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The European Court of Human Rights says that the disciplinary senate of the Czech Supreme Administrative Court is not sufficiently independent and impartial. The body is responsible for conducting disciplinary proceedings against judges, prosecutors and bailiffs. The court in Strasbourg said the situation meant the Czech Republic was violating the right to a fair trial and called for the situation to be rectified.

The ruling follows a complaint from a Czech bailiff who argued that the court body’s disciplinary proceedings did not correspond to a proper trial and did not allow for appeals. The European Court of Human Rights awarded him EUR 4,000 in damages.

It should be mainly clear in the Czech Republic on Friday, with an average high temperature of 27 degrees Celsius. Daytime highs in the 30s Celsius are expected throughout next week.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said, ahead of his trip to Brussels for an EU summit, that he expects the EU to agree on Ukraine's candidacy bid as an expression of solidarity, the Czech News Agency reported on Thursday. Mr. Fiala will also talk with Alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels about further military assistance to Ukraine, defence policy, and further NATO enlargement, with Czechia supporting the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance.

Mr. Fiala declared it important that EU leaders not only approve the candidate status of Ukraine and Moldova, but also that they make progress in negotiations with the Western Balkans. Czechia has long supported the accession of these countries to the EU, but the matter still divides the union. Before the summit, leaders of EU member countries will meet with the leaders of the six Balkan countries seeking to join, but diplomats say they are unlikely to make any major progress because of Bulgaria's veto over opening accession talks with North Macedonia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine and Moldova's bid for candidacy status is expected to be accepted. However, Mr. Fiala stressed that the subsequent accession process will not be quick or easy, and that no one can say now how long it will take the two countries to meet the conditions for admission. The leaders of Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Kosovo are frustrated that the EU is rapidly granting candidate status to post-Soviet countries, while their progress on the road to the union is stagnating.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala gave a speech on Wednesday evening, broadcast live on Czech television and radio, regarding the current political and economic situation in the country. He spoke mainly about energy security, rising inflation, and Russia’s war on Ukraine and attempts to undermine democracy in the wider Western world.

Mr. Fiala stated that the Czech Republic must deal quickly with the problem of its energy dependence on Russia, and that within five years, the government wants to achieve energy sovereignty and be in control of its own electricity generation. He also said the government must support the construction of emission-free energy sources and promised to support investment in energy innovation and savings. However, he warned that during the transition period, Czechia will continue to face high prices and uncertainty in supplies.

The Czech PM mentioned the measures taken by the government earlier that day to help households and businesses cope with the rising cost of energy, which included setting aside CZK 66 billion to help with the upcoming heating season, abolishing the renewables fee, and providing CZK 10 billion to central heating plants.