Following the European elections, Czech President Petr Pavel has expressed concern about the rise of parties on the fringes of the political spectrum in parts of the continent.
"What we cannot ignore is the rise in support for extremists in Europe," the former general wrote on Monday on the social media platform X. "We must recognize these voices and think about why this is happening."
He expressed the hope that the basic orientation of the European Union in terms of security and democracy would nevertheless remain unchanged.
Pavel did not name any specific parties.
In France, the right-wing nationalist National Rally emerged as the clear winner of the European elections. According to the preliminary official results, it received 31.36% of the vote.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved its best result to date in a nationwide vote with 15.9% and became the second strongest party.
In the Czech Republic, an alliance of the right-wing protest Oath party and the Motorists for Themselves party won two seats from a standing start, while the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party won one seat.
The strongest force, however, was the liberal populist opposition ANO party of billionaire Andrej Babiš, which secured seven seats.
