News

The Czech government has nominated the minister of industry and trade, Jozef Síkela, for the position of Czech member of the next European Commission. The cabinet selected him unanimously at a meeting on Wednesday over two other candidates, recently elected MEP Danuše Nerudová of the Mayors party and Marcel Kolaja of the Pirates.

According to Prime Minister Fiala, Mr. Síkela has proven his competence over the long term, and during the Czech EU Presidency, he has shown that he was capable of solving problems at the European level.

“We are trying to achieve a portfolio that will be strong, where the Commissioner for Czechia will have real powers. We are convinced that Jozef Síkela is the right candidate who can acquire and manage such a portfolio," Mr. Fiala told reporters after the government’s meeting.

The Czech semi-state energy group CEZ started talks with the South Korean company KHNP on the contract for the construction of two nuclear units at the Dukovany power station and the document is expected to be signed by the end of March 2025, CEZ spokesman Ladislav Kriz told the Czech News Agency on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the Czech government decided to award a contract to build two new nuclear units at the Dukovany power station to KHNP, giving it preference over France’s EDF, in what was the largest tender in the history of the Czech state.

The cabinet had so far approved the building of two units at Dukovany but it will also discuss an option for up to two more units at the country’s second nuclear power plant, Temelín.

Prague Airport handled 7.18 million passengers in the first half of 2024, up by 23 percent on the previous year, according to fresh data released on Wednesday. Despite the year-on-year growth, Václav Havel Airport did not equal the figures from 2019, when it handled 7.8 million people in its first six months.

Most flights from Prague were to London, with more than 633,000 people travelling there in total. Paris came second with around 360,500 passengers, followed by Amsterdam, Milan and Rome. In terms of countries, the United Kingdom was the most popular in the first six months, followed by Italy, Spain, France and Germany.

Six Czech police officers will be part of a multinational team overseeing security in France during the Olympic Games in Paris, David Schön, a spokesman for the police presidency, told the Czech News Agency on Wednesday.

Two explosives experts and four dog handlers travelled to the country last week. They will be deployed to detect explosives and weapons at various sports venues during the Games, not only in Paris but also in other French cities.

The Olympics begin in Paris on Friday and run until August 11. The Paralympics follow from August 28 to September 8. Tens of thousands of police officers will be deployed to secure both events.