Almost 80 percent of locally-based companies are disturbed by a recent debate in the Czech Republic about a referendum on leaving the European Union, suggests a new survey. And over a quarter of firms would consider upping sticks if what has been dubbed Czexit were to actually take place, the study indicates, according to Radio Praha.

That is the finding of a March survey commissioned by the German-Czech Chamber of Industry and Commerce among 150 companies and quoted by the Czech News Agency. 

The prospective of such a vote has in the past been raised by President Miloš Zeman, who was re-elected in January. 

The anti-EU party Freedom and Direct Democracy have been actively advocating for a referendum on the matter and the issue of allowing referendums in general has been a subject of discussion amid talks on forming a new Czech government. 

Some 83 percent of foreign investors are concerned about the ongoing debate on Czexit, as are two-thirds of Czech-owned firms, the recent poll indicates. Companies with 250 or more employees are the most anxious. 

If the Czech Republic were in fact to depart from the European Union, a quarter of respondents in the survey said they would weigh up reducing investments in the country. Some 28 percent would consider upping sticks entirely.

Read full article by Radio Praha.