• 06/26/2024

    MPs from the largest Slovak government coalition party, Direction – Social Democracy (commonly referred to as Smer), have criticised the Czech police for failing to prosecute social media users who publicly applauded the attempted assassination of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in May. The office of the Slovak government has also joined in the condemnation.

    The Czech police have countered that they are bound by legal regulations in terms of which acts they can prosecute. Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan described the criticism as inappropriate, given that the Czech police are a strictly apolitical organisation and that the Czech and Slovak police cooperate frequently and smoothly.

    Smer MP and former Slovak police chief Tibor Gašpar cited as part of his criticism the reaction of the Czech police to Jindřich Rajchl, the head of the Czech non-parliamentary party PRO, who published a statement he received from the police in response to his suggestion of bringing charges against people who applauded the assassination attempt on social media. The police wrote in their statement that the social media posts in question fell under the purview of freedom of speech.

    Fico was hospitalised after the attempt on his life on 15 May 2024 but survived and has since been discharged. Smer is Robert Fico's own party, which he founded in 1999 and still leads today.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 06/26/2024

    The Czech and Slovak stances on the war in Ukraine aren't as different from each other as has often been made out, Czech President Petr Pavel said after meeting with his Slovak counterpart Peter Pellegrini at Prague Castle on Wednesday. Both presidents agreed that relations between the two countries are not defined only by foreign policy and that the two neighbouring states are still linked historically, culturally and economically. Mr Pellegrini said that the special relationship between them cannot be damaged or threatened by differences of opinion over certain foreign policy issues.

    The pair met to discuss bilateral relations as part of the Slovak head of state's first official visit to Czechia since taking up office. The Slovak president began his visit on Wednesday morning by paying his respects to the victims of the December shooting at Charles University's Faculty of Arts in Prague.

    It is a tradition that the first official foreign visit made by new Czech and Slovak presidents after assuming office is to each other's respective countries. Mr Pellegrini took up office on 15 June this year. Shortly before this, his predecessor Zuzana Čaputová made a farewell visit to Prague.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 06/26/2024

    The Chamber of Deputies has approved a government proposal to further extend temporary protection for war refugees from Ukraine until March of 2025. The amendment to the law will now be discussed by the parliamentary committees on security and social policy. Temporary protection gives people who have fled the war in their home country access to public health insurance, education and the labour market in Czechia. According to Interior Ministry data 320,000 Ukrainian refugees currently have extended temporary protection status in the country. Those who decide to settle in the Czech Republic and do not need special protection can file for long-term residence.

  • 06/26/2024

    Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has slammed Russia’s decision to block 81 EU media outlets, including Czech Television and Seznam Zprávy, on the territory of Russia. The ban was imposed in retaliation for the EU Council's decision to enforce sanctions on a number of Russian media outlets, including RIA Novosti, Izvestia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta in May of this year.

    Mr. Lipavský described Moscow's decision as "scandalous". He said that while the Russian media are openly  spreading disinformation and propaganda, the EU media outlets blacklisted are independent, have a strict code of ethics and are objective and critical.

  • 06/25/2024

    The Czech government and the country’s leading opposition party ANO are united in their support for Czechia’s pro-Western orientation, the country's anchoring in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the need to be active in these institutions, President Petr Pavel said after talks with Prime Minister Petr Fiala and ANO leader Andrej Babis at Prague Castle on Tuesday. He said the talks confirmed continued support for Ukraine as well as efforts towards peace negotiations that would seek a just and lasting solution to the conflict. The talks were aimed at fine-tuning the country’s position on issues to be discussed at the upcoming NATO summit, due to take place in Washington in July.

  • 06/25/2024

    Wednesday should be clear to partly cloudy with rain in the south-eastern parts of the country and day temperatures between 25 and 29 degrees Celsius.

  • 06/25/2024

    The opposition ANO party will not block the government's amendment to the Atomic Energy Act, which should open the way for the construction of new nuclear units and small modular reactors. Party deputy chair Karel Havlíček said on Tuesday that accelerating the construction of nuclear power plants and modular reactors is a step in the right direction and would help meet the country's climate goals. The lower house is set to discuss the amendment this week.

  • 06/25/2024

    Slovak police have arrested a Czech citizen who was wanted on a European arrest warrant issued by a Czech court. According to Seznam Zpravy the detainee, who will be handed over to the Czech authorities, is Pavel Zítko. He faces charges of scaremongering and spreading disinformation in connection with the covid-19 pandemic when he warned people about the negative health consequences of vaccination against the coronavirus. Zítko failed to appear in court for the trial.

  • 06/25/2024

    President Petr Pavel has appointed Veronika Křesťanová vice-chair of the Constitutional Court. She is replacing Vojtěch Šimíček whose ten-year term in office expired earlier this month. The head of state also appointed two new constitutional court judges, Jiří Přibáň and Tomáš Langášek, whose nomination was approved by the Senate last week.

    Křesťanová became a constitutional court judge last August. Přibáň graduated from the Faculty of Law at Charles University and is a professor of law at Cardiff University in Wales. Langášek has been a judge of the Supreme Administrative Court since March 2013.

  • 06/25/2024

    On a working visit to Ankara, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Tuesday met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss bilateral ties, Turkish-EU relations and global security issues in the light of Russian imperialism. The Turkish diplomatic chief said that Turkey was grateful to the Czech Republic for supporting its EU accession efforts. He also expressed the hope that the war in Ukraine could be ended through peace talks and noted that war crimes were being committed in the Gaza Strip every day. Lipavský highlighted the fact that the Czech Republic and Turkey have been allies in NATO for 25 years. He thanked Turkey for its support for Ukraine, noting that in helping Ukraine, Turkey is helping the Czech Republic and the whole of Europe, since Russian imperialism is now the biggest threat to the continent.

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