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01/05/2023
Friday should be partly cloudy to overcast with rain in the north-western parts of the country and day temperatures between 7 and 11 degrees Celsius.
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01/05/2023
The Czech economy is facing a recession this year caused by the energy crisis and inflation, with GDP expected to fall by 1.1 % , Deloitte predicts in its latest report. According to the study, real wages will fall again this year, but unemployment should remain at its current level. Deloitte says the economic downturn will also threaten compliance with the state budget deficit planned at CZK 295 billion.
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01/05/2023
The state attorney in the prosecution case against the former prime minister Andrej Babiš who stands accused of EU fraud has proposed a three year suspended sentence and a fine of 10 million crowns. The chief prosecutor likewise proposed a suspended sentence for Babiš’ former aide, Jana Nagyová along with a fine of 500.000 crowns.
Mr. Babiš and Jana Nagyová stand accused of fraud for falsely creating the impression that the Stork’s Nest company, which was connected to Babiš’s conglomerate Agrofert, met grant conditions as a small or medium-sized business, in order to fraudulently acquire around CZK 50 million in EU subsidies. The trial follows a seven-year investigation and is at the centre of media attention in view of the fact that Mr. Babiš is one of the hot candidates in the presidential race. Both claim they are innocent of any wrongdoing.
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01/05/2023
The Constitutional Court is dealing with a number of complaints over the fact that surviving Communist-era top officials have not been prosecuted over the deaths of 91 people who were killed on the Iron Curtain trying to escape Communist Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. This concerns the party’s former chief ideologist Jan Fojtík and former communist prime minister Lubomír Štrougal who are now in their 90s. Fojtik’s case was shelved on the grounds that the statute of limitations has long expired, Štrougal's prosecution was stopped in May 2021 on the grounds that he was no longer mentally capable of understanding the meaning of the criminal proceedings against him.
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01/05/2023
Close to 700 company bankruptcies were declared in Czechia last year, 41 fewer than the year before, according to data provided by CRIF - Czech Credit Bureau. The number of bankruptcies in 2021 was the highest number since 2017, which is related to the Covid pandemic. The number of business bankruptcies fell by 1,176 year-on-year to 5,135 last year, the lowest number since 2013.
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01/05/2023
The Czech government has approved a bill aimed at bringing defense spending to the required NATO goal of 2% of GDP. Although Czechia will spend only 1.52% of GDP on defense this year, the 2% target should be reached in 2024 once the bill is approved in Parliament where the governing coalition has a majority in both chambers. Defense Minister Jana Černochová said fulfilling the 2% target would also create better conditions for the modernization of the army.
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01/05/2023
Judge Jan Šott rejected the defence's proposal to present new evidence on the penultimate day of the Stork's Nest trial in which ex-PM and presidential candidate Andrej Babiš stands accused of fraud. According to Czech news site Deník N, the proposal was a stalling tactic that the defence had also tried on Wednesday. Mr Babiš's lawyers proposed, among other things, reading a more-than-two-thousand-page long book by Babiš's son, who testified against his father in the case, in an attempt to discredit Andrej Babiš Jr.
After the defence's proposals were rejected, the judge ended the hearing of evidence and the prosecutor began delivering his closing speech. The closing speeches of the defence attorneys and defendants will follow.
Mr. Babiš and his former advisor Jana Nagyová stand accused of fraud for falsely creating the impression that the Stork’s Nest company, which was connected to Babiš’s conglomerate Agrofert, met grant conditions as a small or medium-sized business, in order to fraudulently acquire around CZK 50 million in EU subsidies. The trial follows a seven-year investigation. Both defendants face five to ten years in prison.
Mr. Babiš repeated on Wednesday that he considers his criminal prosecution to be politically motivated and purposefully timed to coincide with the presidential elections, the first round of which is taking place on January 13 and 14. The trial is scheduled to finish on Friday.
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01/05/2023
Pope Benedict XVI's official funeral took place at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on the morning of January 5, attended by kings, presidents, a number of clergy, and up to 70,000 believers. Czechia was represented by Prime Minister Petr Fiala. Czech bishops and ordinary Czech Catholics also attended. The funeral started at 9.30, but by 4am the first people had already started gathering, according to the news agency Reuters.
A funeral mass for the former pope was also held in Prague at St. Vitus Cathedral on Wednesday evening. It was led by Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner and Cardinal Dominik Duka preached.
Pope Benedict died on December 31.
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01/04/2023
Thursday is expected to be overcast with a chance of some rain and daytime temperatures ranging between 6 and 10 degrees Celsius.
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01/04/2023
The Municipal Court in Prague resumed hearing the Stork's Nest case involving ex-PM and presidential candidate Andrej Babiš on Wednesday. The court session opened in the morning with testimony from an expert economic witness for the defence.
Both Mr Babiš and his former adviser and co-defendant Jana Nagyová should complete their statements in the afternoon. According to the Czech News Agency, if all the evidence has then been heard, the public prosecutor, defence attorneys and the defendants could proceed to closing arguments. It is possible that the verdict could be handed down before the first round of presidential elections, which take place on January 13 and 14. However, the main trial is still scheduled to go on until Friday.
Mr. Babiš and his former advisor Jana Nagyová stand accused of fraud for arranging for the Stork’s Nest company to be withdrawn from Babiš's Agrofert holding and for the shares to be put in the name of his children and partner, in order to falsely create the impression that it met the conditions for a small or medium-sized business and fraudulently acquire around CZK 50 million in EU subsidies.
The trial follows a seven-year investigation. Both defendants face five to ten years in prison.
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