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Czech arms maker Colt CZ Group and French explosives producer Eurenco are interested in acquiring the state-owned explosives company Explosia, daily Hospodářské noviny reported on Thursday. The paper quoted Jan Kadaník, chairman of Synthesia Nitrocellulose, in which Colt CZ holds a majority stake, as saying the companies had agreed on a joint approach that could lead to closer cooperation or a three-way merger. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said last week the government was considering selling Explosia.

President Petr Pavel wants to discuss funding for the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine with the government. According to him, Czechia, as the founding country of the initiative, should lead by example. At the moment, it does not contribute any money to the initiative and is only involved in its administration. “If the current willingness to contribute to this initiative is declining, then we, as the country that founded and has managed it from the beginning, should set an example,” Pavel said.

According to Pavel, if only a limited number of countries contribute to the ammunition initiative, it raises concerns that “only some allies take support for Ukraine seriously, while others do so less or not at all.” In Wednesday’s edition of the Financial Times, Pavel said the number of countries contributing to the initiative had dropped from 18 last year to nine this year.

The directors-general of Czech Television (ČT), Hynek Chudárek, and Czech Radio (ČRo), René Zavoral, have called in an open letter on Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) to stop the discussion of draft laws on public service media. They are demanding the creation of a working group. According to them, decisions on the future of ČT and ČRo should not be the result of a unilateral political step, but of a broad public debate and cross-party agreement. This was stated in a letter available to CTK.

The government is expected to discuss in mid-June a draft law by Culture Minister Oto Klempíř (for Motorists) on public service media, which would transfer funding of both media outlets from licence fees to the state budget. In addition, there is a proposal by MPs led by Deputy Speaker of the Chamber Patrik Nacher (ANO), which would exempt certain groups of payers from fees, such as seniors living alone or companies with up to 50 employees.

Six EU member states, including the Czech Republic, have called on the European Union to protect their heavy industry from costs linked to carbon emissions. According to them, climate policy must reflect the new reality, especially current geopolitical crises and extremely high energy prices. In a so-called non-paper the countries call, for example, for maintaining the current level of free allocation of emission allowances that allow industrial companies to emit within the EU ETS system.

The emissions trading system (ETS) is designed to incentivise companies to reduce emissions. Companies must buy allowances for every tonne of CO₂ they emit. The higher the emissions, the higher the costs, which encourages investment in cleaner technologies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has previously said that the ETS remains a “proven tool for supporting industrial transformation”, but that it needs to be modernised and made more flexible.