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European Council President António Costa will begin a four-week tour of EU capitals on Tuesday, with the 2028-2034 EU budget expected to be the main focus. He will meet Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in Prague on Thursday.

Costa will also discuss defence, competitiveness, EU enlargement and support for Ukraine. The tour will run through September 17, covering most EU member states.

The European Commission proposed a €1.76 trillion budget last year, while Cyprus, which held the EU presidency in the first half of 2026, later put forward a €1.73 trillion negotiating framework. Czechia says the latter is an improvement but remains dissatisfied. EU member states and the European Parliament aim to agree on the new budget by the end of the year.

Czech Army’s Viper helicopters are back on standby in Poland, the Defence Ministry said Monday. The H-1 fleet was grounded after a Venom helicopter crashed in Czechia in July, killing one servicewoman and injuring four soldiers. The helicopters returned to service after technical checks and crew training.

The Czech Heli Unit has been helping protect Polish airspace under a bilateral agreement since September 2025. Its deployment this year followed Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace.

Military police are investigating the July crash, which occurred as the US-made helicopter was landing after a routine training flight. A Defence Ministry commission is also investigating the accident.

The Central Drought Commission will meet Monday to discuss the country’s severe drought. It is the commission’s first meeting this year and will focus on the current hydrological situation and conditions in individual regions, where regional drought commissions are also being convened.

According to the InterSucho drought monitoring portal, the current period of soil moisture shortages is the longest on record. About 30 percent of Czechia has been experiencing a lack of soil moisture since the beginning of the year.

The renewed National Drought Coalition, headed by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, also met last week. It called for a map identifying 500 to 1,000 areas where water is disappearing fastest. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has since identified about 1,000 cadastral areas most at risk of drought.

On Monday the Czech Republic’s ambassadors from around the world gathered in Prague at the Czernin Palace, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for an annual week-long series of meetings. Officials said the conference would focus on reinforcing Czechia’s security and prosperity within the framework of the European Union, the development of international partnerships and the support of the country’s interests abroad.

In an opening speech, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš told delegates that Czechia supported rapid expansion of the European Union to include Western Balkans states. He said he hoped Montenegro would become the 28th member of the bloc in 2028.