News

Unpredictable behaviour by US President Donald Trump should not be seen only negatively or as a threat, Czech President Petr Pavel said on Wednesday. Speaking during a debate with students in Olomouc, Pavel likened Trump’s political style to an “Arab bazaar,” marked by exaggerated opening positions and tough bargaining. While such an approach may be shocking, Pavel said it has often produced results and helped spur Europe into action, particularly in the areas of security and defence. According to the Czech president, Trump’s tactics have sometimes forced European countries to take greater responsibility for their own security.

Czechia’s Office for Personal Data Protection has been fined 2.5 million crowns for breaching budgetary rules, mainly over the purchase of new cars in top-end specifications, Czech Radio reported. The fine was imposed by the Financial Administration of the Czech Republic after nine breaches of rules on managing public funds were identified. The authority challenged the penalty in court, but the Prague Municipal Court dismissed its complaint earlier this month. Judges said features such as ventilated leather seats, massage functions or panoramic roofs were not necessary for official transport. The office rejects the criticism and is preparing a cassation complaint, while noting it has already reviewed its internal control procedures.

The Czech Olympic Committee is expected to approve a nomination for the Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo that could include more than 100 athletes for only the second time in history. This previously occurred at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, to which 116 athletes were ultimately nominated. The figure approved by the committee may not be final, as additional athletes could qualify through the reallocation of quotas. The Czech team at the Games would be similar in size to the delegation at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which included 111 athletes.

The biggest star of the Czech team will be three-time Olympic champion Ester Ledecká, who plans to compete again in both alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding. In the parallel giant slalom, she will aim for a third consecutive Olympic gold, although a scheduling clash will prevent her from competing in the downhill skiing event. The Winter Olympic Games will take place from 6 to 22 February.

The Senate has come out against the planned abolition of radio and television license fees for the country’s national broadcasters, Czech Television and Czech Radio. In a resolution, it urged the government to abandon what it called the dismantling of a system that has functioned reliably for more than 30 years. Senators warned that scrapping license fees and shifting funding to the state budget would expose public service media to subjective decision-making and political pressure. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said on Monday that the abolition of license fees is included in the government’s policy program and that changes are expected from 2027. Senators also expressed the view that public service media are a key pillar of the Czech Republic’s information security at a time of information warfare waged against EU member states, particularly by Russia.