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The Czech Republic will chair an OECD ministerial meeting for the first time in its history in 2027. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development brings together 38 of the world’s most advanced economies. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka described the decision as a success for Czech diplomacy, saying that the chairmanship will give Czechia an opportunity to promote its priorities and strengthen its voice among developed economies. He said Czech priorities would include economic freedom, competitiveness, technological development and removing unnecessary barriers to trade.

Inflation in the European Union accelerated to 3.2 percent year-on-year in August, up from three percent in July, according to Eurostat.

In Czechia, consumer prices rose by 1.5 percent, compared with 1.3 percent in July. This gave the Czech Republic the third-lowest inflation rate in the EU, behind Sweden and Estonia.

President Petr Pavel has vetoed a government-proposed bill on state employees, which would make it easier to replace civil servants and bring their employment rules closer to the Labour Code.

Pavel said the legislation goes against a European Commission recommendation to strengthen protections for senior civil servants against political pressure.

He also raised doubts about an amendment attached to the bill that would strip the president of the power to appoint heads of permanent missions to international organisations. According to Pavel, the provision may not be in line with the Czech Constitution. The bill will now return to the Chamber of Deputies for reconsideration.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) has proposed creating a joint European missile defence system. Speaking at the opening of the Prague Defense Summit on Thursday, Mr. Babiš said the project would strengthen Europe’s contribution to NATO, while stressing that it would not be intended as competition with the United States.

The prime minister said Europe should draw lessons from the war in Ukraine and focus on finding solutions, particularly for defence against ballistic missiles. He acknowledged that the idea might be ambitious but said he wanted to persuade European partners to pursue such a project. According to Babiš, it could also benefit the Czech defence industry.

The Prague Defence Summit 2026, organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), is attended by more than 250 government and military officials, defence industry representatives, analysts and media outlets . The summit runs until Friday.