commission said its situation will be monitored and reviewed if circumstances change.