EU flag to fly at Prague Castle

The president-elect, Miloš Zeman, has told the Czech daily Právo that the flag of the European Union will fly at Prague Castle after he assumes office. Mr Zeman told the newspaper that he would invite European Commission President Jose Barroso to attend a special ceremony during which the EU flag would be raised. The step is a departure from that of Mr Zeman’s predecessor Václav Klaus, a well-known critic of the EU, who refused such a move.

In the interview, the president-elect also told Právo that he would transfer the agenda of presidential pardons to the Justice Ministry; ahead of the elections, Mr Zeman maintained that he would never declare an amnesty, a reaction – at least in part – to one declared in January by Mr Klaus. The New Years Day amnesty controversially halted, or threatens to halt, a number of major corruption and economic crime cases.

Author: Jan Velinger