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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.

The Czech Senate has backed the government of ANO, SPD and Motorists in its efforts to strengthen the Czech Republic’s defence capability and the security of its citizens against what it described as a growing Russian threat to the European continent.

In a resolution unanimously proposed by the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, the Senate expressed support for steps to increase national security and defence readiness and to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to resist Russian aggression in cooperation with the Coalition of the Willing.

Unlike the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate also distanced itself from the anti-Ukrainian statements made in a New Year's address by the Speaker of the lower house and SPD leader, Tomio Okamura, describing them as untrue and offensive.

Almost five percent of children in primary schools are classified as socially disadvantaged, whether due to poverty or other difficult family circumstances, according to new data from the Ministry of Education.

The ministry sees targeted funding for schools with such pupils as a key form of support. Any assistance will depend on the state budget and could include funding for support positions such as psychologists or special and social education teachers. Special education teachers and social workers are financed through projects or paid for by school founders. In some cases, school principals currently seek funding for these roles themselves.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has awarded the former speaker of the Czech Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová (TOP 09) the Order of the Brilliant Star for her contribution to the development of relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic, the e15 news website reported on Wednesday. According to the report, the Taiwanese president described Pekarová Adamová as a long-standing friend of the country when presenting one of Taiwan’s highest civilian honours and thanked her for her efforts to deepen bilateral relations in recent years. Pekarová Adamová also informed about the award on her X account.