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The number of apartments and houses sold in Czechia last year was the lowest since 2015, according to data from Valuo, a website that processes data from land registry offices and advertisements. The number of flats sold was down 9 percent year-on-year in 2023, while house sales were 17 percent lower, it said.

Some 73,605 apartments changed hands last year, while 34,769 houses were sold. The average size of a property sold in 2023 was 66 metres.

The minister for European affairs, Martin Dvořák, says he would like to see negotiations with the European Commission on conditions for Czechia joining the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II) before the next general elections, scheduled for late 2025.

Mr. Dvořák told Czech Television that this could be done without risk or consequence, leaving a decision on adopting the single European currency for the next government. He said it was a six-year process that could not be achieved in one government term.

The Mayors party minister recently announced he was appointing a commissioner for euro adoption, only for Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Civic Democrats to rule out the idea.

Czech Railways paid out almost CZK 7.6 million to passengers due to delays in 2023, which was roughly 31 percent more the previous year, the Czech News Agency said on Saturday. A spokesperson for the company said the increase was driven by a higher number of passengers and was also influenced by the introduction of automatic compensation payments without the need for a request.

Almost CZK 2.8 million was paid by the national carrier for delays in domestic transport, while approximately CZK 4.8 million went to passengers on international routes.

Andrej Babiš has been re-elected chairman of ANO at a congress in Prague on Saturday. The billionaire former Czech prime minister received around 90 percent of the vote after standing unopposed; only one delegated voted against him and eight out of 98 abstained.

Mr. Babiš said he would lead the grouping into general elections in the latter part of 2025.

Karel Havlíček was re-elcted first deputy leader of the party, which headed the last Czech government and consistently enjoys a major lead in opinion polls.