Daily news summary

Europe must take its defence into its own hands, say Sobotka and Juncker in joint article

In a joint article published in the Wall Street Journal, the Czech prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, say Europe must take its defence into its own hands. Tuesday’s piece precedes a European security and defence conference being held in Prague on Friday that Mr. Juncker is set to attend. The two leaders write that the EU must not only complement NATO but respond independently to external threats; to that end, the bloc is now implementing the EU Global Strategy on security, they say. They add that a European Defence Union will help protect the EU, which is exactly what its citizens want.

Poll: Czechs’ satisfaction with EU membership rising

Some 32 percent of Czechs are satisfied with their country’s membership of the European Union, suggests an opinion poll conducted in April by the CVVM agency. A poll in April 2016 indicated a satisfaction rate of 25 percent. Meanwhile, 60 percent of respondents this April said the Czech Republic ought to be in the EU compared to 50 percent last year. The country joined the bloc in 2004 following a referendum.

Czech firms do deals in Vietnam during Zeman visit

Czech entrepreneurs visiting Vietnam with President Miloš Zeman have so far signed seven contracts or memoranda with local companies. The deals relate to fields including medicines, optical fibres and digitisation and were made at a Czech-Vietnamese trade forum held on Tuesday in connection with Mr. Zeman’s visit. Speaking at the start of the forum, he highlighted the integration of the Czech Vietnamese community into the economy and Vietnam’s own economic development. A delegation representing around 50 Czech companies is travelling with the president to Vietnam and Kazakhstan.

Czech astronomers find source of potentially dangerous asteroids in meteor shower

Czech astronomers believe they have discovered a new potential source of dangerous asteroids among the Taurid meteor shower family. Working with researchers from Austria and Slovakia, they looked at the meteor shower, which occurs every October and November and in some years shows increased activity, allowing for the tracing of more shooting stars. The discovery was announced by the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Astronomical Institute and published in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Pelta quits as FA chief from remand cell

Miroslav Pelta has stood down as chairman of the Czech Football Association. He tendered his resignation from the cell where he is being held on remand over charges of large-scale abuse of sports subsidies. The news was relayed to the newspaper Deník Sport by his lawyer. Pelta did not stand in a vote for the post of FA chief on Friday but none of the candidates secured enough backing to win election. He had been the top man in Czech soccer since 2011 and is the owner of Jablonec FC.

Karolína Plíšková reaches French Open quarter finals

In tennis, Karolína Plíšková is through to the quarter finals of the French Open for the first time. She turned around her match against Paraguayan Cepede Royg after losing the first set 2:6. Plíšková, the second seed, came back to take the following sets 6:3, 6:4. She will now face on Wednesday local favourite and 28th seed Caroline Garcia. If she gets through to the singles final, Plíšková will automatically become world number one for the first time.

Weather forecast

There should be some rain and bright spells in the Czech Republic on Wednesday, with temperatures of up to 18 degrees Celsius expected. Forecasters say Friday will be the warmest day of the week with 27 degrees Celsius.