The Czech Republic is showing the rest of Europe how to prosper in an America First world. The new government is seizing opportunities created by President Trump’s assertive diplomacy. The latest example is the initiative of Czech Prime Minister Babiš to reestablish a diplomatic presence and trade relations with Venezuela.

The announcement was made today by the government at a press conference in the Chamber of Deputies. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stated that, following the recent developments in Venezuela, the Czech government considers the country to be of great importance, particularly for Czech exporters.

“We have jointly agreed that the Czech Republic will be present in Venezuela, and we will do everything to ensure that we have our own representation there as quickly as possible,” Babiš said. The Czech Republic currently has neither an embassy nor a consulate in the country.

The Czechs closed their embassy and consulates in Venezuela in 2011 as a cost-saving measure. Czech interests in Venezuela have been handled by their embassy in Colombia since then. But the “recent changes in Venezuela” that Prime Minister Babis referred to are the American arrest of the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, and the release of a Czech doctor from Venezuelan prison.

Transactional vs. “Values-Based” Foreign Policy

The surprise diplomatic move out of Prague offers a sharp contrast with the EU. The top EU diplomat, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, half-jokingly told members of the European Parliament last night that looking at the current state of world affairs, “now is probably a good time to start drinking.”

While Brussels is wringing its hands and issuing statements, Prague sees opportunity. As the European Union’s foreign-policy class once again retreats into its favorite refuge—process, procedure, and moral exhibitionism—PM Babiš has chosen a different path: realism. His decision to re-engage diplomatically with Venezuela and prepare a permanent presence in Caracas is not ideological. It is transactional. And that is precisely why it works.

For years, European leaders promised “values-based foreign policy” in Latin America and delivered nothing but paralysis. Venezuela became a symbol of European impotence: endless declarations, zero leverage, and no economic upside.

Interests-Based Diplomacy

Babiš has been back in the prime minister’s office for barely weeks, yet the contrast with the previous government is stark. Under Petr Fiala, Czech foreign policy functioned as a regional branch office of the European Commission—careful, cautious, and terrified of being accused of independence.

That era is over.

Where Fiala would have delayed, convened, and deferred, Babiš moved. He treated the evolving situation in Venezuela not as a moral seminar but as a commercial and strategic opening. While other European capitals debate whether engagement is “appropriate,” Czech exporters are positioning themselves to benefit from a first-mover advantage.

This is the difference between performative bureaucracy and an actual foreign policy. Germany, France, and the UK would do well to pay attention and start to follow their own interest-based diplomacy.

President Donald Trump has been clear that the United States respects allies who act in their own interest and align accordingly. He has no patience for nations that lecture Washington while freeloading off its power. Babiš understands this instinctively.

By reopening channels in Caracas and signaling readiness to work with the reality on the ground, he is positioning the Czech Republic as a serious partner—not a moral scold. This is how trust is built in the Trump era: through alignment, decisiveness, and results. Call it “Czechia First.” The label doesn’t matter. The substance does.

The Czech Republic is a mid-sized, export-driven economy. It cannot feed its people on communiqués or sustain growth on virtue signaling. What voters demanded in October was not applause from Brussels, but outcomes. Babiš is delivering exactly that, just as Trump is delivering what his voters wanted.

When Will The Rest Of Europe Learn?

Predictably, Europe’s progressive class is furious. They sneer at “transactional diplomacy.” They warn about “legitimizing power politics.” In reality, they are mourning the loss of a world where American strength was constrained, and European irrelevance could masquerade as principle.

That world is gone.

Trump did not create this shift—he recognized it. Babiš is doing the same. One shattered the stalemate; the other is capitalizing on it. While Brussels hosts summits and drafts statements, Prague is securing access, leverage, and opportunity.

The rest of Europe can keep lecturing. Babiš and Trump are busy winning.