• Government postpones planned cut in corporate tax
    10/19/2026

    The government coalition is postponing a cut in corporate income tax from 21 to 19 percent, despite it being one of its major economic promises. According to a new Finance Ministry estimate, the two-percentage-point reduction would cost public budgets CZK 30 billion a year.

    Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) told Czech Television that the state could not currently afford such a substantial loss of revenue. Instead, the cabinet plans to offer companies more favourable depreciation rules, for example for investment in research and development or for newly established businesses.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Historic Spitfire from Second World War to be unveiled in Prague
    10/19/2026

    A historic Spitfire fighter plane that flew with the Czechoslovak squadron of the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War will be officially presented to the public at Točná Airport in Prague on Monday afternoon.

    The aircraft, serial number 633 and bearing the designation JT-10, was built in 1945. After the war, Czechoslovak pilots brought it home, but in 1948 it was sent to Israel. It later ended up in Burma before becoming part of a private collection. It has now been bought by Seznam.cz owner Ivo Lukačovič and brought back to Czechia.

    The presentation is scheduled for 3 p.m. Weather permitting, visitors will also see a historic Hawker Hurricane, one of the key aircraft of the Battle of Britain, flying alongside the Spitfire.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech government and unions to resume talks on public sector pay rises
    10/19/2026

    The Czech government and trade unions are due to resume talks on public sector pay rises for next year on Monday. The government has proposed increasing basic salaries by five to nine percent, depending on the profession, but unions want further negotiations.

    Around 858,000 people work in the public and state sectors in Czechia. According to the Labour Ministry, 263,000 currently earn less than the guaranteed pay level or minimum wage. Without changes, that number would rise to 468,000 next year.

    The minimum monthly wage is set to rise from CZK 22,400 to CZK 24,900 in January. The government says no public sector pay tariff should fall below the relevant minimum or guaranteed pay level.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • ANO proposes debate on single-round Senate elections
    10/18/2026

    ANO deputy leader Radek Vondráček wants to discuss switching Czech Senate elections to a single-round system, arguing that low turnout in run-offs undermines the upper house’s representativeness. ANO failed to win any seats in this year’s elections, despite 13 of its candidates reaching the second round.

    Speaking on a debate programme on Prima TV, Vondráček said that in some run-offs, a candidate could win a Senate seat with just a few hundred votes. Turnout in the second round was 21.22 percent, the highest since 2010.

    STAN deputy leader Karel Dvořák opposed the proposal in the same debate, arguing that a two-round system helps elect candidates with broader public support and contributes to the Senate’s stability. STAN won ten seats in this year’s elections, more than any other party.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather forecast
    10/18/2026

    Monday will be mostly cloudy, with occasional light rain in the north and northeast. Temperatures will reach 10 to 14 degrees Celsius.

  • Protesters urge Babiš to save Prague’s historic railway bridge
    10/18/2026

    Around 100 people gathered in Prague on Sunday to urge Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to support the preservation and repair of the historic railway bridge at Výtoň. The protest marked 125 years since the bridge opened.

    The bridge is in poor condition, forcing major restrictions on rail traffic, but experts consider its riveted steel structure an important part of Prague’s industrial heritage.

    In 2022, the Railway Administration selected a plan to replace the protected steel structure with a new one on the existing pillars. The proposal faced opposition from local authorities, civic groups and heritage organisations, prompting a review of the plans.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Senate speaker invites Babiš to attend upper house sessions
    10/18/2026

    Czech Senate Speaker Miloš Vystrčil wants Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to start attending Senate sessions. He plans to invite him to the upper house’s inaugural session on November 19, following this year’s Senate elections.

    Vystrčil criticised Babiš for claiming last week that the Senate was pursuing an anti-Babiš agenda. He argued that the upper house was simply fulfilling its constitutional role, noting that it had returned only around 20 of some 150 bills to the Chamber of Deputies during its last term. In seven cases, MPs accepted the Senate’s proposed changes.

    The ANO party failed to win a single Senate seat in this year’s elections, despite 13 of its candidates reaching the run-off round. Babiš called the result “catastrophic” and said the party needed to examine the work of its regional organisations.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Number of women in Czech Senate falls to 14 after elections
    10/18/2026

    The number of women in the Czech Senate will fall from 17 to 14 following this year’s elections. Two senators failed to defend their seats, while two others did not stand for re-election.

    The only woman elected this year was Zuzana Ceralová Petrofová of the Civic Democrats (ODS), head of the piano maker PETROF. Women will now make up around 17 percent of the Senate, down from 21 percent. In the Chamber of Deputies, they account for about a third of MPs.

    The previous total of 17 women senators was the highest since the upper chamber was established in 1996. The new figure is the lowest number of women elected to the Senate in its history.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czech President Pavel to meet German Chancellor Merz in Berlin next week
    10/18/2026

    Czech President Petr Pavel will meet German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday, October 21. Their working meeting will focus, among other things, on foreign and security policy.

    Pavel will also attend the Berlin Global Dialogue conference, which explores the links between politics, business and geopolitics. He is due to speak on October 22 in a panel discussion on European security and take part in a roundtable organised by the German Council on Foreign Relations.

    Pavel last visited Berlin in July last year, when he met German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. After the talks, he said they had confirmed the exceptionally close relations between the two countries.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Prague paramedics see sharp rise in teenagers suspected of cannabis intoxication
    10/18/2026

    Prague paramedics recorded 474 call-outs involving patients under 20 suspected of cannabis intoxication between January and September this year. That is almost twice as many as in the whole of last year, Czech Television reported on Sunday, citing ambulance service spokesman Karel Kirs.

    Half of the patients were under 18, and some required intensive care. The youngest was 11.

    The number of call-outs has risen from 109 in 2023 to 167 in 2024 and 253 last year. People under 20 account for more than a quarter of all cases involving suspected cannabinoid intoxication in Prague, and the overall number of such call-outs is also rising this year.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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