News

The National Centre for Combating Organized Crime (NCOZ) is preparing for a possible rise in violent crime after the end of the war in Ukraine and the return of men from the frontlines. Many of them may reunite with their families who have settled in the Czech Republic. The NCOZ says in its annual report  that after three years in the trenches they may be under immense psychological pressure and have difficulties adopting to normal life.

According to the report, NCOZ is also monitoring ATM bombings in Germany and Austria by Balkan gangs, warning that the trend could spread to Czechia. Another serious problem cited is the growing number of cases of modern day slavery in the Czech Republic, involving the exploitation of both foreign workers and socially vulnerable Czech citizens.

The ANO party which won October’s general elections held talks with opposition parties in the Chamber of Deputies on Monday and Tuesday to divide key parliamentary posts, but the Pirate Party walked away empty-handed.

Despite having 18 MPs, the Pirates were offered no leadership roles in committees or commissions and will also lose their deputy speaker position, which they held in the previous term. The party called the decision a breach of parliamentary tradition and the principle of proportional representation, pointing out that the Pirates are the fourth-largest party, with support from over half a million voters.

ANO deputy chair Alena Schillerová defended the move, arguing that the emerging ANO–SPD–Motorists’ coalition considers the Pirates the smallest opposition force. Richterová suggested the real reason lies in the Pirates’ consistent anti-corruption stance.

Under ANO’s proposal, TOP 09, with nine MPs, is set to chair the education committee. The Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL) have been offered leadership of the social affairs and media committees. The Civic Democrats (ODS) are expected to receive three committee chairmanships and the post of deputy speaker, as the strongest party within the Together (Spolu) coalition, which ran jointly with TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL.

The Mayors and Independents (STAN), who won 22 seats running independently, are to be given one deputy speaker position and chairmanships of the defence and public administration committees.

Staff from the Czech national gene bank dispatched their 13th consignment of rare seeds to Norway’s Svalbard Global Seed Vault on Monday, the 13th in ten years, the Czech News Agency reported. The shipment includes 150 samples of agriculturally important seeds, serving as a safeguard should the domestic collections ever be damaged. The preserved specimens could one day be used to breed more resilient plant varieties, particularly in response to climate change.

Small businesses in the Czech Republic lose 41 billion crowns annually due to excessive bureaucracy, according to Dominik Stroukal, member of the National Economic Council and economist at Metropolitan University Prague. Speaking at a press conference marking the second annual “Big Week of Small Businesses”, Stroukal pointed to poor digitalization as one of the main culprits behind the excessive red tape. Paperwork consumes nearly 70 million hours each year, time that could otherwise fuel growth and innovation, Stroukal said. The heaviest administrative burdens stem from employee management, waste reporting, and official statistics or inspections.