News

President Petr Pavel has authorized ANO party leader Andrej Babiš to begin talks on forming a new government, the Presidential Office announced on its website following their meeting on Monday.

During the meeting, Babiš briefed the president on the ongoing negotiations over a coalition agreement and policy statement. According to the Presidential Office, Babiš pledged to deliver the finalized coalition agreement and program priorities to President Pavel in writing later this week. The president was said to be particularly interested in the sections concerning foreign and security policy.

Babiš has not yet presented his proposed cabinet lineup, but mentioned several names currently under discussion among the coalition parties, the Presidential Office said. President Pavel expects Babiš to put forward a government team that will uphold the democratic principles enshrined in the constitution.

The president is prepared to meet individually with each nominee for ministerial positions to discuss their priorities and policy views. Babiš also assured Pavel that he would publicly address the issue of his conflict of interest before his potential appointment as prime minister.

The Prague Symphony Orchestra (FOK) will perform the first of two Concerts for the Republic in the Municipal House in Prague on the eve of Czechoslovakia’s founding anniversary. The second concert will take place on October 28 at the same venue. The Municipal House is the place where Czechoslovak independence was declared in 1918. My Homeland is a cycle of six symphonic poems composed between 1874 and 1879 by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. Each poem is a celebration of the country’s beautiful nature, history and legends.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has announced plans to relocate its embassy in Washington, D.C. to Massachusetts Avenue, known as Embassy Row and home to many other diplomatic missions.

The new location will place the embassy closer to the White House and Congress, symbolizing what the ministry called a “return to the heart of diplomacy.”  The Czech Republic owns three buildings in the U.S. capital. The current embassy premises will, after renovation, continue to host consular, military, and cultural sections. The move is planned for the summer of next year.

The emerging coalition of ANO, SPD and Motorists has agreed to reinstate electronic sales reporting (EET) and reduce corporate taxes, ANO deputy chair Alena Schillerová said in the wake of last week’s talks.

According to Schillerová, the EET system — aimed at curbing the shadow economy — could bring in more than 30 billion crowns, not only through VAT collection but also by targeting undeclared labour and unpaid corporate taxes.