Radio Prague International - Topic «Politics»: Recent Episodes
Radio Prague International
Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has requested the extradition of former Russian state television anchor Farida Kurbangaleeva from the Czech Republic. The journalist has been in exile since 2014, when she left Russia and her job at the state-controlled Rossiya 1 TV channel in protest of the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine.
Czechia has dropped five places in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 46th worldwide. According to Ondřej Kopečný, program director of Transparency International Czechia, the main reason is the government's failure to prioritize anti-corruption reforms. "The political will to genuinely fight corruption is very low," he says.
The Russian Orthodox Church has transferred ownership of it assets in Karlovy Vary to its Hungarian branch so as to prevent the Czech state freezing them. This includes ownership of the Church of Sts Peter and Paul which now falls under the Metropolitan Emeritus of Budapest and Hungary.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala will meet his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico in Brussels today after a long week of a series of accusations from Bratislava. Fiala said that he found it strange that he hears more criticism of Brussels from Bratislava than criticism of Moscow. Fico, he said, orchestrates a foreign policy that does not correspond to Czech national security, economic, or strategic interests.
In Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in his 7th presidential election on Sunday. The 70-year-old autocrat, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, was reported to have won 86.8% of the vote. On Sunday, dozens of people protested outside the Belarusian embassy in Prague's Troja district to show their discontent with the alleged results. I spoke with the Director of the Office of the Democratic Forces of Belarus in the Czech Republic Kryscina Šyjanok to discuss these developments and the role of the Belarusian diaspora in advocating for a democratic transition in Belarus.
As the world takes stock of the new reality following the inauguration of Donald Trump to office, Czech officials are stressing the need to preserve close security and trade relations with the United States. At the same time they acknowledge that President Trump’s return to office may bring difficult times for Europe.
With the eyes of the world on the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, Czechia’s Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, spoke about what he expects for Czech-US relations over the next four years.
In early December, I traveled to Ukraine with an international group of journalists to learn what Ukrainian leaders, analysts, and citizens want the West to know about the country’s needs in 2025. We had frank discussions about peace and war. We asked tough questions and often received even tougher answers. We were thanked, shown immense gratitude, and grace. This is what I learned.
Today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský hosted Tanzanian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo at the Czernin Palace. They discussed bilateral relations, cooperation, and security issues in both Europe and Africa.
Disinformation platforms are gearing up to target the Czech Republic's parliamentary elections this autumn. This stark warning came from Michal Koudelka, head of the Czech Security Information Service (BIS). During a parliamentary seminar on the risks of foreign interference in the electoral process he mentioned Russian interference as a very real threat.
The issue of top politicians’ salaries often stirs public emotions, especially in times of economic uncertainty. In Czechia, a proposed 6.9% salary increase for Members of Parliament (MPs) has ignited a fiery debate. Opposition parties argue for a salary freeze, citing economic concerns and public discontent. According to Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of Europeum think tank, such debates are not unique to Czechia and are quite common across Europe.
The Czech government has moved to liberalize its policy on kratom and other psychoactive drugs. Under a new law that came into force in January, substances considered low-risk will be sold under strict conditions to adults only. However, the premature lifting of the ban on their sale is causing problems.
Young foreigners with Czech bank accounts are the usual target of gangs, who use the accounts to launder money acquired through online fraud. The well-organised, Russian-speaking gangs put up adverts on the Russian social network Telegram to entice people who will help to launder the money, usually unknowingly.
In October 2024, Czechia signed a treaty with the Vatican, becoming one of the last countries within the European Union to do so. Such a treaty has been a long time in the making, having been rejected by the Czech parliament back in 2003. The 2024 treaty, signed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in December, but has now met with criticism by members of the Senate, some of whom have recommended a review of it by the Constitutional Court. Dr Daniel Bartoň, an independent lawyer with a focus on religious freedom and human rights, and an assistant professor at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of Charles University, joined me to discuss the treaty and the objections to it.
Criminal investigators have requested the extradition of Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) chair Tomio Okamura from the Chamber of Deputies over charges of inciting hatred or restricting the rights of a group during last year's controversial billboard campaign. The request was sent to the lower house on Tuesday. Okamura claims the prosecution is an attempt by the ruling coalition to silence him.
Starting January 1, joining the Czech Army requires less demanding fitness tests . Instead of traditional push-ups and treadmill exercises, recruits now throw medicine balls and perform five-kilo squats. The goal is to attract more candidates, especially IT specialists and other professionals.
Beer is the national drink of Czechia and holds the same status in Belgium. This shared cultural importance is why both countries have been at the forefront of efforts to unite European beer nations and resist efforts to classify beer as a hard alcohol, which would subject it to stricter regulations. Czechia has now also taken the lead as the head of the European Parliament's Beer Club.
The arrival of 2025 is expected to speed up the process of digitization in all areas of the public sphere. More ministries will provide services online and the eDocuments app (eDoklady), which was officially launched last year, will now be recognized by the vast majority of municipalities and institutions.
On January 1, Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe via its territory, following the expiration of a five-year agreement between Ukraine's Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom. The Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is strongly opposed to the move, whereas Czech politicians broadly welcome it and claim that it will not have an impact on the country's economy.
In his New Year’s address to the nation, Czech President Petr Pavel urged Czechs to have confidence in the future and not to be swayed by scaremongering and populism ahead of the 2025 general elections.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party) used his Christmas address to warn against fearmongering and the dangers of authoritarianism, calling for unity, responsibility, and perseverance. While Fiala highlighted his government’s achievements and urged citizens to resist negativity, opposition leaders dismissed the speech as overly political and lacking self-reflection.
On December 21st 2023, a series of horrific events transpired at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. The fourteen deaths in the heart of Prague, the deadliest mass attack in Czechia’s history, shocked the country and the world, and forever tainted a place of learning and vibrant student life with tragedy and grief. One year later, Czechia prepares itself to commemorate the events of that day for the first time. In the intervening months, what has changed for the Faculty of Arts?
The Czech lower house on Wednesday approved a series of amendments to the Lex Ukraine law, stemming from the need to address asylum issues and security concerns relating to the ongoing war. One of the controversial points of the bill was its aim to make it more difficult for Russians to obtain Czech citizenship.
Russian oligarch Rostislav Zorikov, the former son-in-law of Russian arms dealer Boris Obnosov, will remain on the Czech national sanctions list. The Prague Municipal Court on Tuesday rejected his complaint, ruling that the government’s decision to blacklist him and his now ex-wife Olga had been fully justified.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský received the seal and stamp symbolizing the termination of the Warsaw Pact from Hana Hlaváčková, President of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, which has been their custodian until now. The handover took place at the opening of the Foreign Ministry's traditional year-end event, held to thank partners, institutions, and NGOs for their collaboration in strengthening the Czech identity within the Czech diaspora.
The Senate has passed an amendment to the gun law that will oblige arms dealers and shooting range owners to report suspicious clients to the police. The measure is a forerunner of a massive overhaul of the gun law that will come into force in 2026, approved in reaction to the tragic shooting at the Prague Faculty of Arts almost exactly a year ago.
The “Lex Babiš” law prohibiting members of the government from owning media outlets has been a political battleground since it was approved in 2016. Now significant parts of the law have been invalidated by the Constitutional Court for procedural reasons, presenting a new setback in efforts to prevent conflict of interest in politics.
Although only founded in 2022, the Motorists political party is quickly establishing itself in Czech politics. Following success in the 2024 European elections, and a confident first party congress on December 7th, the Motorists are striving to present themselves as a valid contender for Czechs’ votes. Danny Bate spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe about the appeal of the party, and his predictions for its future.
Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has collapsed after 13 years of conflict, bringing to a close over 50 years of rule by the al-Assad family. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria has been welcomed by the West – including Czechia. But what exactly are Czech political representatives saying about the developments?
The proportion of young Czechs planning to have children in the next three years has significantly declined, with the sharpest drop among those in difficult economic situations. These findings are part of the ongoing ‘Contemporary Czech Family’ research project, a collaboration between Masaryk University in Brno and Charles University in Prague. I discussed these new outcomes and their implications with Martin Kreidl, head of the research team.
The Czech Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday passed the 2025 state budget with a CZK 241 billion deficit. It was approved with the support of the four ruling parties, despite strong criticism from the opposition, including the Pirate Party, which recently left the coalition government. Vít Pohanka asked Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist at Trinity Bank, for his assessment of the budget.
Petr Pavel is currently exploring the southern hemisphere, as the Czech president continues his two-week visit to Australia and New Zealand. Together with First Lady Eva Pavlová, the president is working through a full programme of meetings focused on trade, diplomacy and defence, as well as some more relaxed cultural experiences.
This Sunday, December 1, Prague will host the annual International Charity Market. Organized by local embassies and the Diplomatic Spouses Association, this one-day event will feature Christmas gifts and Saint Nicholas treats from over 40 countries, with all proceeds supporting Czech charities.
Czechs are wary of the euro. Despite the fact that Czechia has been a European Union member country for more than two decades, the common European currency is viewed with suspicion by the majority of the population.
There was a small but vocal pro-Palestinian demonstration welcoming the chief of Israeli diplomacy Gideon Saar in Hradčany today. However, the voices of the 15 to 20 protesters did not reach the inner rooms of the Černín Palace, the seat of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The military air base in Prague-Kbely is planning to establish a new memorial featuring a Russian/Soviet Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft. A petition opposing the idea has been initiated by soldiers, who advocate for showcasing a Czech aircraft instead.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is visiting Czechia on Thursday on his first official foreign trip since taking office less than a month ago. Saar is set to meet his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavský, at the Černín Palace in Prague to discuss the current situation in the Middle East and bilateral cooperation. Later in the day, he will also be received by Senate President Miloš Vystrčil.
“More funding, more soldiers and more active reserves” that was the message Czech army commanders sent to politicians and the public in connection with the growing threat of war. The army chief-of-staff said NATO’s new collective defense commitments would necessitate far-reaching changes in the Czech military.
Israel's recently appointed foreign minister, Gideon Saar, will visit Czechia on Thursday during his first official foreign trip. The Czech Republic supports the Jewish state in its fight against Hamas and Hezbollah with fewer reservations than other EU countries.
Czechia will have troops on the ground in Africa again, with members of the country’s army set to return to the Sahel region, as part of a NATO programme to help train the Mauritanian military. A two-year mandate for up to thirty special-forces soldiers was approved by the Czech parliament last week.
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský paid a two-day working visit to Kyiv at the weekend. In addition to meetings with President Zelensky, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Sybiha, Mr. Lipavský attended a summit on food security, visited a children's hospital and a demining project of the HALO Trust fund.
On Thursday, the International Criminal Court (ICC), supported by the United Nations, issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and former Hamas commander Mohammed Deif, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But what have Czech representatives made of the judicial orders?
The Czech government has moved to address a pressing problem in health care for people living in the border regions who often have to travel long distances to see a specialist or dentist. A proposed amendment to the law should open the way for cross-border health care to be covered by Czech insurance companies.
Organisers of this year's UN climate change conference, known as COP29, which began last week in Baku, Azerbaijan, have not shown great optimism as the event reaches its end on Friday. The atmosphere has not been helped by the re-election of Donald Trump as US president, leaving global climate agreements at a critical juncture, with their future once again hanging in the balance.
With less than a year to go before the general elections, President Petr Pavel is calling on Czechs to listen more to one another.
November 17th this year is the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the events of late 1989 through which Czechoslovakia transitioned from a one-party communist state to a democratic and capitalist country.
Climate strikes have begun across Czech universities, with events taking place over the next seven days in Prague, Brno, and Olomouc.
This weekend, Czechia will commemorate two significant anniversaries: 35 years since the fall of the Communist regime and 85 years since the Nazi closure of Czech universities.
Alsu Kurmasheva, a Russian-American Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist, was released in a landmark prisoner exchange in August, following nine months in Russian detention. The mother of two was sentenced to 6.5 years in prison on charges of spreading false information about the Russian military. On August 1, she was finally reunited with her family, along with Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and Paul Welan. Kurmasheva sat down to speak to Czech Radio’s Matěj Skalický about her experience.
As the country approaches the 35th anniversary of Velvet Revolution of 1989, hundreds of dissidents have seen their income rise by an average of 4,400 Czech Crowns.
With President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, many are expecting substantial changes in US foreign policy. The bilateral relationship between the US and Czechia could also see adjustments. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský discussed some of these possible changes with Czech Radio.
Jozef Síkela spoke to the European Parliament on Wednesday to defend his designation as European Commissioner for International Partnerships. Síkela was questioned by members of the Development Committee, outlining a vision for the EU's Global Gateway strategy that balances economic interests with core European values.
The victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election has surprised some analysts in both American and international political circles. But how will Czechs be impacted in the years to come from another Trump term? I spoke to the political scientist and author Jiří Pehe to find out what he thinks about the potential impacts on Czechia in trade, security, and foreign policy.
Marta Kubišová’s Prayer for Marta, the unofficial anthem of the Velvet Revolution, and the Hussite chant Ktož jsú boží bojovníci, or All You Mighty Warriors of God, are among the six Czech songs selected for the first-ever EU Songbook, published on Tuesday.
Around 1.5 million Americans claim Czech identity. Czech Radio spoke to some of them and here is a snapshot of their opinions before the historic presidential election.
With the US presidential election approaching on Tuesday, the race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump has captured global attention, including in Czechia. For some, American politics may seem distant. Other Czechs are closely watching the election because of its expected implications for transatlantic relations, economic stability, and shared democratic values.
On November 4th 2004, the Czech Senate approved the end of compulsory military service. Thousands of young men across the country were relieved. After years of worrying about getting their draft orders, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The Božena 5 de-mining system has been brought to the Kharkiv region by members of the Czech association, Team4Ukraine. The money for it was raised by Czech and Slovak organizations, led by the “Gift for Putin” initiative, in a public collection.
Yesterday, Czechs celebrated the 106th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia in a nationwide state holiday. But despite the historically close links between Czechs and Slovaks, since Robert Fico's return as Slovakia's prime minister in 2023, there has been a distinct cooling in relations between the former sister states. I spoke with Kristína Chlebáková, Project Manager at the EUROPEUM Institute for Foreign Policy, to reflect on Czech-Slovak relations and explore what might lie ahead.
At a ceremony marking Czechoslovak Independence Day on October 28, President Pavel handed out awards and high state distinctions to 56 people for outstanding services to the state. Among those honoured were soldiers, decorated in memoriam, artists and sportspeople.
On October 28th, Czechia celebrates 106 years since the declaration of Czechoslovakia as an independent state. Historian and political scientist Jan Adamec walked us through the history of the new country's heads of state, from its first to its last.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin signed a treaty formalizing relations between Czechia and the Holy See. The document was 22 years in the making.
NATO has increased recruitment in response to global threats, including Russia’s actions in Crimea and Ukraine. In order to attract more candidates from Czechia, which ranks 22nd in representation of employees among NATO members, a NATO career workshop was held at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I went there to interview Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management Carlo Borghini to find out more about the application process, how applicants can make themselves more attractive, and more.
Main Czech opposition leader Andrej Babiš says he has been cleared and has never worked for communist secret police. Not true! Says PM Petr Fiala.
The Czech government's austerity policies under Prime Minister Petr Fiala are shaped by both economic necessity and political ideology. Rising inflation, stagnating wages, and a housing crisis have fueled public dissatisfaction, while the deficit continues to grow without significant investments in long-term economic growth. I spoke with Klára Votavová, research fellow at the Europeum Institute of Foreign Policy, to understand the impact of these austerity measures and what to expect from the upcoming budget debate, which is currently taking place in the Chamber of Deputies.
At the opening of an exhibition marking 20 years since the abolition of compulsory military service in the Czech lands, Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka admitted that the military is struggling to meet its recruitment goals. He said radical action is needed to be taken since the army was becoming uncompetitive on the labour market.
Political analyst Jiří Pehe says 2024 is the year when the traditional Czech Social Democratic Party came to an end.
The 28th Forum 2000 International Conference entitled Proving Democracy's Resolve and Resilience opened at the Prague Congress Centre on Sunday with an award giving ceremony and speeches from several participants.
A new STEM analysis reveals that nearly half of Czechs view the current democratic regime as better than the pre-1989 communist system.
The Czech Senate has passed new limits on the sale of weaker psychomodulatory substances, including kratom and hexahydrocannabinol (HHC). If signed into law by the president, the substances will only be available to buy by adults and in specific stores from December.
As the inhabitants of Jeseník, one of the towns hardest hit by the September floods, scramble to get their homes in order ahead of the winter, many are mulling their future and considering moving to safer locations. In an effort to prevent depopulation and open the way to more effective flood mitigation measures, the agriculture minister has said the state will offer people from the flood zones in the Jeseníky region an exchange of land.
German plans to build wind turbines near the Czech border have sparked a backlash, as local communities claim they were ignored and environmental concerns were overlooked.
In an interview with Czech Radio, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, reflects on relations with Russia following the infamous Vrbětice case.
A three-day strike will affect most Czech courts starting Monday, with up to two-thirds of regional court employees expected to participate. However, the Constitutional Court will not take part, and judges, who are legally prohibited from striking, are not directly affected.
The European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against Czechia for discrimination of Roma children placed in special and substandard schools.
Inflation, man-made climate change, wars, and other global events have an understandable impact on people's mental health. What is the situation like in Czechia and what are Czechs most concerned about? A new study from PAQ Research has some of the answers.
The Duke Wenceslas Future Leaders Programme, which welcomes the diplomats, activists and political analysts of the future to Czechia, has been successfully completed for a second year. Organised by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the scheme this year welcomed ten participants from eight countries, and gave them an in-depth look at Czech life and politics.
Czechia has vetoed a European Union statement that urged an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hezbollah and condemned the civilian casualties in Lebanon. Critics of the veto argue that it prevents the EU from issuing a unified stance on the latest developments in the Middle East. Divisions among EU member states have surfaced since Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Last week’s regional elections saw Andrej Babiš and his ANO party triumph in 10 of the 13 regions. On Saturday, ANO also led in the Senate elections, securing eight of the 27 seats contested. Voter turnout was historically low, however, with only 17.5% in the second round. I spoke with political analyst and author Jiří Pehe to discuss the results of both elections and what they mean for ANO ahead of the October 2025 parliamentary elections.
35 years ago tomorrow, one of the most significant events of the end of the Cold War took place in the garden of the West German Embassy in Prague. The German Foreign Minister at the time, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, stepped onto the balcony of the Lobkowicz Palace and announced to around four thousand East German refugees that they were allowed to travel west to the Federal Republic of Germany.
The opposition ANO Party has marked a significant victory in the 2024 Senate elections. The party, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, secured eight of the 27 seats available, claiming its first ever win in the elections to the upper house of Czech parliament. Two ANO candidates were successful in the first round, with six more winning in run-offs.
At the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Czech President Petr Pavel called for reform of the Security Council, which he said must be more effective and inclusive to better reflect the voices of underrepresented regions. At the same time, he applauded African efforts for peace and security even beyond their borders and called for global cooperation in areas such as Russia’s war on Ukraine, cybersecurity, AI, quantum technologies, and more.
The Czech ruling coalition is dealing with an unexpected crisis. The junior Pirate Party is threatening to walk out of the government in response to the announced dismissal of their leader from government posts.
The opposition ANO party won a landmark victory in the weekend regional and Senate elections, coming out top in 10 of the 13 regions where voting took place. I discussed the outcome of the vote and its possible consequences with political commentator Pavel Havlíček and began by asking what contributed to ANO’s huge success in the elections.
The opposition ANO party is celebrating a landslide victory in Czechia's regional elections. Commentators have described it as "a debacle" for the ruling parties.
The South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, has just paid a two-day official visit to Czechia. The visit is part of efforts to form even closer ties between South Korea and Czechia, including the plans to have Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) build two new nuclear reactors here.
The 2024 Senate and regional elections could not have come at a worse time for thousands of people in the badly flooded eastern parts of the country. Around 30 municipalities are voting in makeshift polling stations with the help of power generators and volunteers. Many mayors have resigned themselves to a dismally low turnout.
Czechs go to the polls on Friday and Saturday to cast their ballot in regional and Senate elections. Here is what you need to know.
The elections to the Senate and regional councils, due to take place this weekend, remain on track despite the fact that many parts of the country are still recovering from the damage caused by the recent floods. The government is confident that voting can be organized even in the hardest-hit regions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled her team of commissioner candidates and their portfolios for the 2024-2029 cycle. The Czech nominee, Industry Minister Jozef Síkela, has been selected Commissioner-designate for International Partnerships.
The Czech UN Youth Delegates Programme connects the youth in Czechia with the United Nations. It provides a platform for the Czech youth to be represented within the organization, while also raising awareness about the UN through the activities of the youth delegates across the country they represent. I spoke with Veronika Novotná, who is one of the three Czech UN Youth Delegates for the 2024/2025 period, about her agenda, what topics she considers most pressing, and why the youth should be more involved in politics.
As the flood waters slowly subside, Prime Minister Petr Fiala has outlined the government’s strategy in dealing with the damage wrought by strong winds and high water in many parts of the country. He promised state finances, material aid and support from the armed forces.
Madeleine Albright's life story is a truly remarkable journey through history, shaped by her experiences during tumultuous times in Europe and the United States.
The NATO Military Committee retreat in Prague, scheduled for this weekend, will focus on discussing Europe's security, the implementation of prior NATO Summit decisions, and the feasibility of the Alliance’s defense plans. This marks the first time Czechia hosts the meeting.
As the election campaign heats up in Czechia, tensions are high and some parties have resorted to controversial tactics. A racist billboard in Prague has sparked outrage and lawsuits.
Hundreds of Czech schools faced bomb threats this week, causing evacuations and fear. Authorities are prioritizing safety while minimizing disruption.
The Constitutional Court has issued a landmark ruling allowing midwifes to assist home births. The ruling sets an important precedent in what has been a long-standing battle for home births in the Czech Republic.
The GLOBSEC 2024 Forum, held in Prague over the weekend under the patronage of Czech President Petr Pavel, centered around the theme “Taming the Storm,” with an emphasis on central and eastern Europe’s crucial role in maintaining global stability. It attracted more than 2,300 participants from more than 80 countries including heads of state and businesses, diplomats, journalists, and more.
With ten prime ministers and presidents attending, and speeches by political and business heavyweights, Globsec is undoubtedly a high-profile event.
The regular annual meeting of Czech ambassadors began in Prague’s Czernin Palace, the seat of the Czech Foreign Ministry, on Monday. The ambassadors will spend a week discussing foreign policy, economic diplomacy, security, and other issues.
Trade unionists are currently negotiating an increase in the salaries of law enforcement, other security forces, and firefighters with the Interior Ministry. The workers' representatives are calling for a 10% wage increase starting in October, otherwise, they will consider protesting.
An unexploded 500-pound bomb from the Second World War, which was found on Wednesday on the grounds of a chemical plant in Záluží near Litvínov has led to the evacuation of 600 residents. Nothing like this has ever been found in the modern history of Czechia. The bomb is equipped with a chemical mechanism that can postpone its detonation for up to six days.
The Czech Senate has approved a bill allowing Czechs living abroad to vote by mail. The legislation should come into force in time for the 2025 general elections.
Top officials gathered outside Czech Radio at middday on Wednesday to recall the battle that took place there in the first hours of the Soviet-led invasion on August 21, 1968 and to pay homage to those who died defending the Czechoslovak Radio building.
An upcoming amendment to the decree on medical fitness for active military service, effective September, aims to streamline the process for military enlistment. It will reduce paperwork, simplify entry requirements, and enable the government to mobilize more people quickly in times of crisis or war. But whether or not people are called up will depend on the specific role they apply for.
The Russian prosecutor's office is demanding a ban on the distribution of the computer game Last Train Home, developed by Ashborne Games in Brno. According to the Russian authorities, the game about Czechoslovak legionnaires incites hatred against the Russian government and the soldiers of the Red Army. I interviewed Managing Director of Ashborne Games Petr Kolář about the Russian prosecutor’s office accusations.
In light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Czech military has moved to increase the number of recruits it can rely on in case of an escalation. One program the army has rolled out this year is a one-month training for high school students. Over 100 students chose to participate, trading holiday comfort for early mornings, running in the woods, and military drills.
Leading Czech cultural figures have come out in support of their Slovak colleagues, many of whom have recently been sacked for opposing the policies of the Slovak culture minister. Czech artists say the former sister state should offer them jobs or at least a platform for expression.
Countess Diana Phipps Sternberg, a renowned interior designer, philanthropist, and member of the old Czech nobility, passed away in Vienna on July 31, 2024, at the age of 88.
A Kantar agency survey for Czech Television found that only 17 percent of Czechs were satisfied with the state of Czech politics. Since the survey was published, austerity policies aimed at tackling the public deficit have added to the general dissatisfaction. Czechs are mainly dissatisfied with the government's handling of inflation, rising living costs, energy price regulations, and poor public communication. I asked Klára Votavová of the Europeum Institute why Czechs distrust the government and how Fiala’s government is addressing the issue in light of the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2025.
The Czech government has decided that the country's candidate for the next European Commission will be the current minister of industry and trade, Jozef Síkela. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening that Mr. Síkela had a proven track record in both the private sector and government. I spoke with Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the Europeum Institute, about the decision and its implications.
Yale historian Timothy Snyder was in Prague last week at the Plus and Václav Havel Library conference Borders of (Un)Freedom. The next day, he was interviewed by Czech Radio journalist Jan Bumba. They discussed topics ranging from the Republican nomination of Donald Trump as presidential candidate; how a Trump election might impact Europe and Russia’s war on Ukraine; and Snyder’s soon-to-be published book On Freedom. This is an edited version of that interview.
Senior politicians in Prague have been reacting to US President Joe Biden’s announcement that he will no longer seek reelection in the 2024 US presidential elections. The Czech prime minister called it the decision of a statesman, while the foreign minister said it reflected Mr. Biden’s love of his country.
Sevgil Musaieva, a journalist from Crimea, Ukraine, is the editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda and among the initiators of the creation of the KrymSOS web portal. Ms. Musaieva was in Prague to speak this week at the conference Borders of (Un)Freedom, headlining the event in a moderated discussion with Yale historian Timothy Snyder. I spoke to her about Czech support for Ukraine and her thoughts on how Putin uses propaganda in the region to divert from his true intentions.
One of Czechia’s cornerstone national newspapers is set to scrap its print edition after the summer. Up until now, Lidové Noviny was the oldest Czech daily still in print. But from September onwards, it will only be available online.
The Czech and Ukrainian governments on Monday signed a number of bilateral agreements opening the way for closer cooperation in arms production and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the two countries were building a “strong, strategic partnership” that would make Europe safer.
"Freedom is closely linked to unpredictability," said Yale Historian Timothy Snyder at a Prague conference titled Borders of (Un)Freedom held in Prague on Monday. The conference, organized by Czech Radio and Václav Havel Library, focused on the definition of freedom, the war in Ukraine and the growth of the far-right in Europe.
ANO leader Andrej Babiš recently founded a new group at the European Parliament with Viktor Orban. Regarded as a far-right bloc, Patriots for Europe also now includes the likes of Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders – and this week was accused of being pro-Russian by the Czech prime minister. I discussed Mr. Babiš’s move with Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the think tank Europeum.
Prague’s Václav Havel Airport has been struggling to deal with a baggage-handling crisis that has affected thousands of passengers on both incoming and outgoing flights. The airports’ handling company is taking measures to correct the situation and a special helpline has been set up for passengers whose luggage failed to arrive.
Andrej Babiš' ANO party, Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party and Austria's FPÖ have announced the formation of a joint alliance in the European Parliament called “Patriots of Europe”. How much do they have in common and how much influence can they hope to wield? Those are some of the questions I put to political analyst Jiří Pehe.
On June 25, Canadian embassy officials, dignitaries, and friends met at the Kaiserstein Palace in Prague to preemptively celebrate Canada Day, which is on July 1. Guests at the event highlighted the strong bonds between the two countries and the special need for transatlantic unity as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues.
On Friday afternoon the Czech lower house finally approved a bill that has been years in the making – the introduction of postal voting for citizens living abroad. Czech expatriates have been waiting decades for this change to happen.
The Czech government has announced that after nearly half a century, the country is ready to send another astronaut to space. The man preparing for the mission, which is expected to take place in five years’ time, is Czech fighter pilot Aleš Svoboda, a member of the European Space Agency’s astronaut reserve.
The Mayors party, who have a say in the matter under the coalition deal, have announced they will put forward both Danuše Nerudová and Jozef Síkela for next Czech European commissioner – with the government to decide on a candidate by August. I discussed the pair’s chances, and other aspects of the process, with Klára Votavová of the think tank Europeum.
Czech President Petr Pavel and his wife Eva received the outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and her partner Juraj Rizman at Prague Castle on Thursday. With the trip, Čaputová has concluded her farewell foreign visits before the end of her five-year mandate.
This weekend representatives of 90 or so states will be taking part in a conference at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland aimed at finding a route to sustainable peace in Ukraine. Specifically the event will focus on issues such as nuclear safety and security, food safety and prisoner exchanges and the protection of civilians. Formally named the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, it follows other such gatherings based on the Kyiv government’s own peace formula. Notably, however, it will not feature any representation from Russia. What’s more, other major states such as Brazil and China have ignored invitations to attend. Czechia, by contrast will be there, represented by President Petr Pavel and Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian – and for Prague’s perspective on the summit I spoke to the latter at the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Czernin Palace on Thursday.
The Czech government has approved a proposed amendment that would outlaw corporal punishment of children. Czechia is one of the last EU member states to adopt such a regulation and while there will be no sanctions for breaking it, child experts hope it will change age-old habits.
Moscow is very likely to blame for a recent failed arson attack on city buses in Prague, the Czech prime minister said on Monday. Petr Fiala said the foiled plot was part of a hybrid war Russia is waging against Czechia. But what can the authorities do to combat this kind of “low level” terrorism?
Citizens around Europe are taking stock of the outcome of elections to the European Parliament. How may the results change the direction and policies of the EU? And what do they signal about the domestic situation? I spoke about the outcome of the elections in Czechia and the EU with the deputy director of the Prague-based Europeum Institute Viktor Daněk.
Like in other EU member states, elections to the European Parliament in Czechia brought a number of surprises. In addition to a record turnout, almost double that ten years ago, many voters came to the polls to cast a protest vote.
Andrej Babiš's ANO party has won the largest share of the vote in the European Parliament elections with 26.14 percent and has gained seven of Czechia's 21 seats in the assembly. Government coalition leaders SPOLU (Together) came second with 22.27 percent and gained six seats.
Polling stations at around 14,800 locations across Czechia closed at 2 pm on Saturday after two days of voting in the European Parliament elections. The official results will be announced on Sunday night, June 9, after voting ends in all EU member states.
The Czech Republic has only had two presidencies so far in the course of its membership in the European Union. The first Czech presidency in 2009 was complicated by the fall of the government, when a caretaker cabinet had to step in and complete it. The country’s second stint at the helm of the European Union, in 2022, was much more successful. In the last edition of our series Czechs in the EU, I discuss the country’s performance at the helm of the EU with Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of the Europeum Institute for European Policy.
Four people were killed and over 20 injured in a head-on collision between two trains in a station in Pardubice on Wednesday night. Investigators say the accident occurred when one of the trains failed to respect a stop signal.
This year, Czechia is marking the 20th anniversary of its accession to the European Union. When it joined the club, some people in this country were concerned about whether the Czech voice would be heard in the competition of so many other countries, especially the ‘heavy-weights’. Twenty years on, one can say that in a number of cases, the Czechs have even been the driving force behind changes affecting the whole of Europe.
Věra Jourová is one of the best-known Czech names in Brussels’ circles. In 2019, the former Czech minister and commissioner, now Vice-President of the European Commission, made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people on the planet. Ironically, she entered the EU-executive with a slight disadvantage, because she was put in charge of a portfolio she didn’t particularly want. In this edition of “Czechs in the EU” we look back at Věra Jourová’s work in Brussels with Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of the Europeum Institute and Czech Radio’s former Brussels correspondent.
More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, there are over 339,000 Ukrainian nationals with temporary protection status living in Czechia. As the war drags on, many have grown accustomed to the idea that they may never return. But, there are also refugees who wish to go back, no matter the risks, and the Czech government has launched a program to help them do so.
All Czech presidents got the chance to address the European Parliament during their time in office. Some of their speeches received a standing ovation, others stirred controversy. In today’s instalment of our five-part series “Czechs in the EU”, we look back at how Czech heads of state presented themselves in Brussels and Strasbourg. My guest is Viktor Daněk, former Czech Radio correspondent in Brussels, now Deputy Director of the Europeum Institute for European Policy.
Czech voters will cast their ballots in European Parliament elections at the end of this week. A last minute poll suggests the SPOLU (Together) alliance are on the heels of opposition leaders ANO, while the Communists, no longer in the lower house, could take as many seats as the Pirates. I discussed the elections with political scientist Petr Just.
In the first episode of our five-part-series Czechs in the EU, which we are running in connection with the upcoming European Parliament elections, we will look at the legacy left by the country’s first post-communist president Václav Havel and how he was perceived in Brussels and Strasbourg. My guest in the studio is Viktor Daněk, Czech Radio’s former correspondent in Brussels, now Deputy Director of the EUROPEUM Institute.
The war in Ukraine dominated an informal summit of NATO foreign ministers in Prague, which entered its second day Friday. Also in attendance was the alliance’s secretary general, who responded positively to news the US is allowing Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with American weapons.
Ondřej Krutílek is a member of the ruling Civic Democratic Party and is running in the European elections within the coalition SPOLU, made up of Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09. He is an expert on EU legislation and is familiar with the workings of the EU.
Jaroslav Bžoch is running in the European elections for the ANO party. He is a business executive and has been a member of the Czech Parliament since 2017.
The Czech prime minister on Tuesday hosted a work dinner for a group of EU leaders and the prime minister of Ukraine aimed at coordinating and strengthening aid to the embattled country in the face of continuing Russian aggression. The meeting, attended by some of Ukraine’s most prominent allies, focused on the Czech shells-for-Ukraine initiative, Ukraine's air defence and European cooperation in the defence industry.
Petr Mach is a Czech economist and former MEP who is running in the European elections for the Freedom and Direct Democracy Party.
Danuše Nerudová is an economist and university professor and a former rector of Mendel University in Brno. She is running in the European elections for the Mayors and Independents Party.
Marcel Kolaja is the leader of the Czech Pirate Party in the European elections. He is an IT specialist and internet freedom and digital rights activist and has served in the European Parliament since the 2019 elections.
A fresh Russian offensive targeted at Kharkiv puts Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Putin’s aggression under renewed focus. It may also increase the importance of a Czech initiative to provide large amounts of artillery ammunition to Ukraine, funded by partner states, which is set to begin next month.
As Russia steps up its offensive in Ukraine, the country’s leadership is stressing the urgent need for more weapons and soldiers to hold the front. In an exclusive interview for Czech Radio, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov spoke about the military’s most urgent needs, the call to action for Ukrainian citizens abroad and the need to boost Ukraine’s own weapons‘ production capacity with foreign investment.
News of the brutal assassination attempt against Slovak PM Robert Fico, who is now fighting for his life in a Slovak hospital, sent shockwaves around Europe. Politicians in Czechia have been sending messages of support and solidarity to the former sister state and urging restraint in what threatens to be a potentially dangerous situation.
The first ever National Development Day was held at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. The event highlighted the country’s active cooperation with developing countries around the world – including in the human rights field.
Following talks with US President Joe Biden on Monday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the US Congress on Tuesday meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson and a number of Democrat and Republican lawmakers ahead of a crucial vote on funding for Ukraine.
Support for Ukraine in the face of Moscow’s aggression was among the main items on the agenda when the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, was welcomed at the White House by US President Joe Biden on Monday. Indeed Mr. Fiala told his host he remembered Russian tanks on Czech streets – and did not wish to see them again.
Czechia joined international condemnation of Iran's strikes on Israel on Saturday night, backing Israel’s right to self-defense and expressing concern regarding a further destabilization of the region. The worsening global security situation is expected to be high on the agenda of Monday’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, is due to visit the White House on Monday for a meeting with US President Joe Biden that officials say will further the relationship between the two countries.
Czech President Petr Pavel travels to Vilnius on Thursday for a summit of the Three Seas Initiative, which aims to boost connections between countries by the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas. But why is the landlocked Czechia involved? And what will be the focus of the gathering in Lithuania?
With European Parliament elections around the corner, Czechs are gearing up to head to the polls. But how do Czechs, specifically younger ones, feel about the EU and Czechia’s membership? That’s a question that Czech Radio reporter Anna Urbanová set out to answer based on data from a new study , and I spoke with her about it in our studios.
The weekend’s presidential elections in Slovakia were also closely watched in Czechia. Czech leaders have congratulated winner Peter Pellegrini, despite his pro-Russian image. But what is Prague really thinking about his victory? And could Czech populists take inspiration from Pellegrini’s campaign rhetoric? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Revelations a Czech-based Russian influence network was paying politicians in several states have made headlines around Europe. Czechia’s European commissioner says she sensed Moscow was using such dirty tricks – and says steps should be taken to weed dodgy politicians out of the European Parliament.
Hundreds of Czech musicians and other artists have signed an open letter to the country’s leaders, urging them to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The initiative takes inspiration from the Artists4Ceasefire collective in the US and is led in Czechia by singer-songwriter Tomáš Klus.
The Czech secret service has scored a major success, uncovering a Russian network attempting to influence elections in various European states. The Prague government followed this revelation with sanctions on two individuals, including a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician.
The rapid growth of generative AI is influencing many areas of life and there is no doubt that it will play a role in campaigning in the European elections. So are Czech parties preparing to harness the potential it affords and will Czech voters be able to recognize AI-driven disinformation?
The ruling coalition has accused opposition leader Andrej Babiš of undermining the government’s support for Ukraine through his “pacifist” language and putting at risk Czechia’s security. At a special session of the lower house on Tuesday the prime minister said the opposition should make clear whether it sides with the free West or with Putin.
As the world watched the orchestrated re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president for the next six years, Russian nationals in Prague gathered on Wenceslas Square in a symbolic show of support for the “Noon against Putin” protests at home. Many of them did not get the chance to vote.
Czechia on Tuesday celebrated 25 years since its accession to NATO, on March 12, 1999. One of the main events on the anniversary was the conference Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted with speakers including Bill Clinton, who was US president when the Czechs joined the alliance.
Czechia, along with Poland and Hungary, joined NATO exactly 25 years ago, on March 12, 1999. But how has Czech membership of the alliance actually gone over the last quarter century? And how has Russia’s war on Ukraine impacted that membership? I discussed those questions, and many more, with Michal Smetana, an international security expert and associate professor at Charles University.
Former US President Bill Clinton is in Prague for a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Czechia’s admission to NATO. On Sunday night he visited Prague's Reduta jazz club, where he celebrated the country’s admission to Western structures together with then president Vaclav Havel and US secretary of state Madeleine Albright a quarter of a century ago.
Friday marks Petr Pavel’s first year as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes so far? And did he succeed in uniting the divided Czech society? I discussed these questions with political scientist Vlastimil Havlík from Masaryk University in Brno:
Relations between Czechia and Slovakia, which were part of one country for over seven decades, have consistently been described as “exceptional”. But mounting differences over foreign policy have now led the Czech government to suspend a planned joint meeting of the two cabinets in what is seen as a clear message that Prague wants to distance itself from Bratislava’s pro-Russian stance.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron recently refused to rule out the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine and that position appeared to find support from his Czech counterpart in Prague on Tuesday. Petr Pavel said combat troops could not be deployed – but sending instructors to the war-ravaged country was an option.
Blacksmiths, foresters, welders and glassmakers are among the demanding professions where people will be able to retire up to five years earlier that the rest, according to a pension reform bill drafted by the labour ministry. Overall, the proposed reforms will be a major overhaul of the present system.
While Czechia’s arms industry has seen record exports in the last two years, its armaments makers are still facing one major problem, according to the country’s defence minister. Jana Černochová says international banks are making it hard for such firms to acquire loans or make payments.
The Paris summit on Ukraine appears to have kicked into action a Czech plan to purchase badly needed ammunition for Ukraine outside of the EU. After struggling to secure international funding for the project, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Monday that 15 EU member states are now willing to back the purchase.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala is set to host his counterparts Slovakia, Poland and Hungary in Prague on Tuesday. The meeting of the Visegrad Four leaders comes against a backdrop of calls to cancel the summit after Slovakia’s Robert Fico made a speech widely seen as pro-Russian. I discussed the V4 today with Mats Braun, head of the Institute for International Relations in Prague.
Czechs are marking two years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine with commemorative events, marches, rallies and fundraisers taking place all around the country on Saturday.
A Median poll published Tuesday reaffirms ANO’s long-term commanding lead among Czech voters. But the survey also suggests that the Czech Pirate Party, one of the smaller parties in the coalition, are now ahead of government leaders the Civic Democrats. So, what are the Pirates doing right? I put that question to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Czechia ended compulsory military service two decades ago. Now, however, the head of the country’s army, Karel Řehka, says it may be necessary to bring it back – otherwise the state could have insufficient military reserves in future.
President Petr Pavel made international headlines at the Munich Security Conference when he said Czechia could secure about 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine – if partner states provided the funding. How realistic is this plan? And what would such a delivery mean for the Kyiv government? I spoke to international affairs and security expert Michal Smetana of Charles University.
A Thursday night screening at Prague's Edison Filmhub of the film Utøya, about the mass shooting at a summer camp in Norway, provided an opportunity to discuss the aftermath of December’s shooting at Charles University. One topic was potential changes to Czech gun legislation, which guest speaker Jan Bartošek, who works for the Ministry of the Interior’s Security Policy Council, told me more about.
In August 2023, Canada appointed a new Ambassador to Czechia, Emily McLaughlin. Ambassador McLaughlin, whose career has spanned over 20 years in the Canadian Foreign Service, has previously held positions in New York, London and Hong Kong. Recently, I met with her at the Canadian Embassy in Prague to discuss her mission, her hopes of connecting with Canadians in Czechia, and the values that the two nations have in common. But of course, as a fellow Canadian, my first question was about Ambassador McLaughlin’s upbringing in Canada.
Czechia has announced that it will abstain in the vote on an EU migration and asylum pact expected to take place later this month. According to government officials, the new draft of the proposal would reduce the possibility of effectively preventing illegal migration on the EU’s external borders.
Czech legislators are spreading disinformation on the floor of Parliament – including those from government parties. So says political scientist Miloš Gregor, who is currently also an advisor on this subject to Prime Minister Petr Fiala. I asked him what kind of disinformation was being heard in lawmakers’ debates.
Czechia’s score in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has hardly improved at all over the last eight years. While its position in the 2023 ranking remains the same as the year before, it still scored well below the EU average. I spoke to Marek Chromý, head analyst at Transparency International’s Czech branch, to find out why.
Czechia has just signed an agreement with the United States to buy two dozen F-35 advanced fighter jets. The procurement is seen as significantly boosting the Czechs’ military capabilities and integration with NATO and represents the largest defence contract ever signed by the country.
A memorial plaque was unveiled in the French city of Marseille on Friday dedicated to former Czechoslovak diplomat Vladimír Vochoč, who helped to save hundreds of Jews from France during the Holocaust. Despite his service to the country, he was persecuted by the Communists and spent more than seven years in prison.
Following days of filibustering, the lower house on Thursday approved a government proposal to allow postal voting for Czechs living abroad. The governing coalition wants the bill, which faces two more readings in the lower house, approved in time for the 2025 parliamentary elections. I spoke to political scientist Petr Just about its significance and its chances of winning approval.
The Czech Senate rejected ratification of the Istanbul Convention in a hotly contested vote Wednesday night. The treaty, which Czechia formally signed in 2016, seeks to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence. So why have Czech politicians rejected it? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
This year's celebrations of the 20th anniversary of Czechia’s accession to the European Union kicked off on Monday with a conference marking the country’s two decades of membership. It was the first in a series of events that will take place throughout 2024.
At a conference marking the 20th anniversary of Czech membership in the EU, the country’s top officials highlighted the numerous advantages of belonging to the alliance. One thing they were unable to agree on was the prospect of euro adoption.
Many Czechs have been shocked by a case in which a man got only a suspended sentence for raping his minor stepdaughter – after a court expert said the violations, which went on for two years, had not greatly impacted her. Following the verdict, the victim repeatedly attempted suicide. I discussed the case with Lucie Hrdá, a lawyer and women’s rights campaigner.
Prague has been hitting back at propaganda launched after Czechia recently refused a Russian “summons” to the UN Security Council. With the social media campaign “Pro-Kremlin Fairy Tales”, the Czech Foreign Ministry is using humour to highlight the absurdity of Russian claims, combining storybook images with biting commentary. Karel Smékal, head of communications at the ministry, explains.
Participants of talks on developing a peace formula for Russia's war on Ukraine met in Davos last Sunday and President Zelensky subsequently asked Switzerland to organize a high-profile peace conference on the drawn-out conflict. I spoke to Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian, who represented Czechia at the Davos talks, to find out how much progress was made and whether the prospects for peace have improved.
On a two-day visit to Israel, Czech President Petr Pavel assured the country’s top officials of Czechia’s continued support in the war against Hamas. At the same time, he expressed concern for the fate of civilians on both sides of the conflict.
Close to two years after the Russian invasion, Ukraine is now the most mine-contaminated country globally since World War II. The EU is actively helping the demining effort and Czechia is one of the countries that have offered to train Ukrainian experts in the field.
Labour and Social Affairs Minister Marian Jurečka has come under increasing pressure to resign over a Christmas party held at the ministry on the night of the tragic shooting at the Faculty of Arts. The minister has apologized for what he called “poor judgement” and said he was prepared to resign if the prime minister asked him to go.
A parliamentary proposal to allow Czech citizens who live abroad to vote by post in elections received strong backing from the Czech government on Wednesday. The government hopes that, if all goes well, Czechs abroad could vote by post for the first time in the 2025 general elections.
A ban on big luggage, security frames and key card entry systems: those are just some of the safety measures being debated at schools and universities around the country in response to the tragic shooting at the Prague Faculty of Arts.
The New Year always brings with it changes in legislation as new laws and rules come into effect from January 1. What changes might affect you in 2024? We have compiled an overview of the most significant legislative amendments affecting your finances.
In his New Year address to the nation President Petr Pavel underlined the need for strength and unity, saying it had been a difficult year from which he hoped to see the nation emerge stronger.
The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has been going on for over two months, with a devastating impact on the civilian population. Caritas is one of the NGOs that is there trying to help, and is also calling for an immediate ceasefire – in stark contrast to the Czech government, who voted against such a move. I spoke to Lenka Pipková, Foreign Communications Manager at Caritas Czech Republic to find out more about the difficulties of raising money for the appeal and what the situation is like on the ground.
In his Christmas address to the nation, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the country had seen two hard years, but 2024 would bring a turn for the better. He said that thanks to a policy of fiscal discipline the soaring deficit in public finances had been brought under control.
As Prague reels from the events that transpired on Thursday, it is difficult for most people who were there to put their experience into words. However, David Vichnar, assistant professor in the Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at Charles University, who was in the building at the time of the attack, agreed to speak about what happened despite still being in the middle of processing it all. I spoke to him outside Prague’s Karolinum, Charles University’s main building, just before a memorial service for the victims was due to take place.
Czechia is trying to come to terms with a horrific shooting incident in Prague that left 14 victims dead. Thursday’s attack on a Charles University facility was the worst such event ever in this country and Saturday has been declared a day of national mourning.
President Petr Pavel has called on Czechia’s government, who have been taking a battering in the ratings for some time, to seek help with their communication skills. But is it actually possible to sugarcoat austerity policies that leave voters with less money in their pockets? I spoke to Anna Shavit, a political marketing expert who teaches at Charles University.
Drones have become a weapon of key importance in the war in Ukraine. Russia has clearly understood this and is reportedly ramping up its wartime production by converting prisons and schools into drone factories. In order to help the Ukrainian army keep up, a new Czech NGO is trying to raise money to deliver 10,000 drones to the country.
Bijan Sabet became US ambassador to Czechia in early 2023. Since then Mr. Sabet has become a familiar face in Prague, meeting top Czech officials and military top brass and hosting events with various civil society groups. In a wide-ranging interview, the successful tech investor speaks about his connection to Joe Biden, experience as an early backer of Twitter and training in the art of diplomacy, as well as more personal matters such as his interest in photography and how owning a dog is the “fastest friendship maker” in Czechia.
A Kantar CZ poll published on Sunday indicates that opposition leaders ANO now enjoy no less than 34.5 percent support, with coalition leaders the Civic Democrats down to just 12.5 percent. Another new survey indicates the lowest level of satisfaction with politics in general since the pandemic. I spoke to political scientist Petr Just, beginning with the high support for ANO.
The official funeral mass for Karel Schwarzenberg took place with state honours in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle on Saturday afternoon. The roughly two-hour ceremony, which began at noon, was attended by hundreds of guests from the worlds of politics, culture, and the nobility.
Thirty five years ago, then French president Francois Mitterrand met with a group of Czech dissidents, led by Václav Havel.
As people pay their last respects to the late Karel Schwarzenberg, a member of the Czech nobility and one of the country’s most prominent post-1989 politicians, preparations are underway for his state funeral at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral.
The Czech Centres, which promote Czech culture around the globe, have a new director general. Jitka Pánek Jurková, who for some years headed the Czech Centre in Brussels, says her priorities will include using the arts to promote values and tailoring the network’s activities to individual countries.
Hospitals are bracing for a staff crisis in December after the Health Ministry refused to meet doctors’ demands for higher pay and less overtime. Hospitals are cancelling non-essential surgeries, some are closing entire departments and stretching their resources to the limit to cover emergency care in the coming weeks.
A recent survey by the Kantar.cz agency indicates that Czechs’ support for Ukraine in the war with Russia is slowly waning. According to the results, 51 percent of Czechs are no longer in favour of continued military support for the country, up from 36 percent just over a year and a half ago. To learn more about what’s behind the dwindling support , I spoke with Petr Drbohlav, director for Eastern Partnerships at the charity NGO People in Need.
Czech President Petr Pavel is among the 28 most influential people who will co-determine the character of Europe in 2024, according to the Brussels-based website Politico , which describes him as a hawk on Russia and China, a supporter of Ukraine and promoter of NATO enlargement. Others in the top 28 are French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. I asked political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková how she perceives the Czech president’s listing.
Most schools in Czechia were closed on Monday, with a reported 7,000-plus taking part in a one-day protest strike demanding better funding for education. Medical and industrial workers also demonstrated against the government’s austerity measures. But how much can this action impact the coalition?
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala received his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico on Friday. Mr. Fico, who is in Prague for his first official foreign visit since his election, told reporters that the two countries have similar views on most issues, with the exception of arms deliveries to Ukraine.
After freezing Russian state-owned property on Czech territory, Czechia is now pushing for restrictions on movement for Russian diplomats within the Schengen space. Prague argues that Russian agents working undercover as diplomats greatly benefit from the EU’s borderless zone.
Former dissident and Charter 77 signatory Jiří Gruntorád is on the fourth day of his hunger strike outside the seat of the Czech government in Prague. He is calling for the labour and social affairs minister, Marian Jurečka, to resign over his treatment of ex-dissidents who now live on extremely small pensions.
Timothy Garton Ash was in Prague last week, presenting the Czech version of his latest book Homelands: A Personal History of Europe. While he was here, the UK historian, who spent time in this region when communism was collapsing, took part in events marking the anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution. And Mr. Garton Ash also spoke to Jan Bumba of Czech Radio, about those dramatic times – and where Europe is headed today.
The Czech government has moved to freeze Russian state-owned property on Czech territory by placing the company that manages these assets on its national sanctions list. The foreign minister said Prague would strive to get this measure approved across the EU.
Countless tributes have been paid to Karel Schwarzenberg, who died at the weekend at the age of 85. In the communist era the aristocrat supported dissidents in Czechoslovakia, before serving as President Václav Havel’s office chief after 1989. He was later active in politics and had two stints as Czech foreign minister. I discussed Karel Schwarzenberg with his friend Michael Žantovský, who was himself Havel’s spokesman in the early 1990s.
Speaking at a security conference in Prague, President Petr Pavel expressed deep concern regarding the disruption of the world order and the increasing assertiveness of revisionist powers and terrorist groups. He said the democratic world must unite in defence of its values and do everything possible to prevent existing conflicts from spreading.
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Monday met for talks with his newly-appointed Slovak counterpart Juraj Blanár from the ruling SMER party, which has indicated a U-turn in the country’s support for Ukraine. The meeting was viewed as an indicator of how far the change-of-guard in Slovakia could cool relations between the neighbor states and the Visegrad Group.
Bring Them Home Now! is the title of a gathering set for Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Tuesday evening demanding the release of the over 200 hostages still being held by Hamas, exactly a month after its brutal attacks on Israel. Ahead of the rally I spoke to one of its organisers, Israeli student Goni Biran.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala left Prague on Friday for an eight-day trip to Africa, during which he is visiting the east and west African countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Although primarily a trade mission, the trip is also intended to deepen cooperation in other areas such as security and migration.
A Prague district court has ruled in the closely-watched trial of former MP Dominik Feri, 26, who stood accused of two charges of rape and one attempted rape. The one-time TOP 09 party politician has been found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in jail.
Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 there have been reports of increasing harassment, hate speech and sometimes even physical assaults against members of both Jewish and Muslim communities in countries around the world. So what is the situation like in Czechia? I spoke to Miroslav Mareš, a political scientist at Brno’s Masaryk University whose research focuses on political extremism, terrorism and security policy in Central Europe, to find out.
Czechoslovak Independence Day celebrates the founding of the independent state of Czechoslovakia on October 28, 1918, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I. Events are held around the country to mark the anniversary and honour Czechoslovakia’s first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited Israel on Wednesday to signal his country’s strong support for the Jewish state in its war against Hamas. Amid calls for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Middle East, the Czech head of government said Czechia would stand up for Israel’s right to self-defence at Thursday’s European Council meeting in Brussels.
Representatives from forty countries gathered in Prague on Tuesday for the second International Parliamentary Summit of the Crimean Platform whose main aim is to support Ukraine's efforts to restore its sovereignty over the Russian-occupied peninsula. Speakers to the gathering stressed the importance of liberating Crimea, not just for Ukraine, but for the rules-based world order.
An exhibition on Czech humanitarian aid and development cooperation was unveiled on the Dvořák embankment in Prague on Tuesday. Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it aims to raise awareness of the different ways in which Czechia is helping abroad. I discussed the project with Petr Gandalovič, head of the ministry’s Department for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid:
In the past 48 hours, Germany and Austria both announced they are introducing random checks on their border with Czechia in an effort to curb the growing flow of illegal migrants. The further tightening of border controls suggests that similar measures taken by Czechia, Slovakia and Poland have failed to stem the flow of migrants heading for a better life in Germany.
The current Israel-Hamas war has highlighted divisions in Czech society, which were clearly visible in a demonstration and counter-demonstration that both took place on Sunday afternoon in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. The first demonstration, called “End the Cycle of Violence!”, had the stated purpose of honouring all victims of this bloody conflict, the majority of which are unarmed civilians.
The repatriation of Czechs from Israel was successfully concluded on Friday, with a total of 228 citizens returning to the country on six government planes. In addition, the Czech government met Israel’s request for it to fly home Israelis who wish to return to defend their country. I asked the head of the Czech Foreign Ministry’s press department, Daniel Drake, for more details.
Halfway through its term in office the Fiala administration has pushed through a package of austerity measures aimed at reducing the steep deficit in public finances. In order to do so, it had to break its election promise not to raise taxes. So how high a price will the government pay for the reforms that 80 percent of Czechs fear? A question we put to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
The Fiala government has won approval for its austerity package in the Chamber of Deputies. The set of reforms, which aims to put a handbrake on the growing deficit in public finances, includes tax hikes, cuts in subsidies and lay-offs and will impact individuals and companies alike.
Czechia, Poland, Austria and Slovakia have announced they are extending the spot border checks introduced on October 4, by another 20 days. The measure, intended to curb the flow of illegal migrants along the Western Balkans route, has proved successful.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský was the first foreign dignitary to visit Israel in the wake of Saturday’s attack on the country by the Palestinian group Hamas. He assured President Yitzhak Herzog and his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen of Czechia’s full support in this crisis.
Following the Hamas attack on Israel, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala says moving his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is now a “desirable step”. This would break with previous policy of following the EU line – and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský says key criteria have not been met. I discussed the matter with Czech Television’s former Middle East correspondent Jakub Szántó.
Senior officials in Prague have strongly condemned the Hamas attack on Israel that began on Saturday. President Petr Pavel called it a reprehensible terrorist act, while Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Czechia had always stood and will stand fully with Israel. For more on the Czech response, I spoke to Deputy Foreign Minister Jiří Kozák.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and several of his ministers are due to attend a meeting with the Czech government in Prague on Monday morning. For some Israeli nationals living in Czechia, this is an opportunity to show their opposition to the current policies and authoritarian excesses that have already driven hundreds of thousands people onto the streets of Tel Aviv in recent months to demonstrate against a reform of the judicial system that is shaking the foundations of the State of Israel.
On his way to the European Political Community summit in Granada on Thursday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said bolder steps were needed to resolve the growing problem of illegal migration in Europe. Czechia, Austria, Poland and Slovakia this week all reintroduced random border checks in an effort to curb the flow of illegal migrants.
In an address to the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday President Pavel expressed confidence that Europe would emerge triumphant from the present crisis. He said Europe’s strength is in unity and diversity and urged Europeans to stick together and not to fall prey to mounting Russian disinformation.
Slovak elections at the weekend were also closely watched in Czechia. Critics said the victory of Robert Fico and Smer was partly fueled by Russian disinformation, and the Czech interior minister says the benefits of liberal democracy need to be better explained to voters. In the more immediate term, does the outcome leave Czechia isolated as a pro-Ukraine, pro-EU state in the region? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
Czechia’s closest neighbour Slovakia goes to the polls on Saturday to elect a new parliament, after the centre-right coalition collapsed and a caretaker government took over in May. Many in this country are following the election closely, with the president saying a win for populist ex-PM Robert Fico could damage relations. I discussed the possible outcome and its impact on Czechia with political scientist Jiří Pehe.
The head of the Czech Counterintelligence Service (BIS) Michal Koudelka on Monday highlighted the activities of Russian agents in the country in connection with the war in Ukraine. He said efforts to disseminate Kremlin propaganda in Czechia were now so blatant that anyone who does not see them must be “blind and deaf”.
The Consulate General of the Czech Republic based in New York City has jurisdiction over ten states across the eastern part of the United States. On a visit to Prague, Consul General Arnošt Kareš spoke with Amelia Mola Schmidt about the work he does to promote Czech business, connect with the Czech diaspora, and the history of the oldest Czech consulate abroad.
The Ukraine crisis has provided an opportunity to revive a European Union that had lost its way. That is one of the assertions of Benjamin Tallis in his essay collection To Ukraine With Love, which got its Czech launch last month. The Berlin-based foreign policy expert also identifies a new approach to foreign affairs – seen in, among others, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský – which he has dubbed “neo-idealism”. I spoke to Tallis, who previously lived in Prague, at our studios in Vinohrady.
Martin Tlapa will begin his new posting as Czech ambassador to Canada in Ottawa on September 25th. The agenda items he wishes to tackle during his posting range from boosting tourism and student movement between the two nations, driving further business development amongst Czech and Canadian firms, and working closely to build strong connections with the Czech community across Canada. We caught up with him about these agenda items when he was back in Prague this past August.
President Petr Pavel addressed the UN General Assembly on Tuesday evening, where he is leading the Czech delegation in New York for the first time since taking office. His speech roundly condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine, as well as touching on climate change and other global threats.
A group of nine young people from mainly Eastern European states – including Georgia, Albania, Ukraine and Serbia – are currently in Czechia at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under a scheme to establish ties with high-flyers in the region. And some of the participants in the Duke Wenceslas Future Leaders Programme – Ani Khachatryan from Armenia, Timur Vilic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia’s Grigol Gegelia – came into our studios during a visit to Czech Radio.
At the end of the summer, Czech diplomats stationed around the world traditionally come back to Prague for a week of consultations about their individual agendas and global affairs. This year the meeting was inevitably overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and its impacts on the world at large. I met with Jakub Landovský, Czechia’s ambassador to NATO, to discuss the course of this conflict, its impacts on global security and whether it can change the world order as we know it.
The government has earmarked major investment for Terezín, site of the Czech lands’ biggest WWII Jewish ghetto, and Josefov, another 18th century garrison town. The project is based on two aims – preservation and development.
When Miloslav Stašek took up his post as Czechia’s ambassador to the United States at the end of 2022 he hit the ground running. His daily work agenda includes collaborating closely with the US government to create robust support packages for Ukraine, helping Czech firms find a foothold on the US market, seeking new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in science and technology and supporting Americans with Czech heritage. I spoke to him about the challenges this involves.
The wife of Czech President Petr Pavel, Eva Pavlová, travelled to Kyiv on Wednesday to attend a summit of first ladies and gentlemen organised by Olena Zelenska, spouse of Ukraine’s head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Czech highways and first-class roads are dotted with illegal billboards. For over twenty years now the authorities have been engaged in a cat and mouse game with their owners who frequently move them from place to place. A new amendment to the road law, due to come into force next year, should put an end to that.
A fierce battle is expected in the lower house this week over a government-proposed austerity package aimed at reducing the steep deficit in public finances. A recent poll by Generali Investments indicated that 81 percent of Czech citizens are concerned about its impacts on their finances. I spoke to Prague-based economist Lukáš Kovanda about whether this fear is grounded.
A new programme at Prague’s Charles University is to give students credits for training with the Active Reserve, the Czech Army’s equivalent of the National Guard in the US. What is the idea behind the scheme? And doesn’t it represent a certain militarisation of society? I spoke to the programme’s initiator, Jan Kofroň of the Institute of Political Studies at the Faculty of Social Sciences.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, paid a brief working visit to Prague on Monday for talks on further Czech assistance to Ukraine, the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia and preparations for the third Crimea Platform Summit due to take place in Prague in October. During his visit, he granted Czech Radio an exclusive interview.
Addressing a meeting of Czech diplomats at Czernin Palace, Prime Minister Petr Fiala highlighted Russia's imperialist policy as the foremost security concern facing the Czech Republic and the democratic world. He said Russian attempts to recover its one-time sphere of influence must be stopped, no matter how costly it is, or how long it takes.
The news site Seznam.cz has questioned the moral integrity of one of the most successful managers in the health sector, the head of the prestigious Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) in Prague, suggesting that he had made millions from usury through a company controlled by a suspect individual. The prime minister has called for the claims to be investigated without delay.
The Prague authorities said this week they were opposed to a planned performance in the city by Russian opera star Anna Netrebko, citing her ties to the Putin regime. The venue for the concert is now set to negotiate with the agency handling the booking.
No sooner was Robert Fremr nominated as one of three new constitutional judges when accusations began to surface about sentences he handed out pre-1989. Now he has made the decision to step down, although he had already been approved by the Senate. But questions remain about what this means for choosing another candidate and the pasts of other key figures in the judiciary.
Czech politicians have moved to quell anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the wake of two violent attacks against Czech women, which were reportedly committed by Ukrainian youths. President Pavel has warned against applying the principle of collective guilt and Interior Minister Vít Rakušan has assured the public that the growing number of foreigners in Czechia is not a security threat.
The controversy surrounding the nomination of Robert Fremr to the panel of Constitutional Court judges has flared up once again. New allegations have surfaced that he may have knowingly served the regime in over 100 communist-rigged trials pre-1989 and lied about his past in Senate hearings.
Czechia was among 40 states attending a meeting in Saudi Arabia at the weekend focused on a possible settlement of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Also present were China, India and Brazil, which has been seen by some as a sign of progress. Czechia’s representative at the consultations was Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian and I spoke to him following his return to Prague.
According to the Ministry of Interior’s biannual report on extremism, the anti-establishment, anti-government movement in Czechia has been gaining strength and is now overshadowing the traditional xenophobic extremist groups. Where did this movement originate and how serious a threat does it pose? I discussed these questions with extremism expert Miroslav Mareš from Brno’s Masaryk University.
The Senate met on Wednesday to consider three judges nominated for places on the Constitutional Court. However, the candidacy of Robert Fremr for Czechia’s top court sparked controversy, following recent allegations of impropriety pre-1989.
Much may depend on the continent of Africa in the future. In a shifting geopolitical landscape where Western hegemony is no longer a given, what African countries think and which way they choose to go will likely be highly significant for many global issues later on. And Czechia has paid attention, setting its sights on forging relationships with the future leaders of the continent by inviting them on a study trip to the country.
A Czech-based, Russian-owned company is under investigation on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by exporting heavy machinery to Russia, news outlet Deník N reported on Thursday. The case is being described as potentially the country’s biggest sanctions breach since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Czech government recently approved the country’s first new National Security Strategy since 2015. Unsurprising, the plan of action is influenced by Russia’s war on Ukraine. But how? And what else is different? I spoke to Petr Tůma, visiting professor at the Atlantic Council in Washington and author of a new article on the subject on the organisation’s website.
Andriy Yermak, known as Volodymyr Zelensky’s right-hand man, is the Ukrainian’s president’s chief of staff and liaison officer on key issues. He negotiates with the Russians on prisoners of war or with the Americans on key arms supplies. Andriy Yermak recently accompanied President Zelensky to Prague and on that occasion, he gave an interview to Czech Radio’s Josef Pazderka.
The eyes of the world are on Vilnius where NATO is debating Ukraine’s increasingly pressing demands to be allowed to come under NATO’s protective umbrella and new defense plans for the alliance. Czechia has made it clear that it supports membership for Ukraine when the war ends and has pledged to continue providing military and humanitarian aid.
One of the topics on the table during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Prague last week was the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, in which hundreds of Czech companies are eager to partake. Tomáš Kopečny, the government’s envoy for the reconstruction of Ukraine, is due to travel to Kyiv this week, together with 30 Czech business leaders to ascertain the possibilities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Czechia within a tour of several European states aimed at drumming up support for his country’s admission to NATO ahead of next week’s summit in Vilnius. Although Czechia has shown itself to be a staunch ally, there are limits to what it can promise. So did the Ukrainian leader get what he came to Prague for? A question I put to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Prague on Thursday for talks aimed at drumming up support for his country’s fast track admission to NATO ahead of next week’s summit in Vilnius. He received assurances from the president and prime minister that Czechia would remain a staunch ally.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Czechia has deployed a mobile ICU bus to be used across Ukraine to provide medical aid to those in need. I spoke to Petr Gandalovič, Director of the Department of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, about the purpose the bus will serve, and its symbolism for Czechia’s ongoing support of Ukraine.
Over 150 Czech economic diplomats based the world over met in Prague this week for consultations on how to further the country’s economic interests. Addressing the gathering, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stressed the need to transform the Czech economy from assembly to design, seek new markets outside the EU and build a solid Czech brand.
As the turbulent events of the past weekend unfolded in Russia, world leaders braced for potential civil war that could turn the tide of history within the space of hours. The Czech foreign ministry warned Czech nationals against travelling to the country, but said its diplomatic representation would remain in place for the time being.
Czechia has handled a wholly unprecedented refugee situation since Ukraine was attacked by Russia 16 months ago. Among those working to help provide education, accommodation and other services to Ukrainian families is UNICEF, the United Nations children’s fund. I discussed that assistance – and much, much more – with Yulia Oleinik, the agency’s head of office in Prague.
An international conference on Ukraine organised by Czech Radio on the occasion of its 100th anniversary took place in Prague on Thursday. The event, focusing on the role of public media in covering the events in Ukraine was attended by, among others, American academic Marci Shore and Russian opposition journalist Zhanna Nemtsova.
In the latest in a series of moves by the city to rid itself of reminders of its decades of Soviet occupation and oppression, Prague City Hall voted on Monday to rename Koněvova Street, which is called after the controversial Soviet military commander Ivan Konev.
Saturday marks Petr Pavel’s first 100 days as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes – and his biggest failures? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe about how he would rate how the fledgling president is doing so far.
On June 13 and 14, 2003, Czechs voted overwhelmingly (77 percent) to enter the EU. We discuss that historic vote, and current attitudes to the union, with Martin Dvořák, Czech minister for European Affairs.
The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, has just kicked off a working trip to Angola and Zambia. Czech foreign policy is increasingly focused on Africa and Mr. Lipavský says Europe needs to “bring a better offer” if it is to weaken Russian and Chinese influence on the continent.
Ex-Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš has had his wrist slapped at international level. The ALDE liberal group at the European Parliament, of which his ANO is a member, has condemned Mr. Babiš’s recent appearance at a highly anti-liberal CPAC gathering in Budapest hosted by Viktor Orban. I discussed the situation with Pavel Havlicek of Prague’s Association for International Affairs.
Tomio Okamura’s Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), an anti-EU, anti-migrant party with 20 seats in the Czech lower house, is preparing to form an electoral alliance with fellow populist right party Tricolour. The latter’s leader, Zuzana Majerová, announced the move last week. I discussed the possible reasoning behind it with political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Earlier this week, Czechia and the United States signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in Washington. The treaty creates a legal framework for the possible deployment of US soldiers on Czech territory, though officials on both sides insist it does not pave the way for a permanent American base. The American ambassador to Prague, Bijan Sabet, who arrived in the city early this year, discussed the DCA – and more – with Czech Radio journalist Jan Bumba.
Less than three weeks after the coronation of Charles III, Czechia has received its first visitor from the British royal family, H.R.H. Prince Edward. The prince, who drank a pint with Czechia’s President Petr Pavel on Tuesday, is in Prague to present the Duke of Edinburgh award to young people who have successfully completed the programme in Czechia.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová will meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington on Tuesday to sign a Czech-US Defense Cooperation Agreement. The treaty sets a framework for closer cooperation between the countries’ armed forces at a time of growing instability.
The Czech government has decided to scrap several Communist-era decrees that allowed Russia to use land in Czechia rent-free for diplomatic purposes. The decision has elicited an angry reaction from Moscow, which is threatening to retaliate.
The Czech government, which recently unveiled a far-reaching austerity package aimed at curbing the growing state deficit, has said it will not submit to trade union pressure to water-down the proposal. Responding to a strike alert called by the unions on Monday, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the planned reforms would remain on track.
President Petr Pavel on Sunday took part in an annual memorial in South Bohemia to victims of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust. He was the first Czech head of state at the event in over two and a half decades and his attendance meant it garnered extra attention.
This week the Czech government announced a major package of economic legislation aimed at reducing the country’s record budget deficit. The move, which includes a largescale pension reform, is intended to save CZK 94 billion in 2023 and close to CZK 150 billion by 2025. I asked politics professor Vít Hloušek from Masaryk University in Brno what he makes of the government’s announcements and approach.
The Fiala government has unveiled an austerity package aimed at reducing the country’s deepening state deficit and plans for a radical reform of old-age pensions. To understate the gravity of the situation the package titled “Czechia in Good Shape” was unveiled at a press briefing scheduled for five minutes to twelve – signalling the lateness of the hour.
Czechia is second on the crony capitalism index compiled by The Economist , after Russia and just ahead of Malaysia, Singapore and Mexico. According to the paper, the Czech share of crony capitalism wealth is over 15 percent of GDP. I asked political scientist Jiří Pehe to explain why cronyism thrives so well in this country.
The coronation of King Charles III is taking place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday. Although it has been 13 years since his last visit to Czechia, the former Prince Charles took a huge interest in the country during the 1990s and 2000s, visiting a total of five times, and even setting up a charity fund with Václav Havel to preserve Prague’s architectural heritage.
The Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský made it clear during his meeting with his American counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on Tuesday that Czechia is aligned with the US on important issues such as support for Ukraine, mutual defence, and relations with China.
Last year, the non-profit Centre for Civil Liberties was one of three recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize - the first time ever that a Nobel Prize has been awarded to a Ukrainian citizen or organisation. Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk started working for the organisation, which she now heads, in 2007. She has been involved in a number of activities relating to the protection of human rights, including the collecting of evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, so when Czech Radio's Jan Bumba interviewed her recently, he started by asking her what specifically she is focusing on right now.
Czech President Petr Pavel arrived in Ukraine early on Friday morning, shortly after Kyiv and other cities were hit by Russian missiles. Accompanied by his Slovak counterpart, Zuzana Čaputová, Mr. Pavel visited the sites of atrocities and criticised Moscow’s attacks on civilian targets.
President Petr Pavel has repeatedly said this week that Petr Fiala’s coalition government is poor in communication with the public, echoing a commonly heard assertion. But is the head of state correct on this point? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
The Czech government has placed the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on its national sanctions list for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His name is the first to appear on the Czech sanctions list after the government passed its own version of the US Magnitsky Act last year.
Russian journalist and politician Vladimir Kara-Murza received a 25-year jail term on Monday on charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. It is the longest sentence Russia has handed down to an opposition figure since it launched the invasion. Mr. Kara-Murza, a UK citizen, won the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize last year and I discussed his case with Michael Žantovský, head of the Václav Havel Library in Prague.
Czech military chiefs have moved to quell public alarm sparked by the fact civilian doctors will take part in an exercise call-up drive next month. Top brass say the conscription readiness test is in fact a routine matter.
The government has nodded to the planned closure of 3,000 post offices around the country. The state-owned company Czech Post is in the red, due to a marked drop in demand for its services, but critics argue that the state must continue to meet the needs of the thousands of elderly citizens who depend on postal services.
The Czech and Slovak cabinets held a joint session for the first time in three years on Monday. Ministers discussed a range of issues, including energy and security in Slovakia – and rejected planned new EU regulations they say would hit their respective auto industries.
Seventy years ago, on 2 April 1953, the first Praga V3S multi-purpose, all-terrain truck rolled off the production line in Prague’s Vysočany. The military vehicle was one of Czechoslovakia’s best-known postwar products.
Czechia is set to cease issuing visas to Russians and Belarusians who also possess citizenship of other states. The country stopped granting visas to regular citizens of Russia and Belarus, except in humanitarian cases, soon after the former’s invasion of Ukraine last year.
Last week’s decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children has been welcomed by leading Czech politicians. Against the backdrop of a meeting of justice ministers in London this Monday, Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský argued for the setting up of an international tribunal.
Since taking over as UK ambassador to Prague in January, Matt Field has, with skilful use of social media and visible eagerness to learn, quickly established himself as one of the best-known diplomats in the country. But how has he actually been finding life in the Czech capital? And what are his priorities as London’s man in Prague? They are just a couple of the things I discussed with Mr. Field in this wide-ranging interview.
Czech President Pavel has announced that he will sign into law a controversial government proposal to reduce the indexation of old age pensions in June of this year. At the same time, he said the procedure by which it has been pushed through Parliament was dubious and the law’s validity should be assessed by the Constitutional Court.
Following Petr Pavel’s inauguration as Czechia’s new head of state, the president’s office chief Jana Vohralíková, also assumed her post at Prague Castle. What changes is she planning? And will the castle become more accessible to the general public during Petr Pavel’s presidency?
Ties between Czechia and Taiwan have been significantly strengthened over the past several years. The Central European state has arguably become one of the continent’s pioneers in expanding relations with Taiwan, despite threats from Beijing. This month will see the largest Czech delegation yet travel to Taipei. It will be led by the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. She spoke to Radio Prague International about its significance.
Retired general Petr Pavel was officially sworn into office as president of the Czech Republic on Thursday. The ceremony, which took place at Prague Castle, is part of a wider programme of inaugural events that will also see the new head of state pray in the Cathedral of Saint Vitus and greet members of the assembled public.
Petr Pavel has just been sworn in as the new Czech head of state. While the president’s role in the Czech political system is largely symbolic, the way he communicates and presents himself to the public is all the more important, says expert on strategic communication Denisa Hejlová. I spoke to her just a few hours before Pavel’s inauguration to discuss his communication style:
Outgoing president Miloš Zeman ended his term in office at midnight on Wednesday, with the symbolic lowering of the presidential flag and the closing of Prague Castle’s Gate of the Giants. But that wasn’t enough for some Zeman critics – they wanted a proper ceremony to mark the end of the former president’s time as head of state.
Czechia is set to get a new head of state. Retired general Petr Pavel, who won the presidential election two months ago, will be sworn into office on Thursday afternoon. Crowds of people could be seen gathering in front of Prague Castle already in the early morning hours to witness the inauguration ceremony, which takes place in many of the country’s most famous secular and religious sites.
On Thursday, Czechia will welcome a new First Lady to Prague Castle – Eva Pavlová. But who is she? And what role does the First Lady play in Czech politics and public life?
Wednesday will see Miloš Zeman step down after 10 years as Czech head of state. But where does Mr. Zeman stand among the major figures of post-1989 Czech politics? And what will his legacy as president be? I discussed those questions with Dr. Sean Hanley of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London.
Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries with a very high rate of migration. According to statistics from the Czech NGO People in Need, four people leave Moldova every hour for a better life abroad. The post-Soviet republic, located between Romania and Ukraine, is one of the six priority countries for Czech development cooperation, which focuses, among other things, on helping children.
Gift for Putin has been one of the most active Czech civic groups providing direct support to Ukraine. Its best-known project has been a collection for a tank named Tomáš, which won international headlines. Now – as well as organising a concert in Prague on Saturday – it has begun a collection for Přemysl, a rocket launcher. Gift for Putin’s Jan Polák told me all about it.
Three quarters of Czechs see the war in Ukraine as a case of “unjustifiable Russian aggression”, according to a survey conducted by the Median agency for Czech Radio on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict.
On the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we look at how the event activated both the Czech state and society towards providing military, humanitarian and political aid for the war-stricken country – and how in turn Ukraine’s resistance inspired many Czechs do go the extra mile in their response.
The Czech government is facing a major battle in the lower house over a bill which would reduce the indexation of old-age pensions. While the cabinet argues the need to economize, the opposition says the government is hurting the most vulnerable group in society at time of “brutal inflation”.
The Zaporizhzhia Regional Youth Centre in Ukraine is one of the largest youth centres in Europe and has served as a volunteer headquarters since the outbreak of the war. The centre also received support from the Czech NGO People in Need and was visited recently by our reporter Daniel Ordonez.
A series of events, organised by the NGO People in Need, will take place in Prague this week to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They will include a video mapping on the building of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as special film screenings and an exhibition documenting the war month-by-month.
In a forthright speech on Tuesday, the head of the Czech Army said that if there were a war between NATO and Russia, the Czechs would immediately become active participants. Karel Řehka told the country’s top brass that preparations must be made now for such a possibility.
The government should this week consider proposals from the Foreign Ministry to terminate treaties allowing Russia free rent of land on which Russian-owned buildings stand in Czechia. The Czech side are also seeking rents paid for the use of such properties. I discussed the matter with Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Dvořák, first asking how Russia came to own dozens of properties in this country.
“Continued support for Ukraine for as long as the war lasts” was the main message to come out of the Munich security conference last weekend. However, the Czech president-elect Petr Pavel stressed that Russia’s defeat could happen under various scenarios, including some that the West should try to avoid.
The new American ambassador to Czechia, Bijan Sabet, said this week that supporting US firm Westinghouse’s bid to construct a new nuclear bloc at the Dukovany power station is a priority for his embassy. Two other bidders, from South Korea and France, are in the running. I discussed the US Embassy’s plans with journalist Daniel Anýž, an expert on Czech-American relations.
Prague got a new lord mayor on Thursday, with Bohuslav Svoboda starting his second term as head of the city council. Critics question whether the Civic Democrat, who is 79, will be able to devote all his energies to the role, given his other positions.
Prague representatives of the Together coalition, the Pirate Party and the Mayors and Independents signed a coalition agreement on Wednesday, which outlines the form of their cooperation for the next four years of the city’s administration. The signing follows five months of tough negotiations.
“After the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia we always rooted for the Czech hockey team” the Israeli ambassador to Czechia, Anna Azari, says in an interview for Radio Prague International. Azari is a seasoned diplomat with a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe. She was posted to Prague in 2021, to what she calls “the friendliest country for Israel in Europe” and says it is easy for her to feel at home here, despite the fact that Czechs and Israelis are often as different as chalk and cheese.
Following his failed presidential bid, Andrej Babiš announced on Wednesday that he will remain the leader of the ANO party as well as an MP, but will step away from active leadership. Deputy chairs Karel Havlíček and Alena Schillerová will become the “main faces” of Czechia’s largest opposition party in Czechia. I discussed Mr. Babiš’s move with political analyst Jiří Pehe.
Agriculture, water and education are three of the main areas where Czechia cooperates with Ethiopia on development. While just under a third of the country’s inhabitants live below the poverty line and more than half are illiterate, the population is growing fast. Aside from the problems this situation brings with it, such as unemployment and deforestation, Ethopia also has to fight something else caused by the developed world: climate change.
President-elect Petr Pavel made international news this week by phoning the president of Taiwan – and later saying Czechia would no longer act “like an ostrich” toward China. What is behind these moves? And what’s next for relations between Prague and the world’s most populous state? I discussed Mr. Pavel’s call to Taiwan and more with Ivana Karásková, a China specialist at Prague’s Association for International Affairs.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the six countries which the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently focussing on in its development cooperation programmes. Due to its linguistic and cultural proximity to the Balkan state, the Czech Republic has been developing close partnerships there since the 1990s and has also been supporting it in its preparations for EU accession.
China's foreign ministry has reacted with anger to a phone call between Czech president-elect Petr Pavel and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen, reminding Prague of its commitment to the “One China” principle.
After a divisive and sometimes bitter campaign, Petr Pavel beat Andrej Babiš by a decisive margin in the Czech presidential elections at the weekend. The future head of state now says he intends to listen to voters across the political spectrum – but does not wish to appear on postage stamps.
Hundreds of supporters thronged Petr Pavel’s election headquarters in Prague on Saturday. The mood was upbeat when the very first counted districts gave him an instant lead in the presidential election – and euphoric as it became ever clearer he was going to win. I spoke to some of the well-known personalities in attendance.
General Petr Pavel has been elected Czechia’s fourth president, beating the Slovak-born billionaire and former Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš in a runoff. A career soldier, Pavel served as Chief of the Czech Army’s General Staff and later as Chair of NATO’s Military Committee. He retired in 2018.
Retired army general Petr Pavel is set to become Czechia’s next president after winning a sweeping victory in the second round of presidential elections. He beat his contestant for the top post, former prime minister Andrej Babiš by the biggest margin in the history of Czech presidential elections.
Czechs assessed President Miloš Zeman’s ten-year performance in the country’s top post with an average 4 on a five point scale, the equivalent of a "D" in the Western school grading system, according to the results of a survey conducted by NMS Market Research.
Since the first round of the presidential elections, many Czech liberals have expressed indignation at the language of candidate Andrej Babiš, with the billionaire ANO leader attempting to depict opponent Petr Pavel, a former head of the army, as a “warmonger”. But given that the bookies make Mr. Pavel favourite, isn’t there a certain logic to Mr. Babiš’s approach? And if it works, mightn’t he then rein in the rhetoric and become a temperate head of state? I discuss those questions – and much more – with commentator Jiří Přibáň, a law professor at Cardiff University.
Right after coming second in round one of elections to the Czech presidency, Andrej Babiš attacked his rival for the post, Petr Pavel, referring to the latter’s alleged communist-era intelligence training. Mr. Babiš later released billboards implying the former army chief could lead Czechs to war. But how likely is this aggressive approach to succeed? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
The next president of Czechia will be either Petr Pavel or Andrej Babiš. The ex-head of the Czech Army will go into a second-round run-off against the billionaire ex-PM and ANO chairman in a fortnight’s time.
The first round of presidential elections is taking place in Czechia this Friday and Saturday. Eight candidates are vying for the position of Czech head of state to replace the incumbent president, Miloš Zeman, whose second term in office ends on March 8. He was the first Czech president to be elected by popular vote.
John F. Kotouc is the Co-CEO and Co-Chair of the American National Bank for the midwestern region of the United States. Descended from a family of Czech immigrants to Nebraska, he is also a member of the American Friends of the Czech Republic. He recently visited Radio Prague International’s studios and spoke to us, among other things, about the organisation and its aims.
Monday saw ANO party leader and presidential candidate Andrej Babiš acquitted of fraud charges in connection to the so-called Stork’s Nest case, with the judge ruling that it cannot be proven any of the defendants had acted criminally. I asked political commentator Jiří Pehe whether the acquittal will strengthen the former prime minister’s chances in the upcoming presidential race.
Among those taking part in elections for the next president, which begin on Friday, will be many thousands of Czechs living abroad. With postal ballots not an option, registered voters need to travel to a Czech embassy or consulate and cast their ballots in person. Jan Pěnkava, who has been living in Derby, England for eight years, says he is planning to go to London – for the second round in two and a half weeks’ time.
2022 was a very busy year for the Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský. He became a major supporter of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country in February, regularly calling out Moscow’s aggression in forthright language. The issue of the war was also key during the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of the year. Numerous aspects of the Ukraine conflict came up when Mr. Lipavský visited our studio this week, but the conversation also took in the Visegrad Four, China – and several other issues.
Demand is falling and the economy is headed for recession according to the head of the Czech National Bank Aleš Michl. Meanwhile, the IMF’s chief Kristalina Georgieva has said that half of the European Union will experience a recession in 2023. So is a recession coming and how hard will Czechia be hit? Those are some of the questions I put to Cyrrus bank economist Vít Hradil.
Monday saw no fewer than nine former Czech prime ministers attend a special dinner hosted by the country’s current head of government, Petr Fiala. The get together was organised on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of independent Czech and Slovak republics. A special concert, attended by Slovakia’s Prime Minister Eduard Heger, was then held in Prague’s Rudolfinum, where both leaders paid tribute to Czechoslovakia and its modern day successors.
Days after it ended, cabinet members publicly assessed Czechia’s presidency of the European Union on Tuesday. The Europe minister said the country’s success during six months at the helm of the EU had surprised fellow members – and improved its international image.
Things will not be easy this year, but Czechia will handle it. That was a key message from the prime minister’s New Year’s address to the nation on Sunday night. Petr Fiala also praised Czechs’ solidarity with Ukraine and said the Russian invasion intensified the need for defence spending.
Journalists from Radio Prague International and Radio Slovakia International get together to talk about the peaceful break-up of Czechoslovakia thirty years ago and how it has affected people-to-people relations.
In response to the Taliban‘s crackdown on women’s rights in Afghanistan, several international aid organisations, including the Czech NGO People in Need, have suspended their programmes in the country.
Czechia’s six-month presidency of the European Union is slowly coming to a close. Petr Fiala’s cabinet took over the role at a challenging moment, with Russia still waging war against Ukraine and energy prices rocketing. So what have been the main achievements of the Czech presidency? That’s a question I put to Filip Nerad, head of the international news department at Czech Radio.
With only weeks to go until the elections, a new poll suggests the three frontrunners in elections for the Czech presidency are neck and neck. For ages it seemed it would be a battle between Andrej Babiš and Petr Pavel, but recently Danuše Nerudová has emerged as a serious contender. How has she achieved this surge? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
A new street dedicated to the late Czech president, dissident and playwright Václav Havel was unveiled in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The ceremony, marking a symbolic end to the Czech presidency of the EU Council, was attended by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel.
EU foreign ministers are presently meeting in Brussels to debate a ninth package of sanctions against Russia proposed by the European Commission. Helping to reaching broad agreement on the proposal is the last important foreign policy task for the Czech presidency before it hands over the lead role to Sweden at the end of this year.
In the coming months, Czechia will employ thousands of experts from Ukraine in its arms manufacturing industry, thanks to a deal struck between Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting the pair had in October.
Ukrainian soldiers have begun training here in Czechia, days after the country’s legislators approved such a move. Meanwhile, the country’s commitment to helping the country is reflected in a report that one Czech factory is producing a tank every four days for Ukraine.
After five years, British ambassador Nick Archer’s time in Prague is now coming to an end. In an interview on the eve of his departure, the career diplomat discusses a wide range of subjects. These include the joys of having exclusive use of a Malá Strana palace during lockdown, lobbying for the expulsion of Russian diplomats and how his teenage sons discovered Prague as a “city of the night”.
Czechs living outside their home country have until this coming Sunday, December 4, to register to vote in January’s presidential elections. Meanwhile the current government’s pledge to introduce postal voting has not become reality.
Nine people are in the running to succeed Miloš Zeman as Czech president in elections in January, after fulfilling the necessary criteria. Two, Petr Pavel and Danuše Nerudová, collected 50,000 signatures, while the remainder secured the backing of legislators. But, now the field has officially been declared, who are the candidates?
The Czech Army must prioritise being able to fight in a largescale war against a sophisticated opponent, the Chief of the Czech Army’s General Staff Karel Řehka said on Tuesday at the armed forces’ annual meeting of commanders. Despite next year’s budget being nearly double that what it was five years ago, General Řehka said that the army’s capabilities will still be lacking in the near future and called therefore for “brutal effectiveness”.
Czech officials have responded with concern to the news that two allegedly Russian missiles hit Polish territory on Tuesday, killing two people. Czechia has said it will coordinate with its EU and NATO partners and support whatever action is agreed on.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala is meeting with his Slovak counterpart Eduard Heger this Thursday in Prague. The chief topic on the agenda is the issue of illegal migration and the associated border controls between the two countries which the Czech government recently reinstated. Slovakia is unhappy with the Czech measure, arguing that it goes against Schengen Area rules.
No fewer than 21 people applied to stand in Czech presidential elections before Tuesday’s deadline for registration, though many may be disqualified. Meanwhile polls suggest Danuše Nerudová is catching up on frontrunners Petr Pavel and Andrej Babiš.
On the backdrop of the ongoing Czech EU presidency, a special exhibition titled: “Design and transformation. Stories of Czech design 1990-2020” is currently on display at the Design Museum Brussels. The exhibition serves not just as an opportunity to show beautiful Czech designs and the stories of selected brands, but also as a much-needed call for a unified strategy of how to present Czech product design abroad. I spoke to one of the key figures behind the exhibition - the Vice-Rector of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague Radek Sidun.
A Czech government delegation led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala has returned from Kyiv, following a day of talks with their Ukrainian counterparts and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The trip was intended to express support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia and in its ambitions to join the EU and NATO.
ANO party leader Andrej Babiš announced on Sunday that he will be running in the January 2023 Czech presidential election. The former prime minister made the decision despite currently being behind in the polls after several months of touring the country’s regions. I asked political analyst Petr Just why he thinks Mr Babiš ultimately decided to throw his hat in the ring.
Tens of thousands of people joined a rally “against fear” in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Sunday. The demonstration, called by the civic association Million Moments for Democracy, came at a time when fear of rising prices and the looming energy crunch have led some Czechs to question the foreign policy of the Fiala administration and the country’s staunch support for Ukraine.
Czechia has just over two more months at the helm of the EU and according to the Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek, the hardest test of its ability as a negotiator is yet to come. Prague needs to push ahead with some of the basic agreements of the Green Deal at a time when Europe is increasingly feeling the energy crunch.
Following a mass expulsion of each other’s diplomats in 2021, Prague and Moscow are now engaged in a spat over diplomatic ground. The Czech Foreign Ministry has sent Russia a protest note over the dismantling of a fence around the Czech House in Moscow, while the mayor of Prague 7 is suggesting tearing down the wall around the Russian Embassy premises in Stromovka Park.
The country’s counterintelligence service BIS traditionally performs quietly and efficiently behind the scenes. But on Monday it was at the centre of media attention due to a rare visit by the prime minister, the first in 24 years.
The Czech government has responded to Russia’s intensified bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine by closing its doors to Russian tourists with Schengen visas. The cabinet also approved a plan for Czechia’s participation in the reconstruction effort of the war-torn country.
Czechia is facing the “worst security threat” in its modern history and “Russia is the Third Reich in colour”. Strong words of warning could be heard on Monday from the various heads of Czech intelligence who gathered at a special conference organised by the head of the Committee on Security of the Chamber of Deputies.
A parody event backing the “annexation” of Kaliningrad to Czechia was held outside Russia’s embassy in Prague on Monday.
The Czech minister of defence says the country’s army is stepping up the defence of strategic infrastructure due to the threat of Russian sabotage. Jana Černochová says Moscow is trying to weaken the arms industries in states that are helping Ukraine.
European Union leaders wrapped an informal summit at Prague Castle on Friday agreeing on giving more financial and military aid to Ukraine, but making no final decisions on how to tackle soaring energy prices amid a decline of gas supplies from Russia.
More than 40 leaders gathered in Prague on Thursday afternoon for the first ever summit of the European Political Community. It is a new grouping set up by France that also includes many states that are not EU members. At the summit I discussed its aims with Czech deputy foreign minister for Europe, Jaroslav Kurfürst.
The Qatari head of state, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is currently on a state visit to Prague where he is meeting not only with Czech leaders but also with several other European representatives on the backdrop of the European summit in the Czech capital. Aside from the key topic of energy, discussions are also set to revolve around investments into the transport, spa, and weapons industry sectors.
With 100 days until Czechs elect a new president, the bookmakers have Petr Pavel as favourite. Andrej Babiš had been expected to go head to head with the ex-army man, though it is not clear whether he will run. Meanwhile the governing Together alliance have just recommended their voters back Pavel, Danuše Nerudová or Pavel Fischer. I discussed the election with political scientist Miloš Gregor.
Elections to one-third of the seats in the Czech Senate were not a success for opposition leaders ANO, which took only three of 27, compared to 20 for the governing Together group. Where did it go wrong for Andrej Babiš’s party? And will the results impact how ANO approach January’s presidential election? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
Russia’s plan to annex more of Ukraine on Friday, following sham referendums in the occupied eastern regions of the country, have drawn widespread condemnation from Western democracies. Czechia, which currently holds the EU presidency, has slammed the move as "an unacceptable farce“.
This week Prague hosted a summit of the Pact of Free Cities, a cooperation agreement that was jointly signed nearly three years ago by the mayors of Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, and Budapest. The pact has since grown in membership and now also includes Kyiv whose mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, was also present at the summit where support for Ukraine was at the center of focus. I asked one of the founding members of the Pact, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, how Central Europe’s metropolises want to help.
Czechia reinstated border controls with Slovakia for a period of ten days as of midnight Wednesday. The government ordered the move in connection with a sharp increase in illegal migration in recent weeks.
The weekend municipal and Senate elections took place in an atmosphere of growing concern about soaring energy costs, inflation and the global security situation, raising fears that this might fuel nationalist and extremist tendencies. I asked commentator Jiří Pehe whether the election results gave any indication this could be happening.
With the final results now out from this weekend’s municipal and Senate elections, political commentators are noting that there are is no sign of fundamental change on the Czech political scene.
Voting has ended in municipal elections and elections to a third of seats in the Czech Senate. Traditionally independent candidates have won the most votes followed by the ANO party. ANO will also challenge the ruling parties in the second round of elections to the Senate.
Czechs have cast their votes in the 2022 municipal and Senate elections. Voting booths around the country closed precisely at 2pm and preliminary results are expected in the late afternoon or early evening.
Friday sees the start of the 2022 municipal and Senate elections in Czechia. Voting booths are open on Friday from 2pm to 10pm and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm. In those districts where a Senate candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a subsequent second round of elections will take place a week later.
Following President Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation on Wednesday, there were reports of thousands of Russians leaving the country to avoid the call-up. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has said that Russians fleeing their homeland for this reason do not fulfil the conditions for a humanitarian visa in the Czech Republic.
Recent weeks have seen important events take place in relation to the war that Russia has unleashed on Ukraine, whether it be the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, or Vladimir Putin’s Wednesday announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia. To find out more about the wider ramifications of the current situation on the global balance of power, I spoke to Dr Jan Kofroň, an international relations and security expert at Charles University. He said that Russia’s partial mobilisation comes far later than it should have.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský addressed the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday urging delegates to defend the UN Charter and stop Russia’s colonial war against Ukraine. In an emotive speech to the assembly he said now was the time for the UN to prove its “raison d'être”.
The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, has been facing major challenges recently. Last March, following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia was excluded from its ranks, reducing the number of member states from 47 to 46. Czechoslovakia became a part of the Council of Europe in 1991, and after the dissolution of the country, the Czech Republic joined as a newly independent state in 1993. Petr Válek has been the Czech ambassador to the council since last year. In an interview with Alex Rosenzweig, Mr. Válek began by explaining what his day-to-day work is like.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala went on national television on Sunday to try to dispel growing public concern regarding energy costs in the coming months. He said he was confident that the cap on energy prices approved by the government and parliament last week would get the country through the winter and called on people to pull their weight and save energy wherever possible.
News outlets on Thursday evening reported that a Czech diplomat with top security clearance had been caught handing classified information over to the Russians. However, a legal loophole means that the alleged mole could well evade prosecution.
Bořek Lizec is not just Czechia’s ambassador to Canada but also a man on a mission to track down the history of the many Czech communities in North America. He recently visited Radio Prague International’s studios to talk about Czechia’s search for Russian energy alternatives, as well as about his encounters with Canada’s Volhynian Czechs. I began by asking him what it is like to be an ambassador during a time of significant international tension brought about by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there was some debate as to what to call her successor. Until then he was known as Princ Charles, but almost immediately news organisations translated the name and called him Král/King Karel. So why the change? I discussed the matter with well-known Czech linguist Karel Oliva:
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, her oldest son ascended to the throne as King Charles III. Not so many people outside of Czechia know, however, that Charles visited the country a number of times after the fall of communism in 1989, and took an active interest in Czech architecture, even establishing a heritage fund with Václav Havel.
Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday, is fondly remembered by many Czechs. Not least thanks to her visit to the country in March 1996, when she met with the then president Václav Havel and chatted with locals on Charles Bridge. One of those who met with the monarch several times during his career is the former Czech ambassador to the UK Michael Žantovský.
All eyes will be on Brussels on Friday, when Europe’s energy ministers meet to discuss ways of tackling soaring power prices. The head of the European Commission has proposed capping Russian gas prices – but the Czech presidency of the EU is firmly opposed to this plan. I discussed the emergency summit with Czech Radio’s Filip Nerad.
Sunflowers of Hope is the name of a new project launched in cooperation with Prague City Hall and the city’s Ukrainian Embassy. Using Ukraine’s national flower as a symbol, it seeks to combine financial donations with messages of emotional support. The project is the brainchild of the Czech branch of global advertising agency Dentsu. I asked the company’s creative director for Czechia, Troy Palmer, how exactly it works.
Saturday saw tens of thousands of people demonstrating on Prague’s Wenceslas Square against what they see as government mishandling of the energy crisis. Among the attendees were also members of hard left and hard right parties, many of them carrying banners with anti-NATO and anti-EU slogans, as well as calling for an end to pro-Ukraine measures. I asked Otto Eibl from the Department of Political Science at Masaryk University in Brno why he thinks the turnout was so big.
The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra will mark the Czech Presidency of the EU Council with a special concert on a floating stage on the Vltava River on Friday evening. The event will present some of the most iconic pieces of Czech classical music, but it will open with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. I discussed the programme with the head of the Czech Philharmonic, David Mareček:
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91. He played a key role in the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Iron Curtain. In Czechia, Gorbachev’s legacy lies mainly in the hope for a better future that his reforms helped bring about and his non-interventionist policy when it came to Soviet satellite states.
Statistics in recent years have shown that there is a growing number of Indians, both students and professionals that are moving to and living in Czechia. Why is that? And what are Czech-Indian relations like in general? To find out more, I spoke to Dr Eliška Žigová, who served as the head of the Asia-Pacific Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being appointed as the country’s ambassador to India earlier this year. I began by asking her how she felt about being appointed as the Czech Republic to the most populous country in the world.
Wednesday marks exactly six months since Russia launched its war on Ukraine. Czechia has taken in more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any other state and provided massive assistance to Kyiv. But how did the relatively new Czech government respond to the invasion in March? And with fuel prices rocketing, how is it handling public opinion now? I spoke to Pavel Havlíček of the Association of International Affairs in Prague.
Which Czech parties are skilled at using social media and why do some politicians get it so wrong? Where should we draw the line over what we share on the internet? And why did some Czech influencers begin spreading disinformation on Instagram? These are just some of the many topics I discussed recently with Marie Heřmanová, a leading Czech digital anthropologist.
Czechia should actively pursue a realist, value-driven diplomacy abroad, while at the same time seeking out new energy sources, Prime Minister Petr Fiala told diplomats at an annual gathering of the country’s ambassadors in Prague. The meeting is mainly centred on economic and security questions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When an amendment to the law regarding foreigners’ health insurance in the Czech Republic was passed last year, then-opposition MP Zbyněk Stanjura criticised it. Now, however, as the current finance minister he is having to defend it – and to no less than the European Commission.
If you visit the European Council buildings in Brussels these days, you will see 12 colourful flower-shaped carpets decorating its main entrance. The installation is part of a project called Flower Union, created by a group of young artists, textile designers and graphic designers to represent Czechia during its EU presidency. Among its aims is to draw attention to the topics of nature protection and climate change.
The European Commission will present its proposal for the new European Media Freedom Act in September, Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová has told Czech Radio. The legislation proposal will include rules on the management and regulation of public media, as well as greater protections for journalists. Negotiations within the EU on approving the bill will likely take place during the Czech presidency and will not be easy, the commissioner said.
Prague’s capacities for taking in refugees filled quickly following the Russian attack on Ukraine, and in mid-June, the capital’s centre for Ukrainian refugees closed down. Although it re-opened in July, the capacity problems have not gone away. Neela Winkelmann, a Czech woman living in Prague, decided to do something about it, so in cooperation with the city authorities, she set up The British Homes for Ukrainian Refugees Agency. The agency helps those fleeing the war get to the UK by matching Ukrainian refugees in Prague with British hosts via the UK government’s visa program Homes for Ukraine. The sponsorship scheme offers a visa for 3 years including a work permit, healthcare, social support, free access to education for children, and a welcome payment of GBP 200 upon arrival. I spoke to Neela recently, and asked her what the catalyst was for her idea.
EU energy ministers made an agreement last week to reduce gas consumption by 15 percent in preparation for a potentially tough winter. However, the agreement has been criticized by some as being too weak, unfair, or inconsistent. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský responded to some of the criticisms in an interview with Czech Radio.
The Czech government announced this week that it will be entering negotiations with the United States about the possible purchase of F35 fighter jets. The Ministry of Defence says that it is hoping to secure two squadrons – around 24 aircraft – worth dozens of billions of crowns, which would quite possibly make this the most expensive purchase in Czech Army history. The negotiations are set to be concluded by October next year. I asked defence expert Matúš Halás, from the Institute of International Affairs in Prague, what he makes of this decision.
Czechia may soon have its own version of the 2012 US Magnitsky Act which would allow the country to impose national sanctions for serious violations of international law on individuals and legal entities who are not on the EU sanctions list. The state could, for example, bar them entry to this country or freeze their assets.
According to the results of an audit by the Supreme Audit Office, Czechia still lacks a comprehensive system for protecting so-called soft targets from terrorist attacks. The statement, released on Monday, has evoked concern regarding the level of security in the country, which is now moreover hosting dozens of events connected to the Czech Presidency of the EU Council. I asked Andor Šandor, former head of Czech military intelligence, and a respected security expert, for his take on the matter.
The European Union’s is currently facing many crises and its main task will be to mitigate their effects on EU citizens, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in his address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Mr Fiala highlighted Ukraine and the energy crisis as the main priorities of his country’s EU presidency. In a subsequent speech, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paralleled Czech and Ukrainian experiences with invasion, saying that Czechia was assuming the rotating presidency of the EU Council at the right time.
The leaders of the newly established Czechoslovakia could and should have done far more to ensure its stability. So says historian Professor Igor Lukeš from Boston University, author of the recently published collection Dějiny a doba postfaktická (History and the Post-Factual Age). Our interview also touches on NATO enlargement, Václav Klaus and Ukraine, Putin – and much more besides.
The Czech Republic has taken up the rotating presidency of the EU Council at an exceptionally difficult time, when the war in Ukraine is re-writing the world order and states in close proximity of Russia are scrambling to join Western structures. In an interview for Radio Prague International, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Dvořák spoke about the need to maintain EU unity in the face of Russian aggression, prepare for a drop in living standards and the importance of keeping the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership states on track for EU admission.
The small Bohemian town of Litomyšl became a metaphorical “centre of Europe” this Friday as the Czech government met with European Commission leaders to discuss the country’s plans for its six-month-long EU presidency. Following the meeting, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing a special concert for both delegations in the town that was the birthplace of famous composer Bedřich Smetana.
President Zeman’s second term in office will expire in March of next year and Czechs are already mulling who they will support as their next head of state in elections scheduled for January 13. I spoke to political analyst Jiří Pehe about the outlooks and whether the turbulent times we are living in will influence their choice.
Numerous events have been taking place in the Czech Republic and Brussels to mark the start of the Czech EU presidency. One of them is an exhibition of designer wine glasses celebrating the 27-member states, which is now on display at the Jablonec Museum of Glass and Jewelry.
After rising to become the third biggest party in the Czech lower house, the Mayors and Independents are now on the ropes. A prominent member in Prague is in custody on corruption charges over a case that has also led to the resignation of the Mayors’ education minister. Can the party recover from this scandal? I spoke to political scientist Miloš Gregor of Masaryk University.
As the Czech Republic’s six month EU presidency fast approaches, we discussed the country’s list of priorities for the chairmanship of the European Council with Czech Radio’s EU Affairs analyst and former Brussels correspondent Filip Nerad, and Eastern Partnership and Russia expert Pavel Havlíček from the Association for International Affairs.
A wide range of the Czech capital’s popular venues will be transformed into hubs of cultural activity this weekend to celebrate the Czech Republic’s upcoming six-month presidency of the EU Council which starts next month. Some of the locations will also host French and Swedish guests, representing the countries that are part of the upcoming EU defined presidency trio.
Amid growing speculation about the possibility of a sudden halt in Russian gas supplies to Europe, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala went on national television on Wednesday night to assure Czechs that the government had a crisis scenario ready and would not let anyone fall. He also outlined the government’s plan to cut the country’s dependence on Russian fuels.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Tuesday outlined his ministry’s priorities for the upcoming Czech EU Presidency. He stressed the need to continue helping Ukraine, boost the EU’s defense and security structures and promote democratic institutions and the rule of law.
Will the police crackdown on an organised crime ring within the Prague Public Transit Company, which included the now former City Hall Councillor Petr Hlubuček of the government represented Mayors and Independents party, have a significant effect on the Czech EU presidency? And will the Czech government survive the scandal of its second largest coalition member? These are just some of the questions I put to political analyst Jiří Pehe.
Just days ahead of the onset of its EU presidency, the Czech Republic has been hit by a major corruption scandal connected to the second largest government party – the Mayors and Independents. The affair has already cost the head of one minister, but opposition groupings are calling for more blood as the party faces the worst public relations disaster in its 17-year-long history.
The Czech Republic is preparing to take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from France on July 1st, for its second stint at the helm of the 27-member alliance. Due to the war in Ukraine, and the need to address pressing issues such as energy security, defense capability and the resilience of the EU economy, it will have to hit the ground running. I spoke to the Czech Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek about the challenges of taking over the EU presidency in this difficult time and how it had changed the country’s priorities.
The Czech government has presented its list of priorities that it plans to focus on during the country’s upcoming presidency of the EU Council that will run from July 1 to December 31 of this year. Managing the refugee crisis associated with the war in Ukraine as well as helping rebuild the country will be a top issue, along with ensuring energy security for Europe and strengthening defence capabilities.
A European Parliament delegation headed by EP President Roberta Metsola is in Prague for talks with Czech leaders on the upcoming Czech EU Presidency. Viktor Daněk interviewed Ms. Metsola ahead of her trip to Prague and first asked whether she considered the opening of accession talks with Ukraine to be the main task of the presidency.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for his country to receive EU candidate status and for a seventh EU package of sanctions against Russia in a speech to the Czech Parliament on Wednesday. He repeatedly echoed the famous phrase “we are with you, be with us” that was broadcast on Czechoslovak Radio during the Soviet-led invasion in 1968. The appeal for more European support comes weeks ahead of Czechia assuming the presidency of the EU Council.
Putin’s war on Ukraine also has implications in outer space, with Russia carrying out cyberattacks aimed at crippling Ukrainians’ access to satellite services – and freezing cooperation with the West on space issues. This will be one area discussed at a space security conference starting in Prague this Sunday. I spoke to Jana Robinson, head of organisers the Prague Security Studies Institute.
The Together alliance of three centre-right parties would receive 28.5 percent of the vote in general elections, suggests a poll released on Sunday. Behind them would be the Pirates and Mayors, who also contested elections last year together. Forming the two alliances helped the five parties enter government – but does it make sense for them to continue indefinitely? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
French President Emmanuel Macron received Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at Elysee Palace on Tuesday night for talks on the war in Ukraine and its global repercussions, particularly in energy security and the need to end Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas. France is due to pass on the EU Council Presidency to the Czech Republic on July 1st and the two counties have been cooperating closely to ensure a smooth transition.
After previously saying he would say in September whether he will stand in presidential elections early next year, Andrej Babiš now says he would only announce “at the last moment”. Why this evident change of strategy? And will his team be satisfied with the latest polling for the former prime minister. I put those questions to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
June 3 marks 100 days since Russia unleashed war on Ukraine. We look back at what the Czech Republic has done to contribute towards supporting and aiding the war-torn country.
The Czech Republic’s six-month presidency of the EU gets underway in exactly one month’s time. In parallel the country’s international network of Czech Centres will be running a whole host of events in the second half of 2022, with the motto Vision for Europe.
After hours of struggling to resolve their differences, EU leaders on Monday agreed to block more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports to member states in a deal that will cut off a huge source of financing for Russia’s war machine. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary received a temporary exemption for pipeline oil until they can completely cut their dependency on oil imports from Russia.
Thanks to contracts signed under the communist regime, the Russian Embassy received a vast amount of real estate in Prague, Karlovy Vary and other Czech cities free of charge to be used for diplomatic purposes. With just six Russian diplomats left in the country, the Czech Foreign Ministry says it is time to revise property relations and make the embassy accountable for how the property is used.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala says that the Czech Republic now aims to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defence by 2024, one year earlier than pledged in the government’s manifesto. The statement was made ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid in June. I asked defence analyst Matúš Halás from the Institute of International Relations in Prague what he makes of this new target.
A two-day Czech-African Health Forum began at Prague’s Černín Palace on Wednesday, bringing together representatives of 10 African countries and seven health ministers. Pandemic management, strengthening the healthcare sector, and Czech business solutions for hospitals are among the topics on the agenda. I interviewed Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Tlapa to find out why Africa is important to the Czech Republic.
When Dana Huňátová joined Czechoslovakia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late 1989 she literally came across a red telephone to Moscow. As head of office of new minister Jiří Dienstbier she was closely involved in the deep overhaul of the ministry required after four decades of communism.
Helping Zambian farmers cope with climate change, tackling drinking water problems in Peru, opening an eye-clinic in Cambodia or strengthening the tourist potential of Georgia – those are just some of the projects that the Czech Republic has undertaken to help improve living conditions in distant parts of the world. Now, the immediate priority has become responding to the needs of war-torn Ukraine. I spoke to Petr Gandalovič, head of the Foreign Ministry’s department for humanitarian aid and development cooperation about what the country is doing to alleviate the suffering of Ukrainian refugees and help people in need elsewhere.
The Czech Republic is due to take up the rotating presidency of the European Council in July of this year. Alongside preparations for the daunting tasks ahead at a difficult time for Europe and the world at large, there are plans for a series of cultural and promotional events. I asked Marek Zeman, spokesperson for the minister of European affairs, what is in the pipeline.
The Czech Republic is one of the countries that have called for a two-to-three-year transition period from the EU’s plan to ban Russian oil imports. Within this timeframe, the government hopes to enlarge alternate delivery systems such as the TAL pipeline running from Italy. But to do this, Czechia first needs to secure approval from current TAL users – Germany, Italy and Austria.
“Things were better under Babiš!” declare billboards that have been popping up around the Czech Republic. ANO’s name does not appear on the ads – depicting people complaining about how they’ve lost out under the Fiala government – and the party denies it even is a campaign. How much impact can these billboards have? I put that question to political scientist Otto Eibl of Masaryk University.
The Ministry of Industry is looking for ways to speed up the planned construction of a nuclear waste facility in the Czech Republic, which would enable the country to fulfil the EU’s taxonomy plan for using nuclear energy as a clean source. However, the plan is running into opposition from local districts who don’t want nuclear waste stored near their homes.
President Zeman says that in the past he misjudged Russia but has now changed his view of the Kremlin. The Czech head of state said in an interview that Putin was destroying his own country with the war on Ukraine – and scoffed at suggestions he or close associates had served Moscow.
More than 1,400 people, including several foreign leaders, attended the funeral service for the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday. Among those present were representatives of the Czech Republic, Madeleine Albright‘s old homeland, where she commanded huge respect.
In recent days, European universities have been the target of a Russian disinformation campaign claiming that they are expelling Russian students in a wave of Russophobia. Charles University this week categorically denied claims that it was expelling or discriminating Russian students in response to the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s decision to suspend gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria has raised concerns about the consequences of a cut in deliveries to this country. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that while there were no immediate signals that Czechia was at risk of a gas supply shutdown, the country must be prepared for a worst-case scenario.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the Czech Republic’s response to Russia’s war on Ukraine at a Tuesday meeting with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský in Washington D.C. Both heads of diplomacy reiterated the importance of maintaining Ukraine’s sovereignty, while also condemning alleged Russian atrocities.
Czech politicians have welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s election victory over his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, hailing it as good news for Europe and a signal of stability in turbulent times. I spoke to Zuzana Šimek from the Prague-based Association for International Affairs about the implications of this victory and what it may mean for Czech-French relations.
František Vrábel is an expert on Russia’s infiltration of Czech society via sophisticated online disinformation, something his international company Semantic Visions monitors very closely. At their offices in a lovely Art Nouveau building overlooking Prague’s Old Jewish Cemetery we discussed efforts to combat such propaganda – and Facebook’s role in spreading disinformation. But I first asked Vrábel, who is in his early 60s, a little about himself.
Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine has put millions of people on the move, refugees fleeing from Ukraine to save their lives and others fleeing from Russia for fear of what the country may turn into in the months and years to come. A British writer based in a city in southern Russia told Radio Prague International how the war turned his life upside down and made him seek refuge in Armenia. Fearing for the safety of those he left behind, he agreed to speak to Daniel Ordonez of RPI’s Spanish section under the pseudonym Robert Ginzburg.
Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová is currently visiting the United States in order to discuss closer defence ties and the speedy purchase of new military equipment. At a meeting with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington D.C. on Thursday both sides expressed their interest in signing a mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia are “showing a new way forward for Western democracies” with their response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. That is the view of Berlin-based political scientist Benjamin Tallis in an article published this week. I asked the security expert how specifically the two states were achieving this.
Czech police have started investigating suspected war crimes in Ukraine. They are currently gathering testimonies from refugees who fled the country to the Czech Republic. The Czech judiciary can sentence the perpetrators of the violence in absentia and they would face up to 20 years in prison or even a life sentence.
A newly published opinion poll on Czech society’s response to Russia’s war on Ukraine suggests that support for NATO is at its highest level for almost three decades – while only 9 percent of respondents now feel there is no threat of armed conflict in this region. I discussed the study’s findings with one of its authors, Matěj Jungwirth of the STEM agency.
Defence Minister Jana Černochová made headlines at the weekend by saying she would discuss potential US military bases on Czech territory on a visit to Washington. However, within days – and following a heated debate – the prime minister had poured cold water on the idea. So what happened? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
During its presidency of the European Union, the Czech Republic will seek to advance the debate on halting oil imports from Russia, Czechia’s head of diplomacy Jan Lipavský said following a meeting of Central European foreign ministers on Tuesday. The European Union should also strive towards granting Ukraine candidate status as soon as possible, Mr Lipavský said, adding that Vladimir Putin’s war is a broader challenge to the international order.
The minister of defence in the Prague government is set to discuss the possibility of US troops being stationed on Czech territory at high level meetings in Washington. A cabinet colleague has identified possible locations – and suggests Ukraine would not be in its present situation if it had such bases.
Czech politicians have joined the world in denouncing the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine, saying that the war criminals must be brought to justice. In the meantime, the Czech government has boosted military support for the country, sending T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to help Ukraine defend itself.
Following Viktor Orbán’s landslide victory in the Hungarian parliamentary elections this Sunday, some politicians and experts have questioned future cooperation within the Visegrad group, comprising the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. I discussed the question with political scientist Pavlína Janebová from the Association for International Affairs.
A Czech Army contingent headed for Slovakia on Monday where they will lead a multi-national battlegroup of alliance forces bolstering NATO’s Eastern Flank. The Czech troops will be joined by air and ground forces from five other allied states and tasked with protecting the border with Ukraine.
The Czech government is preparing new legislation, inspired by the so called Magnitsky Act, to better implement its sanctions on Russia, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said on Wednesday. Ministries are also coordinating on creating an updated sanctions list. Expropriating Russian-owned property is on the table too.
President Zeman’s team are constantly in the news right now. First it was reported that his head of office, Vratislav Mynář, was behind the shredding of classified documents. Now, following the widely condemned issuing of a presidential pardon, there are reports that Mynář travelled abroad on official business without the government’s knowledge. I discussed the situation with political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Czech President Miloš Zeman made headlines on Tuesday after pardoning the former head of the Lány Forestry Administration, Miloš Balák. The man, a direct subordinate of the president’s head of office, recently got a three-year sentence and a CZK 1.8 million fine for manipulating a CZK 200 million public tender.
On Monday Petr Fiala put out a video saying his government’s first 100 days had not been easy, as predicted, but still they had achieved a lot. But how have the Czech prime minister and his ministers really done during the traditional bedding-in period? That’s a question I put to political scientists Petr Just.
For the first time ever, the Czech government has a special representative for media and disinformation. His name is Michal Klíma and he has been in charge of several of the country’s leading media outlets in the past. More recently, he has also monitored the Czech media environment for the International Press Institute. I asked him why the government has decided to set up this position and what exactly will be his task.
Czech billionaire businessman Dalibor Dědek has launched an international petition drive calling for tougher action against Russia over its war on Ukraine. Named We Must Act, the campaign is calling for at least a no-fly zone over Ukraine and humanitarian bridges to besieged cities. Dědek explains what spurred him to action.
Madeleine Albright, a former United States secretary of state who was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937, has died at the age of 84. Mrs Albright was the first woman in history to serve as US foreign policy chief and played a key role in the Czech Republic’s accession to NATO. I discussed her legacy with Daniel Anýž, a well-known commentator on Czech-US affairs:
The Czech Republic has been rocked by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Some are already wondering if the conflict could impact the biggest event in Czech politics this year, campaigning for January’s presidential elections. I discussed the situation with political scientist Miloš Gregor, but I began by asking about the position of incumbent Miloš Zeman, who before the war supported Vladimir Putin.
Many regional and municipal administrations in the Czech Republic who saved at least part of their funds in Russia’s Sberbank have lost access to their money since the bank lost its license after the invasion of Ukraine. Amid fears that this could lead to financial problems for some districts, the Association of Towns and Municipalities is set to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Finance.
Applications to join the Czech Army’s active reserves, a non-professional pool of troops that the armed forces can draw upon when lacking in manpower, have grown tenfold since Russia invaded Ukraine three weeks ago. Overwhelmed by the number of applicants, the Army is now expanding its training capacities.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, together with his counterparts from Poland and Slovenia, met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv on Tuesday after traveling to the besieged capital by train. The three EU heads of government stressed in their message that Europe stands with Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s aggression. Negotiations revolved around securing further material help for Ukraine and expanding sanctions on Russia.
The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovenia travelled to Kyiv on March 15 in an "unequivocal" show of support for Ukraine as Russia continues its assault on the country. They were the first leaders to visit the besieged city and hold face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky since the start of the Russian invasion. I asked political analyst Jiří Pehe about the significance of this visit.
With the Czech Republic facing its worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, the European Union has promised to provide modular humanitarian bases in order to help house the large influx of people arriving in the country. Meanwhile, regional governors are calling for a long-term plan and higher state subsidies for hoteliers in order to unlock more of the country’s recreational facilities for refugees.
Since the start of the Russian aggression in Ukraine close to two million people have fled the country. Close to 200,000 refugees, mainly old people, women and children, have found their way to the Czech Republic –on their own, with the help of volunteers or by getting on one of the humanitarian trains that the Czech government has been sending out to the Slovak and Polish borders daily. Our contributor Martina Kroa enlisted as a volunteer at Prague’s Main Railway Station to experience the humanitarian aid effort first hand.
Prime ministers from the EU’s Visegrad Four bloc, including the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala, met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. All parties agreed on a common approach to Russia’s aggression against its neighbour, as well as on the necessity to lower their countries’ energy dependence on Russia. Further sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime are also on the table.
Has Russia’s President Putin lost touch with reality? And how are things most likely to play out now, following the launch of his bestial war against Ukraine? I discussed those questions with a leading Czech expert on Russia, political geographer Michael Romancov. Our conversation also took in Czech issues, such as President Zeman’s abandoning of his previous support for Putin.
On Monday, March 7, hundreds of guests are expected to gather at Prague Castle for an awards ceremony which will see state honours handed out for the first time since 2019. The ceremony has been overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and several leading state dignitaries have announced that they will boycott the event in view of the president’s previous cordial relations with Vladimir Putin.
As a security expert focused on media and the internet, Roman Máca has been very busy lately, monitoring a rise in activity among pro-Russian online voices linked to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Máca, who works for the Institute for Politics and Society, has also been drawing attention to radical individuals, some of whom he calls Putin's Czech "legion".
This week’s Sunday Music Show is dedicated to the Concert for those affected by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which took place on Wenceslas Square this Monday and was organised by Czech Television. Various leading Czech bands and signers, including Mirai, Chinaski, Mig 21, Pražský výběr, Marie Rottrová and Tomáš Klus, sang during the fundraiser, which also featured a performance by the Czech Philharmonic orchestra. Many of the songs also had symbolic meaning. For example, Michal Hrůza sang Karel Kryl’s famous 1968 song Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka (Close the Gate, Little Brother). A total of CZK 160 million was raised during the event. The money will be sent by Czech Television to People in Need’s SOS Ukraine charity fund.
Employees at the Brno-Řečkovice shooting range have decided to do their bit in helping Ukrainians defend their country by providing free weapons handling and tactical training courses to those men looking to return to their homeland and fight. Many of the fresh students have never held a gun before, says organiser Josef Kraus. I asked him how the idea to start offering weapons training began.
Despite repeated intelligence warnings, many were caught by surprise when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last week. One of those who predicted that this was likely to happen was Jan Kofroň, an international relations scholar at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences. I caught up with him earlier this week to discuss his impressions of the conflict thus far and began by asking him why he thought it was likely that Vladimir Putin would order the invasion.
For many years the NGO Memory of Nations has been recording the testimonies of Czechs who suffered under the Nazi and Communist regimes. Now the group has a new focus: raising money to buy materials directly for the Ukrainian Army.
Alla Větrovcová is a former Radio Prague International journalist who now lives in the suburbs of Kyiv. She described life in Ukraine’s capital as locals wait out the Russian attacks.
The Czech government is further intensifying its efforts to aid Ukraine. Systems are being put in place to help the Ukrainian refugees entering the country every day and ministers say a state of emergency from Friday will accelerate the process of welcoming thousands of new arrivals.
The democratic world is exerting unprecedented economic pressure on Russia to try to stop the country’s aggression in Ukraine. How effective have the sanctions been so far and will they be enough to stop Putin? And how is the crisis in Ukraine going to impact the global and European economy? Those are some of the questions I put to Tomáš Sedláček, a leading Czech economist, university lecturer and a former member of the National Economic Council.
The Russian military aggression in Ukraine and the country’s brave efforts to resist the invasion have sparked an unprecedented wave of solidarity in the Czech Republic. It is not just the close proximity of the country, located just 300 km away, but also echoes of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia that have jolted politicians and the public into action.
Thousands of people gathered on Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Sunday to protest against the invasion of Ukraine and demand an immediate end to the violence in the country. Speakers denounced Russia’s aggression in Ukraine as an attack not only on that country, but on the whole democratic world and the values it stands on.
Hundreds of people gathered on Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Thursday to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There were also gatherings at several other places in the Czech capital, including in front of the Russian Embassy. Among the protestors were many Ukrainians living in the Czech Republic, their faces expressing shock at what just happened.
The Czech Republic tried to persuade its EU partners to block Russia from the SWIFT international payments system, the country’s foreign minister said on Friday. The Prague government is reportedly underwhelmed by the European Union’s hitherto response to the invasion of Ukraine and is undertaking steps of its own.
Martina Kroa talks to Georgij, a Russian student at the Prague University of Economics, about how the invasion of Ukraine impacted his life, his relationship with family members back home – and even the likelihood of him returning to Russia one day.
Czech top officials have joined widespread international condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Czech government’s call for much tougher sanctions against Russia, was echoed by President Miloš Zeman who described Putin’s military operation as “a crime against peace” saying the Russian leader must be stopped.
As the eyes of the world rest on Ukraine, European governments are preparing for possible scenarios, and means of helping the country. The full-blown Russian invasion will require humanitarian aid on the ground and may result in an outpour of refugees to European states. The Czech government has said it is ready to take in thousands of Ukrainians should the need arise.
As Russian aggression in Ukraine mounts so does the amount of Russia-related fake news in the digital public space. Bob Kartous from the Czech Elves says the disinformation campaigns on this topic have quickly pushed out the main theme addressed by trolls in the past two years – the Covid pandemic. I spoke to him about the fake news out there and what can be done to counter it.
More than a thousand people gathered in the centre of Prague on Tuesday evening to express solidarity with Ukraine and its citizens as fears grow over the possibility of a Russian invasion of the country. The event, organised by Million Moments for Democracy, was also attended by many Ukrainian expats, who wanted to support their friends and family at home.
The Czech government has long been advocating tough sanctions against Russia over its aggression towards Ukraine and has extended support to the Kyiv government. But how well is Petr Fiala’s cabinet prepared for the potential impact of conflict on the Czech Republic itself? I discussed that question and more with Pavel Havlicek of Prague’s Association for International Affairs.
This February marks exactly 80 years since the Czechoslovak Army started to enlist women in its services. Today, there are two female generals serving in the Czech military. The first one to be promoted to the rank of general was Lenka Šmerdová nearly five years ago.
President Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of the breakaway Ukrainian republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and station troops in Donbas under the guise of protecting Russian citizens there has raised hackles in the Czech Republic, bringing back memories of the Russian-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, also undertaken under the scenario of “brotherly assistance” from Russia.
In a Sunday interview with Czech Television, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he still believes a peaceful solution can be found to the Russian build up on the Ukrainian border. However, he also said that the likelihood of a Russian invasion has increased and could happen at any moment. In the face of this threat the prime minister praised EU and NATO unity in confronting the situation.
The Czech government plans to cut the old-age pensions of senior communist-era secret police officers. While the idea is welcomed by some, calls have also been made to do more for the victims of the former regime, many of whom are on very low pensions.
In view of the escalating threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has withdrawn its diplomats’ families from the country. While the embassy in Kyiv continues to operate for the time being, the ministry has also called on other Czech citizens to leave the country if possible.
The Czech minister of foreign affairs has started a two-day visit to Ukraine intended to show support for the Kyiv government in the face of strong Russian pressure. Jan Lipavský and his Slovak and Austrian counterparts are also travelling to the Donbas region.
A dispute between the Czech Republic and Poland over a mine on the Polish side of their border has been resolved, with the leaders of the two states signing a deal in Prague. However, locals in North Bohemia say they will lose out.
As more and more countries in Europe prepare to return to a normal life, pressure has been mounting on the Czech government to follow suit. Thousands have rallied in the streets of Prague in the past weeks, demanding an end to the restrictions, and a decision by the Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday speeded up the government’s plans for a gradual return to normal.
A controversial amendment to the Czech Republic’s Pandemic Law, which would broaden the government’s ability to enforce restrictions, is being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. While the ruling coalition claims it is a necessary step that would avoid the need to call a state of emergency, opposition politicians and some members of the public have criticized what they see as an unnecessary extension of executive powers.
New information has come to light regarding the October 2014 explosion at the Vrbětice munitions depot, which Czech intelligence traced last year to Russia’s military intelligence service GRU. Three confidential sources told Czech Radio and the weekly Respekt that Czech police are investigating one of the employees of the company that rented the space at the time of the explosion. He may have met with the head of the GRU unit and provided support for the two agents that are believed to have carried out the attack.
The last US ambassador to Prague shipped out just over a year ago, when Joe Biden was inaugurated president. However, his administration is yet to send a replacement, leading to reports that the Czech government is now pushing for Washington to send a new representative to Prague. I discussed the matter with journalist Daniel Anýž, an expert on Czech-US relations.
Despite increasing fears of a Russian attack, the Czech Republic is not for now withdrawing diplomats home from Ukraine. But the Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, says the country continues to back tough sanctions as the most effective means of reining in Moscow.
A group of Czech senators have publicly expressed their support for the visiting Tibetan filmmaker and former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen’s appeal to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Tibetan film director is currently touring Europe to highlight human rights issues in China in the context of the Olympics.
As Covid numbers continue to rise steeply, the Fiala government announced on Wednesday that it would invalidate the former government’s directive on mandatory vaccination for selected groups. The move confirms its resolve to pursue an anti-Covid strategy based on trust and goodwill.
After questions about their financing, government coalition member the Mayors and Independents have decided to return millions of crowns they received in donations. The party’s leader says no money is worth risking voters’ trust.
It has been nearly three years since the opening of the Czech Consulate in Manchester. One of its main tasks has been to offer guidance and support to thousands of Czechs living in the north of England with their applications for settled status in the UK amid the Brexit transition. I recently caught up with the head of the consulate, Ivo Losman, and asked him how successful Czech officials had been in helping with this administrative process.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government won a vote of confidence on Thursday evening. The result came as no surprise as his coalition enjoys a majority of 108 mandates in the 200-seat lower house. Preceding the vote, however, was a contentious debate lasting over 22 hours. The sparring highlighted sharp divisions over how to tackle the Covid pandemic and soaring inflation – while reducing the record-high budget deficit.
Coal mining in the Czech Republic will end sooner than originally planned. The new five-party coalition government wants to phase out coal from its energy mix by 2033, five years sooner than the 2038 target recommended by the government’s Coal Commission. However, mining activity is expected to significantly increase in the near future in response to the high costs of natural gas.
The new Czech government, which takes up the rotating EU presidency in July, hopes to use the opportunity to develop deeper ties with countries outside of the Visegrád Four group. That loose alliance of post-communist central European states was formed 30 years ago, well before its members joined the EU or NATO.
With Omicron becoming dominant in the Czech Republic, the government is shortening quarantine periods for those who are Covid-positive. It has also come out with a brand new concept aimed at ensuring critical infrastructure does not collapse: “working quarantine”.
Facing a potential acute labour shortage, the Czech government has cut isolation requirements for people who test positive for Covid-19. From next Tuesday people will need to stay home for five days, instead of the current 14.
The current European Commission sustainable finance taxonomy proposal could bring about complications when it comes to transforming the Czech energy sector, according to ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš. Together with the Association of Industry and Trade, he has called on the Czech state to suggest revisions to the document, especially when it comes to the sustainability deadlines on nuclear power.
The Czech government is considering shortening isolation periods for people who test positive for Covid-19. Prime Minister Petr Fiala also says that the state will cover the cost of compulsory workplace tests due to start in two weeks’ time.
Although Covid numbers in the Czech Republic have been steadily dropping for over a month now, experts warn that the country faces a massive wave of Omicron infections in the coming weeks. In an effort to phase-out the spread of the epidemic, the government has ordered massive testing in companies and institutions of both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.
President Miloš Zeman used his traditional Christmas address to call on the government sworn into office the week before to take bold steps to tackle three major challenges: the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the looming energy crisis, and a ballooning budget deficit.
The Czech Republic could in future play a role in NATO’s Rapid Response Force. That is if the country’s new defence minister has her way. Speaking at Czech Army HQ, Jana Černochová also called for increased military spending.
The new Czech government hasn’t wasted time in laying out its priorities as regards the Covid crisis. A decree on compulsory vaccinations will be amended before it takes effect, while the health minister says he prefers appealing to the public to be careful over state directives.
The new Czech cabinet, led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, has made it clear that it plans to effect change in many areas of government. However, one area in which the new administration will stay firmly on course is energy policy. The new prime minister said on Sunday that the proposed EU ban on new vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035 is unacceptable and the Czech Republic would seek allies in Europe to change it.
The Czech Republic’s new government was officially sworn in by President Miloš Zeman at Lány Chateau on Friday. Headed by Petr Fiala, the cabinet is made up of 17 ministers from the ruling Together and Pirates and Mayors coalition. It replaces the ANO-Social Democrat government of Andrej Babiš, which led the country for the past four years.
This Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Václav Havel, the dissident playwright and first president of post-Communist Czechoslovakia. In honour of his memory, a series of events will take place in cities and towns around the country, but the late Czech president will also be remembered abroad.
President Miloš Zeman will appoint the new Czech government to office at Lány Chateau on Friday, despite his objections to the nominee for foreign minister. The development has been hailed as a significant victory for Prime Minister Petr Fiala, a university professor who has promised to change the political culture in the Czech Republic.
A heated debate between EU foreign ministers is expected at the European Council meeting this Monday regarding the possible diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in China. Several leading constitutional officials in the Czech Republic have indicated that they are in favour of following the Anglo-Saxon world in diplomatically boycotting the Games. However, within the European Parliament, Czech MEP’s are divided on the issue.
Battle lines have been drawn in Czech politics. President Miloš Zeman says he will never appoint one of new PM Petr Fiala’s proposed ministers, believed to be foreign affairs nominee Jan Lipavský. Now Mr. Fiala says that if the president fails to name one of his candidates, he will take the matter to the Constitutional Court. I discussed the situation with journalist Andrea Procházková from the weekly Respekt, a law expert.
As Covid numbers continue to rise, the Czech Health Ministry is pushing for mandatory Covid vaccination for selected professions and people over 60, to be introduced as of next March. The announcement has sparked fierce controversy between the incoming and outgoing administration on how to prevent the epidemic from spiraling out of control.
President Miloš Zeman appointed Petr Fiala prime minister on Sunday, seven weeks after general elections. Now the head of state says he will spent another fortnight meeting Mr. Fiala’s cabinet nominees – with a clash likely over the candidate for the foreign affairs portfolio. I discussed what happens next, as well as the protracted nature of the process, with political scientist, Jiří Pehe.
President Miloš Zeman appointed Civic Democrat leader Petr Fiala to the post of prime minister at Lany chateau on Sunday. The appointment ceremony, in which the two men were divided by a Plexiglas wall, was arranged so as to meet strict hygiene norms after President Zeman tested positive for Covid on Thursday.
President Miloš Zeman is back in hospital. Hours after being discharged on Thursday – following six weeks of treatment for an undisclosed illness – he tested positive for Covid-19. The bitter irony is that his infection has further delayed the swearing in of a new prime minister, whose urgent priority is to bring the pandemic under control.
The future of the Czech Army lies in cutting edge technologies and a new way of thinking about the battlefield domain, Chief of the General Staff Aleš Opata said at the Army’s annual meeting of commanders on Tuesday. The chief of staff praised the nascent government’s plans to continue increasing defence spending towards the 2 percent of GDP target and the largescale procurements of equipment made over the past two years. However, he also stressed the need to complete the acquisition of new armoured personnel carriers.
Along with other states in Central Europe, the Czech Republic is currently facing another coronavirus epidemic wave. This Monday sees the activation of new measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, which should be in place for at least two weeks. The government is also set to decide on whether to enact a state of emergency. Meanwhile, there is talk of implementing a lockdown and mandatory vaccinations.
The Czech Republic is one of the least vulnerable countries when it comes to Russian and Chinese malign activities in the Central European and Western Balkan regions, according to a newly published Vulnerability Index, produced by the Bratislava-based security think-tank GLOBSEC. To find out more about the vulnerabilities that countries in the region face and why the Czech Republic is doing better than most, I spoke to Dominika Hajdu, the head of GLOBSEC’s Centre for Democracy & Resilience and one of the authors of the study.
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia no longer has parliamentary representation. It is the first time since the fall of Communism that the party failed to gain any seats in the Czech Chamber of Deputies. As the country remembers the Velvet Revolution that started on November 17, 1989, one could ask whether this is likely a permanent demise of the Czech Communists, or just a temporary setback.
The incoming Czech government headed by Petr Fiala of the Civic Democrats has pledged to be more pro-Western than its immediate predecessor. But will it really follow a Havel-like, human rights agenda? And what will its installation mean for the Visegrad Four? I discussed these issues with Zdeněk Beránek, director of the think tank Europeum.
Representatives of the SPOLU and PirStan election alliances, which successfully challenged Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ ANO party in October’s general elections, on Monday signed a coalition agreement on forming a new government. The new five-party administration, to be headed by Civic Democrat leader Petr Fiala will face the challenging tasks of leading the country out of the coronavirus pandemic, fighting soaring inflation and a severe energy crisis that has already hit close to a million Czechs.
Five parties that together secured a majority in elections last month took a step closer to forming the next Czech government by inking a coalition agreement on Monday morning. But how will so many parties get along in practice? And what can we expect from Petr Fiala as PM? I discussed those questions with political scientist Petr Just.
Key Visegrad Group (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia) stakeholders see Germany as an important bilateral partner and want the EU to expand further south and east. They are also more hopeful about prospects for better relations with the United States since the election of Joe Biden, but remain largely wary of China. These are just some of the findings of the latest bi-annual “Trends of Visegrad Foreign Policy” survey, published by the Czech foreign affairs think-tank Association for International Affairs (AMO) in cooperation with the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.
In reaction to the worsening coronavirus epidemic in the Czech Republic, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch said the health authorities were in favour of properly implementing the restrictions in place rather than adding too many new ones. He urged people to get the Covid booster shot and recommended that employers introduce home office wherever possible.
Two blocs of parties that ran in recent general elections have agreed on the outline of a new Czech coalition government headed by Petr Fiala of the Civic Democrats. The five groupings involved are due to sign a coalition deal on Monday.
This week marked the visit of Taiwan’s largest ever trade mission to the Czech Republic. Aside from awards and speeches that praised the two countries’ close relationship, five memoranda and six cooperation agreements were signed relating to various technology sectors, including electro mobility, AI and, perhaps most importantly, chip manufacturing.
As Covid numbers continue to rise steeply in the Czech Republic, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch on Tuesday made an urgent appeal for more people to get vaccinated against the infection. He stressed that the situation in the coming weeks would get worse and that the only real weapon against Covid is mass inoculation.
The Czech Security Council has accepted a new 15 point action plan on how to counter hybrid threats. If approved by the government, it will delineate tasks that ministries and state agencies have to fulfil within the next two years as part of the country’s new hybrid threats strategy.
What Afghans miss the most since the country was taken over by the Taliban this summer is freedom. Lack of aid strategy also helped government corruption, says Zakia, an Afghan woman with Czech residency who managed to leave the country after several failed attempts to cross the border.
There have been a slew of headlines involving Miloš Zeman’s team since the speaker of the Senate made public a doctors’ statement that the president is unable to perform his duties. These include a pledge from Prime Minister Babiš to remove Mr. Zeman’s head of office. To make some sense of all these news stories, I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Senate chair Miloš Vystrčil on Monday ended weeks of speculation regarding the health of Czech President Miloš Zeman. Citing a report by the president’s chief physician, he said Mr. Zeman was unable to perform his presidential duties and the prognosis for an early recovery was highly uncertain. In the wake of general elections, the news has sparked intensive debate on a possible transfer of the president’s powers.
The Czech political landscape has been shaken up by the weekend’s general elections. Andrej Babiš’s ANO were pipped to first place by the three-party Together group, who have agreed to form a government with another electoral coalition, the Pirates and Mayors. But can the five parties form a workable coalition? And what happens to ANO now? I discussed the outcome of the elections with political scientist Dr. Sean Hanley of University College London.
For the first time since the foundation of the Czech Republic, neither the Social Democrats nor the Communist Party have passed the 5-percent threshold needed to enter the lower house. Many analysts have long said that both parties have been steadily losing voters, mainly to Andrej Babiš’s ANO. I asked Daniela Vašátková, a political scientist from the left-wing Masaryk Democratic Academy, if this is the only reason for the defeat of the traditional left.
Czech President Miloš Zeman is the centre of focus one day after the election into the Chamber of Deputies. He is expected to name a prime minister who will then form a government. However, the president’s health condition is bad and he was transferred to hospital on Sunday.Current Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Saturday that Prague Castle expects post-election negotiations to begin on Wednesday.
In a surprising result, the opposition SPOLU coalition received the most votes in the elections into the Czech Parliament’s lower-house – the Chamber of Deputies. The ruling ANO party came in second by just a few tenths of a percent, but still has the most seats. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats and Communists will not have seats in the lower-house for the first time since the foundation of the Czech Republic. The question of who will be asked to form a government now lies with President Zeman.
Polling stations across the Czech Republic closed on Saturday at 2pm after a two-day long voting period in which citizens cast their ballots to decide on which parties will make up the Czech government over the next four years. The ballots are expected to be counted by the end of the day. Radio Prague International will be tracking the process live via latest news in text below.
The graph shows the latest vote count in the 2021 general elections. Polling stations closed at 2pm around the country. The vote count is usually concluded by the evening hours. Voters must cast their ballot in person, since Czech law does not enable electronic or postal voting, which makes the counting of votes relatively fast.
A two-day election to the Czech Chamber of Deputies has just got underway. A total of 22 parties and coalitions are vying for votes in an election that will decide whether Prime Minister Andrej Babiš stays in power.
Alongside elections taking place this weekend, one of the biggest news stories in the Czech Republic at present is the health state of President Miloš Zeman. However, his officials insist that the 77-year-old is not seriously ill and will appear in public on Friday.
The proportion of women in the Czech lower house of parliament is still significantly lower than in many other EU countries. A new initiative called Zakroužkuj ženu or Circle a Woman wants to change that in the upcoming elections by calling on voters to use their preferential votes for the female candidates on the ballot.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has come under fire following the publication of the global investigation into the Pandora Papers which claims that he moved USD 22 million through offshore companies to buy an estate on the French Riviera, while keeping his ownership secret. Mr Babiš has since lashed back, stating that the accusations are timed to damage his party’s chances in the upcoming lower-house elections.
On a visit to the Czech Republic, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban highlighted the strong ties between Prague and Budapest and the need for the two countries to stand together in order to defend their common interests in the EU. The show of unity between prime ministers Babiš and Orban evoked a storm of controversy on the home scene, dividing the public and politicians alike.
The whole of Europe is watching Germany, where the long era of Chancellor Angela Merkel has ended in near deadlock. Several Czech politicians have congratulated the Social Democrats on their narrow win – and are talking up even closer cooperation between Prague and Berlin.
Czechs will go to the polls on Octber 8 -9 to elect a new parliament and pave the way for a new government. Who are the leaders looking to become the new PM? Will it be personalities or issues that will decide the upcoming elections? And, given what we know today, what are the chances of forming a stable government? Those are some of the questions Radio Prague International put to Professor Vladimíra Dvořáková (head of the Masaryk Institute of Advanced Studies) and sociologist Jan Hartl (founder and long-term head of the STEM polling agency).
In a speech at the UN General Assembly, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia and demanded the release of people detained in Belarus. He also called for more international cooperation on a host of issues.
The British journalist, author and analyst Edward Lucas has been covering central and eastern European affairs since 1986, including as a senior editor at The Economist magazine. Czech Radio reporter Petr Dudek recently interviewed him about a range of issues affecting the region – not least the spectre of Russian covert operations and efforts to polarise populations, in part through spreading disinformation.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš visited Hungary’s controversial “anti-migrant” fence on Wednesday, keen to see for himself the latest thermal imaging camera system installed along the country’s borders with Serbia and Croatia. Leading the tour was his counterpart Viktor Orbán – who along with Babiš and other central European leaders, vetoed an EU proposal for compulsory refugee relocation.
More than 40,000 Czech students cast their ballots in mock elections held at secondary schools across the country this week. The outcome of the vote, held a fortnight ahead of regular elections, showed that the future generation of voters would end the rule of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and place its trust in the opposition coalitions running against him.
The Czech Republic has until Wednesday to inform Brussels how the country has addressed conflicts of interest issues regarding the distribution of EU subsidies. According to the news site iRozhlas, the European Commission rejected a request by Czech authorities to extend the deadline by 60 days – until well after the parliamentary elections in mid-October.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakub Kulhánek was in the Middle East this week with a Czech business delegation, looking to boost bilateral trade with two regional powerhouses: the United Arab Emirates and, more crucially, Saudi Arabia.
How does the Czech Republic's electoral system work? And who are the main contenders in October's elections? Find out in our useful guide.
EU finance ministers on Monday gave their final approval to the Czech National Recovery Plan, opening the way for the country to receive the first instalment of a 180 billion crown aid package from the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Fund. However, the EC made it very clear that in order to get the money for which it is eligible the Czech Republic would have to address conflict of interest issues involving high-ranking politicians.
Despite COVID-19 vaccination rates falling over the past several weeks in the Czech Republic, the country’s Health Ministry has raised its vaccination target from the original 70 to 75 percent. A new campaign is now being rolled out by the ministry which includes the promise that the wearing of face masks will end once three-quarters of the adult population are fully inoculated. Currently, the overall vaccination rate among the adult population lies at 66 percent.
With the fallout of the NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Belarusian regime helping migrants illegally cross the border into EU member states, security questions are currently at the forefront of foreign affairs in the European Union. To find out what is being done in the EU to tackle these challenges – and to learn more about the Czech Republic’s position on these topics – I spoke to Ambassador Jitka Látal Znamenáčková, who is the Deputy Head of the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU as well as the country’s Permanent Representative in the EU’s Political and Security Committee of the (PSC).
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is currently on a three-day visit to the Czech Republic. The German head of state is meeting with leading Czech officials, including President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. In an historic first, he also laid a wreath at the Church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Prague – the site of the last stand of the Czechoslovak paratroopers who killed Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich.
Every year, at the close of the summer Czech ambassadors posted around the world are invited to Prague for consultations on foreign policy and economic diplomacy. The week of intensive negotiations is closely followed by the media since it is a reliable pointer as regards the country’s position on matters of global importance.
The Czech Republic successfully completed three evacuation flights from Taliban-occupied Kabul last week. On board at least one of the planes were also Afghan holders of long-term residency in the Czechia. However, not all of them have been so lucky, as the case of one girl (who does not wish to be named) shows. Still stuck in a house in the Afghan capital, she contacted Radio Prague International and spoke to us about her situation. The interview was recorded on Saturday, August 21.
The parliamentary committee that oversees the BIS counterintelligence service is due to meet on Thursday to address an astounding claim: President Miloš Zeman says the secret service’s director “wiretapped” people close to him without cause and “eavesdropped” on the head of state himself.
The hectic evacuation effort aimed at getting Czechs and their Afghan co-workers out of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is over, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced at a press briefing in Prague on Thursday. The head of government said the operation had been successful and thanked everyone who fought to save lives in extreme conditions.
A second Czech aircraft, intended for transporting evacuees from Kabul to Prague, landed in the Afghan capital on Tuesday. Like other NATO states, the Czech Republic is struggling to evacuate its Afghan co-workers from the possible wrath of Taliban forces which entered Kabul last week. Meanwhile, a debate has flared up on the Czech political scene about whether the government is doing enough to help Afghan interpreters who helped Czech troops.
Following the rapid advance of Taliban forces, the Czech Republic has begun evacuating its personnel from Afghanistan. The first Czech aircraft, carrying diplomats and embassy staff arrived in Prague on Monday morning. In total, it is expected that close to 100 Czechs and Afghan support staff will be evacuated from the country.
MPs have passed a landmark proposal that would make it illegal to place children below the age of three into institutional care. In practice, this means that infant care centres (kojenecké ústavy), would cease to exist. At the same time, MPs have voted to raise state subsidies for foster parents.
The Czech Defence Ministry has developed a programme to help Afghan translators and other support staff who served with Czech troops in Afghanistan. The latest version of the programme is set to be put forward to the government at a special meeting on Friday. However, some civic initiatives and opposition politicians have been critical of what they see as slow progress.
US historian Timothy Snyder is a leading specialist in the history of Central and Eastern Europe and World War II. He also takes a keen interest in contemporary international affairs and his latest book explores how Russia revolutionised information warfare. Recently journalist Filip Nerad interviewed the Yale academic for the programme Interview Plus on Czech Radio’s Plus news station – and their talk touched on much that relates to the Czech Republic.
The European Commission published its second annual report on the rule of law among EU member states this week, with particular criticism levelled at Hungary and Poland. Government officials from both states lashed out against the report, which they said was commissioned in bad faith. Czech lawyer Věra Jourová, the European Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency, says it is based on a fair approach to all member states.
For nearly six months now, people in the Czech Republic have been able to hand over illegally held weapons to the police free of prosecution. The opportunity has resulted in police officers receiving thousands of firearms and pieces of ammunition, including heavy military equipment.
The European Commission has approved the Czech Republic’s National Recovery Plan and will allocate CZK 180 billion to the country from the EU’s Resilience and Recovery Fund, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in Prague on Monday. However, the Czech Republic will have to ensure that there is no conflict of interest in allocating the money; otherwise it may have to send the funds back.
The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Rospotrebnadzor has blocked the Russian language website of Radio Prague International on the territory of Russia. The decision was made in connection with an article posted in 2001 about student martyr Jan Palach who set himself on fire in 1969 to protest against growing public apathy to the Russian-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. The Russian agency says the article violates Russian laws by speaking about suicide in positive terms.
Recent polls have suggested a new political grouping may make the five-percent threshold to reach the Chamber of Deputies in elections this autumn. The Oath (Přísaha in Czech) have been using similar anti-corruption rhetoric to previous new parties and are led by Robert Šlachta, a former top police officer. So what explains the rise of the Oath? That’s a question that I put to political scientist Petr Just.
The Czech Ministry of Health has announced a tightening of restrictions amidst an upsurge of new Covid-19 cases. Starting next Friday, Czechs who are not fully vaccinated will have to undergo a test for the coronavirus when returning from abroad, since a single Covid vaccine will no longer be considered sufficient protection.
Most Czechs eligible to vote in the October parliamentary elections say that a party’s program will be the deciding factor in how they will cast their ballots, according to a Median survey for Czech Radio. The party leader’s personalities are also important, the survey finds – but none of the current contenders enjoy overwhelming popularity.
The last 12 Czech soldiers stationed in Afghanistan as part of a NATO mission to fight the Taliban returned home on Sunday afternoon, thus bringing to an end the longest operational deployment in Czech Army history. In total, some 11,500 Czech soldiers took part in the mission, some repeatedly, while 14 of their comrades-in-arms died in the line of duty.
As Europe braces for a wave of the more contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, the Czech Republic is racing against time to inoculate as large a segment of the population as possible before its inevitable spread in the country. The list of no-go states is quickly growing and the government is preparing to tighten the rules for people returning from foreign holidays.
Czech President Miloš Zeman has made headlines again with another of his controversial comments, this time aimed at the transgender community, women’s rights activists and the #MeToo movement. Critics say his words could impact the mental health of members of sexual minorities.
Financial as well as material aid is pouring into South Moravian villages hit by the devastating tornado on Thursday. While the government has allocated emergency funds to cover immediate needs, people have already donated dozens of millions of crowns to public collections set up by the country’s NGOs.
Czech diplomats, attachés and other state officials charged with promoting the country’s economic and business interests are meeting in Prague this week for an annual conference. This year’s event, which wraps up on Friday, focuses on recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the export-driven Czech economy especially hard.
Brexit meant the loss of a natural ally for the Czech Republic within the European Union, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said at Thursday’s Multiple Challenges for Transatlantic Partnerships conference in Prague’s Congress Centre. Mr Babiš argued for less bureaucracy and less regulation within the union, but also expressed a desire to expand the EU into the Western Balkans and intensify technological research and cooperation with the United States.
Members of the European Parliament on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to issue proceedings against Prime Minister Andrej Babiš for breaches of EU law concerning long-standing allegations of his conflict of interest. The vote could spur the European Commission to look even further into the issue and take punitive action.
The Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who ran for president in contested elections last year, is currently in the Czech Republic. The politician and human rights activist is meeting some of the country’s top officials – as well as members of Prague’s large Belarusian exile community.
A bill on providing compensation for people who were forcibly or otherwise illegally sterilised in the past was approved by the lower house of Parliament last Friday, June 4th. With this approval in the lower house, the bill is now set to go to the Senate for final consideration.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s minority government has survived yet another no-confidence motion. After some 12 hours of debate – which often degenerated into personal attacks – the opposition failed to muster the 101 votes needed to topple the government, largely thanks to a walk-out staged by the Communists.
The Security and Defense Committee of the Czech Senate has declared President Miloš Zeman unfit for office and has proposed that he be stripped of the post. It claims that the Czech head of state is often disoriented, incapable of distinguishing between classified and public information and jeopardizes the country’s security by his words and actions.
After concluding an investigation into the case publicly known as the Stork’s Nest affair, Czech police have proposed indicting Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and his former advisor Jana Mayerová. The decision whether to press charges will be decided by a public prosecutor who already dismissed the case two years ago.
In the course of the next year, European citizens will have the opportunity to bring in their own ideas on EU reform and policy as part of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CFE). Largely seen as the brainchild of France and Germany, its inaugural Conference Plenary will take place on 19 June 2021, in Strasbourg. Citizens of all member states can take part in the conference on the local and state levels as well. In order to find out more about the conference and its possible impact on the EU, I spoke to analyst Vendula Karásková from the think-tank Association for International Affairs.
The resignation of MP Dominik Feri, one of the most prominent figures in the TOP 09 party, following accusations of sexual assault and improper conduct by several women, has sparked a heated debate in the Czech Republic about sexual harassment and the country’s attitude to sexual violence.
In reaction to last week’s hijacking of a Ryanair aircraft in order to arrest an opposition blogger, EU leaders have agreed to ramp up sanctions on Belarus and to block travel in its airspace. Belarus’ actions were also condemned by the Czech Chamber of Deputies and the government announced it is suspending Belarusian Airlines (Belavia) flights over Czech territory.
The Czech Republic’s fourth minister of health since the Covid pandemic hit the country, Petr Arenberger, has announced his resignation, after his financial affairs came under scrutiny. His replacement is a familiar name: former health minister Adam Vojtěch.
This Monday sees another series of restrictions lifted as the coronavirus epidemic in the Czech Republic subsides. After five months of forced closure, hotels and lodging houses are again allowed to open. Meanwhile, schools and universities across the country have been allowed to return fully to classroom teaching. The attendance cap on cultural events and sports activities has been expanded.
The leaders of five opposition parties in the lower house on Wednesday announced their intention to initiate a vote of no-confidence in the minority government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Although general elections are just five months away, the prime minister’s critics say it is important to test the degree of support the government has in the lower chamber.
The European Union does not want to further escalate tensions with Moscow, the head of the European External Action Service (EEAS), Josep Borrell, said on Monday. The statement came after a meeting of EU foreign ministers ahead of which Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jakub Kulhánek called on EU member states to expel Russian diplomats in retaliation for the involvement of Russian Military Intelligence (GRU) in the 2014 Vrbětice explosions.
The scandal surrounding the 2014 munitions depot blasts which the Czech government has blamed on Russian agents has taken a new twist. The news site Seznam has accused Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamáček of having planned to hush up Russia’s involvement in the blasts in return for one million Sputnik V vaccines and the right to host a US-Russian summit on Czech soil.
A newly released Eurobarometer survey places the Czech Republic at the bottom of the EU ladder when it comes to trust in government. Faith in the country’s democratic system is also down. Meanwhile, trust in the EU has risen slightly, with most Czechs believing that the union should prioritise rapid access to safe and effective vaccines.
The Russian Federation banned eight EU citizens from visiting the country on Friday, among them is Czech Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová. Moscow says this is in retaliation to EU sanctions issued in March. Ms Jourova believes she was put on the list due to her role in upholding human rights and combating disinformation.
In recent days the two center-right election groupings on the Czech political scene have become increasingly vocal about their aim to bring down the minority government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. The grouping Spolu (comprising the Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09) wants to rally support for a vote of no-confidence in the government, while the Pirate Party and the Mayors and Independents would prefer to bring about a dissolution of the lower house and early elections. Neither has enough support for their goal – and with regular elections just six months away – why are they doing it? A question for political scientist Jiří Pehe.
The European Commission (EC) is planning to investigate whether its rules regarding conflict of interest are being regularly breached in the Czech Republic, according to EC Vice President Věra Jourová. The statement comes days after Prime Minister Andrej Babiš was definitively found to be in a conflict of interest by an EC audit, which states that he still controls Agrofert, the company he founded, via trust funds.
Thirty years ago rock musician Michael Kocáb organized the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Czech territory. Today he’s authored a petition to the Senate, asking senators to file a constitutional complaint against the Czech president for defending Russian interests rather than those of his own country.
There are two working versions of what happened in Vrbětice, one is that there was Russian involvement; the other is that it was caused by bad handling of the munitions, President Miloš Zeman said in a televised address on Sunday about how he views the 2014 explosion in the Czech munitions depo, which caused two deaths and billions of crowns in losses. The president’s long-anticipated address stirred strong criticism among experts, opposition politicians and even high ranking constitutional officials.
The Czech government has presented a six-stage plan for a gradual easing of coronavirus restrictions. If the epidemiological situation continues to develop favourably, it counts on the reopening of shops, markets and selected cultural facilities on May 3. The subsequent phases have thus far been left undated. Their activation is instead subject to the ratio of positive cases within the population.
A major crisis in relations between Prague and Moscow has reached a new plateau, with the Czech government expelling dozens of Russian Embassy staff following revelations of deadly Russian operations on Czech soil. Experts say the Kremlin is likely to retaliate further, while President Zeman’s first response is much-anticipated.
Most Czechs perceive Russia as a security threat to the country, suggests a survey conducted by the Median agency for Czech Radio. The survey was carried out at the start of the week, shortly after government officials informed about the involvement of Russian military intelligence at a munitions depot in Moravia, which left two people dead.
In a deepening diplomatic row with Russia, the Czech Republic is pushing Moscow to accept responsibility for what it has described as “an unprecedented act of terrorism on Czech soil” – a series of deadly blasts at an arms depot in Moravia. Following a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats, Prague gave Moscow less than 24 hours to retract its decision or face further expulsions which would aim to bring the embassies of the two countries on an equal footing –even if it meant starting from scratch.
Villages located in the vicinity of the Vrbětice munitions depot, where life was severely disrupted by the deadly 2014 blasts, have been following developments with shock and anger. The locals are asking why they were not properly protected against the danger of a terrorist attack and are calling on the government to ensure that they receive compensation for the damage caused.
The Czech government issued a resolution on Monday which excludes the Russian state corporation Rosatom from the Dukovany power plant tender. The decision comes in the aftermath of recently surfaced evidence that suggests Russia’s military intelligence was involved in the 2014 explosion at the munitions storage facility in Vrbětice.