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Prime Minister Andrej Babiš met representatives of major fuel distributors to discuss retail margins that the government considers excessive in some cases. The talks, involving companies that control a substantial part of the market followed an earlier meeting earlier in the week and focused on possible steps to reduce margins. Andrej Babiš said erlier the government believes margins should be lower, while distributors rejected accusations of exploiting tensions in the Middle East. Some firms indicated they could imagine an agreement, but no details were disclosed after the meeting. Fuel prices in Czechia rose sharply as in other European countries as a result of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Some fuel distributors in Czechia have signalled they are open to reaching an agreement with the government on retail margins ahead of talks with Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. The meeting is expected to focus on margins that the government considers excessive in some cases and is preparing to regulate. Distributors said they are willing to discuss possible adjustments, though they did not specify what a deal might look like and rejected accusations of exploiting the situation. Finance Minister Alena Schillerová has proposed capping margins and is also considering cuts to fuel excise duty. Fuel prices have risen sharply in recent weeks due to tensions in the Middle East, with petrol and diesel increasing significantly since late February.

The Digital and Information Agency reported a partial outage of the country’s online identity system on Tuesday morning, affecting citizens’ ability to access government services. The disruption, which began around 9 a.m., involves the National Identity Authority, used to verify users across platforms such as eDoklady and bank identity login. The issue has prevented access to newly launched monthly employer reporting and also affected the JENDA system for social benefits, though officials say the systems themselves remain functional. Authorities said they are working intensively to resolve the problem and apologised for the inconvenience.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that parts of a treaty between Czechia and the Vatican conflict with the country’s constitutional order, preventing its ratification unless the issues are resolved. The court flagged unlimited protection of confession secrecy and restricted access to church archives as problematic, saying they breach state neutrality and equality, concerns that had also been raised earlier by President Petr Pavel. The agreement, signed in 2024 by then prime minister Petr Fiala, would grant the Catholic Church privileged status, the court said. The Czech Bishops' Conference disagreed with the ruling but said it respects it as binding.