News

Global credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded its outlook for banks in Czechia, as well as in Germany, Italy, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, from “stable” to “negative”, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The agency said that the grouping of EU states includes those most at risk of energy price inflation and possible energy rationing.

The Czech Army will end its participation in the EUTM mission in the African state of Mali, the Czech News Agency reported on Wednesday. Czechia is currently in command of the EU force made up of 700 service members from 25 countries, with Brigadier General Radek Hasala having taken over command from his Austrian counterpart Christian Riener in June for half a year.

The Czech Army nevertheless intends to remain active in the Sahel region, with Defence Minister Jana Černochová stating that its ongoing mission in Iraq will continue as well.

The Czech government approved on Wednesday a directive that will cap energy prices for state and municipal companies that do not operate as businesses, Czech Television reports. The directive, which is set to come into action from the beginning of next year, should therefore set caps on energy prices for example for technical and cultural centres. Until now, the relevant price caps were only set to become active from 2023 for households, small and medium enterprises and for public institutions.

The state executive also agreed to remove the obligatory automated creation of so-called data boxes (datové schránky) for citizens, which was supposed to come into operation from January of next year, Czech Television reports. According to the Ministry of Interior, the measure was too ambitious, recommending instead that the current practice of setting up a data box for a person only upon that individual’s request.

Senator Miloš Vystrčil from the Civic Democratic Party was re-elected as speaker of the Czech upper-house of Parliament on Wednesday after receiving 73 out of 80 votes in a secret ballot. Mr Vystrčil was the only candidate in the  election, which took place after newly elected Senators were sworn in. He is a member of the faction of 36 of Civic Democrats and TOP 09 party Senators, the strongest grouping in the upper-house.

Mr Vystrčil, who has held the position since February 2020, said in his post-election speech that he will continue to do everything he can to maintain the dignity of the Senate as an institution that defends human rights and freedoms and ensures the maintenance of parliamentary democracy in Czechia.

Fellow Civic Democrat Jiří Oberfalzer, as well as TOP 09’s Tomáš Czernin, Christian Democrat Jitka Seitlová and Mayors and Independents Senator Jiří Drahoš were elected as deputy-speakers.