• Pavel says EU should expand for sake of own security
    10/03/2023

    The European Union should expand for the sake of its security, Czech President Petr Pavel said on Tuesday in a speech at the opening of the new academic year at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. He also said Ukraine and the countries of the Western Balkans must not be left to “geopolitical manipulation”.

    The patron of the class at the prestigious academic institution is the late former US Secretary of State and Czech-born Madeleine Albright, whom Mr. Pavel praised as a visionary, given her support for the eastward expansion of the EU and NATO. He also quoted former Czech President Václav Havel and expressed his intention to hold a conference in Prague on the resilience of democracies.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Fiala: Czechs should have similar diplomatic representation in Russia to allies
    10/03/2023

    Czechia should have similar diplomatic representation in Russia to its allies, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Tuesday, in response to a query from the Czech News Agency on the issue of sending a new ambassador to Moscow. The foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, has said the Czechs should have an ambassador in Russia, but President Petr Pavel says he is unable to imagine renewing the post at present.

    The ambassador to Russia is officially Vítězslav Pivoňka, though he has been in Czechia for several months. Diplomat Jiří Čistecký is serving as deputy ambassador in Moscow.

    The UK and Germany have recently sent new ambassadors to Russia, despite that country’s war on Ukraine.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Weather forecast
    10/03/2023

    It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Wednesday, with an average high temperature of 18 degrees Celsius. More cloudy weather is expected on the following days.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • This September warmest since records began in Prague
    10/03/2023

    This September was the warmest since measurements were first taken at Prague’s Clementinum weather station in 1775. The average temperature last month reached 19.6 degrees Celsius, meaning a deviation of 4.4 degrees from the long-term average, the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute reported on Tuesday.

    September 12 was the warmest day, with an average temperature over the day of 23.9 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech firms report one-fifth lower gas consumption in 2022
    10/03/2023

    Czech companies used almost one-fifth less natural gas year-on-year in 2022, according to data released on Tuesday by the Czech Statistics Office, which drew on information from firms with 20 or more employees.

    Consumption of hard coal also fell last year, by about a tenth, while brown coal consumption rose. Companies used slightly less electricity than in 2021.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Media: ANO discussing Babiš’s future role
    10/03/2023

    Discussions are taking place within ANO over the role chairman and founder Andrej Babiš will play in connection with next year’s European Parliament elections, Seznam Zprávy reported on Tuesday.

    ANO sources told the news site that the opposition party was weighing up how much Mr. Babiš would take part in campaigning around the country. There are also questions over whether he will remain an MP or quit the Czech lower house.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Two killed as train hits four in South Bohemia
    10/03/2023

    Two people were killed and two seriously injured when they were hit by a train on a trial run near the village of Bělčice in South Bohemia on Tuesday morning. A police spokesperson told the Czech News Agency that the victims were evidently working at the spot where the accident occurred. There were no passengers on board the train.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechia to launch spot checks on Slovak border Wednesday
    10/03/2023

    Czechia is to introduce checks on its border with Slovakia from Wednesday, in response to a rise in the number of migrants crossing the frontier. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced the move on Tuesday morning via social media.

    The minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, said that the controls would be random and would be carried out along the entire length of the two states’ joint border.

    The move has been coordinated with Poland, which is taking a similar step.

    Czechia operated fixed checks on its border with Slovakia from last September to February.

    Mr. Fiala said the new measure would increase the security of Czech citizens.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Beer prices expected to rise further
    10/03/2023

    The Budějovický Budvar brewery is planning to increase the price of beer by five to eight percent in the coming weeks, Czech Television reported, citing the company’s management. Draught beer will go up by one crown, bottled beer by one to two crowns. The average price increase for packaged beer will be around CZK 1.50. Other breweries are also upping the price of the most popular alcoholic beverage in the country. Plzeňský Prazdroj announced at the end of August that it would raise the price of its products by around six percent as of October. The reason cited was higher costs of energy, packaging and transport.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech theatre companies support marriage for same-sex couples
    10/03/2023

    The ensembles of 25 Czech theatre companies have called on Prime Minister Petr Fiala to support marriage for same-sex couples. The open letter calling for marriage for all was signed by artistic directors and heads of companies in Prague, Brno and other cities. In September, the government received a similar appeal from 66 large companies and banks.

    Since July 2006, same-sex couples in Czechia have been able to enter into registered partnerships but proposals to legalize gay marriage have repeatedly been rejected by Parliament. Critics of the draft bill which would ensure marriage for all are pushing a counterproposal which would define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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