Daily news summary
Top EU officials welcome fall in cases taken against Czech Republic in Strasbourg
Senior EU officials have praised the fact that the number of complaints taken against the Czech Republic at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has decreased in recent years. They also said they welcomed the fall in the number of court rulings linked to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Speaking at the Supreme Court Conference in Brno, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjorn Jagland, said the Czech Republic had been a good pupil. His sentiments were echoed by Guido Raimondi, the president of the European Court of Human Rights.
PM warns of efforts to erase borders between executive and judicial power in Europe
Efforts are being made in Europe to erase borders between executive and judicial power and that represents a dangerous trend, says the Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka. Speaking at the Supreme Court Conference in Brno on Tuesday, Mr. Sobotka said political pressure on courts, or even direct subjugation of courts by the executive, are incompatible with democracy and the rule of law. He did not mention any countries by name. The conference is one of the main events of the Czech chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.
Czech Television: Brno injunction on Uber lifted
A preliminary injunction against Uber operating in Brno has been overturned by the Supreme Court in Olomouc, Czech Television reported on Tuesday, quoting a court official. A Brno court had ruled that Uber could not provide services in the city as long as its drivers do not possess a taxi permit. It also said its cars must be marked as taxis and feature a taximeter. There have also been legal challenges to Uber – which describes its services as car-pooling – in Prague. Uber began operations in the capital in 2014 and launched in Brno in February of this year.
US government to present Prague with final offer on military helicopters by end of summer
The American government will submit a final offer for the supply of 12 military helicopters to the Czech Republic at the end of the summer, US Navy official Frank Morley and Rich Harris of the company Bell, which makes the helicopters in question, said at a news conference in Prague on Tuesday. The only other bidder to supply helicopters to the Czech Army is the UK-Italian company AgustaWestland. The Czech government is prepared to spend between CZK 10 billion and CZK 15 billion on the aircraft, the Czech News Agency reported.
Uma Thurman and Jeremy Renner set for 2017 Karlovy Vary
Movie stars Uma Thurman and Jeremy Renner have been announced as special guests at this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Organisers had previously said that actor Casey Affleck and the directorial-screenwriting duo of Ken Loach and Paul Laverty would be attending the region’s biggest film event. Thurman – who will receive the festival's President's Award – is known for Pulp Fiction and a string of other hits, while Renner has appeared in such films as The Hurt Locker, Arrival and a number of action titles. The 52nd edition of the Karlovy Vary film festival gets underway on Friday next week.
Czech women bow out of European basketball championships
The Czech women’s basketball team won their European Championship tie against favourites Spain 67:63. The last group game victory will not allow the Czechs to progress further in the home based tournament due to earlier surprise defeats against Ukraine and Hungary in the group.
Weather forecast
Wednesday should be partly cloudy with some sunny spells in the Czech Republic, with temperatures of up to 26 degrees Celsius expected. Forecasters say the rest of the week will be warmer with the chance of storms.
