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Czech Republic Embassy, London British Embassy, Prague Ambassador Miroslav Škaloud Ambassador Jan Thompson | ||
Czech Republic-United Kingdom relations are foreign relations between the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom. The Czech Republic has an embassy in London and 3 honorary consulates (in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Newtownards). The United Kingdom has an embassy in Prague.
Contents
Both states are members of the European Union and NATO.
History
The United Kingdom and the Czech Republic have historically had lukewarm, although not hostile, relations largely due to Britain's lack of involvement in continental Europe beyond France and Czechoslovakia being caught in between the mostly capitalist Allied countries and the Soviet Union. Initially the two nations were allies and trading partners during the years prior to World War II. Ties were somewhat strained when Nazi Germany annexed much of the country under the terms of the Munich Agreement (1938), which many Czechs viewed as the "Munich betrayal" (Czech: Mnichovská zrada). Over 500 Czech pilots, most of whom had fled the Nazi occupation to Allied countries, served with Royal Air Force and gained distinction during the Battle of Britain for their bravery and skills. One such pilot was Josef František, a Distinguished Flying Medal recipient and one of only two non-Commonwealth nationals among "The Few" who were the top ten leading aces. Britain was one of several countries Czech Jewish refugees fled to, most notably through Kindertransport.
During the Cold War, relations again worsened as Britain was an ally of the United States, the "enemy" of the Soviet Union, making Britain and the Socialist-ruled Czechoslovakia "enemies" by association. Since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, economic relations have largely normalised, although neither countries are priority allies for the other.
Trade
Bilateral trade was worth £6.7 billion in 2011.
Migration
The 2001 UK Census recorded 12,220 Czech-born people resident in the UK. With the accession of the Czech Republic to the European Union in May 2004, Czechs gained the right to live and work elsewhere in the EU, and substantial numbers moved to the UK for work, although there has been substantial return migration. The Office for National Statistics estimates that, as of October 2010 to September 2011, 24,000 to 40,000 Czech-born people were living in the UK.
State visits
Queen Elizabeth II paid a state visit to the Czech Republic in March 1996, she visited Prague and Brno and was received by President Václav Havel.