News

It should be mainly sunny in Czechia on Thursday, with an average high temperature of 11 degrees Celsius. The following days are expected to see cloudy skies and lower temperatures.

Unions at the Czech National Theatre have declared a strike alert, saying they are opposed to steps taken by the government and Ministry of Culture, which they say threaten freedom of speech, the media and the arts. The move was announced by actors on stage after a performance at the historic National Theatre building in Prague.

In a statement on Tuesday evening, union representatives demanded the removal of Oto Klempíř as minister of culture. For his part, Mr. Klempíř said actors had the right to express disagreement. He said the government was acting prudently but also supporting the arts through concrete measures and investment.

The government plans to end the license fee system for public broadcasters and bring them under the state budget. This will lead to lower budgets and critics say it may also facilitate political interference. Other steps, such as reducing the budget of state agency the Czech Audiovisual Fund, have also led to tensions between the government and many in the arts community.

The Ministry of Culture is removing Petr Dvořák, a former director general of Czech Television, from his position as chairman of the board of the Czech Audiovisual Fund. The minister of arts, Oto Klempíř, said on Tuesday that Mr. Dvořák had a different outlook on the Fund’s financial management and had failed to identify cost-saving measures.

The government recently refused to approve the Fund’s proposed budget for 2027, with Mr. Klempíř demanding a reduction of approximately CZK 400 million in planned support for the audiovisual sector next year. Mr. Dvořák and the rest of the board rejected this position.

The Czech Audiovisual Fund operates under the Ministry of Culture. It finances and supports the country’s film, television, animation, video game and wider audiovisual industries.

An extraordinary tax on refineries’ increased margins approved by the government at the end of September will threaten the entire Czech industrial sector, the country’s Confederation of Industry said on Tuesday.

The government proposal could classify even a simple return to normal production levels as an extraordinary profit, the Confederation argues. Moreover, the Czech model is stricter than some similar measures introduced abroad. The Confederation has therefore called on the government to reconsider the tax, it said.

Last month, the government decided to impose an extraordinary tax on refineries that will apply this year and next year. The tax will be levied on the increase in margins compared with 2025. The move comes in response to a rise in refinery margins caused by disruptions to the global oil market.