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04/21/2026
A Senate delegation led by the upper chamber’s chairman, Miloš Vystrčil (ODS), will travel to Taiwan on a commercial flight from Prague to Taipei, a route that was launched three years ago with Vystrčil’s support. He told journalists today that the government coalition of ANO, SPD, and Motorists had refused to provide a government aircraft, as had previously been customary. He described the decision as a betrayal and a stab in the back for business representatives and members of the science, research, and cultural sectors who were supposed to join the mission, and whose participation is now uncertain. Vystrčil plans to make the trip to Taiwan at the turn of May and June.
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04/21/2026
If the ongoing war in the Middle East escalates into a major energy crisis accompanied by a sharp rise in energy prices, the state can reduce the regulated component of electricity and gas prices, thereby slowing price growth. In an extreme scenario, market prices of key energy sources could also be capped to keep them affordable for domestic industry and households, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček said today at the Days of District Heating and Energy 2026 in Olomouc.
He added that he informed the Security Council of the State about these emergency measures on Monday.
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04/21/2026
Clear to partly cloudy, with temporarily increased cloud cover in places in the north and northeast during the day. Highs of 12 to 16°C, around 5°C at 1,000 metres in the mountains.
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04/21/2026
Following the approval of the EU Council conclusions, the Czech Republic emphasized the need to adapt European energy and climate policy to the new geopolitical reality, strengthen energy security, and maintain competitiveness. It also pointed to the impact of instability in the Strait of Hormuz and highlighted the key role of nuclear energy in decarbonization, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry.
Given the current unrest in and around the Strait of Hormuz, significant changes in the EU’s approach to security, energy, and climate policy are expected. These changes are driven, among other things, by a shared interest in addressing the impacts of the clean transition while preserving the EU’s economic competitiveness and the security of energy supply. In this context, the Czech Republic emphasizes the particular importance of nuclear energy as a key contributor to the global decarbonization of the energy sector, the statement says.
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04/21/2026
Nearly 60% of companies want greater coordination of energy policy within the EU, Christian Rühmkorf from the Czech-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry told journalists today. Energy prices are seen by every second company as the main risk to their business over the next 12 months, while in a five-year horizon, firms consider securing supplies of energy and raw materials to be the biggest challenge. This follows from a chamber survey conducted among 125 companies at the turn of March and April.
In addition to energy prices, 43% of businesses see a shortage of qualified workers as a risk factor for further economic growth. Jiří Lopata, managing director of the engineering division at Streicher, noted that technical fields at universities need greater societal support, especially from the government.
One percentage point fewer companies cited weak demand as a concern – although this was the top risk last year – while 40 percent feel threatened by raw material prices.
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04/21/2026
Actress Magda Vášáryová will receive the President’s Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which will take place this year from July 3 to 11. By honoring one of Slovakia’s most prominent actresses, the festival aims not only to recognize her acting achievements but also to highlight the unique artistic collaboration between Czech and Slovak filmmakers who have shared a common film history. This was announced today by the festival’s executive director Kryštof Mucha.
As a tribute to Vášáryová, the festival will screen the film Vtáčkovia, siroty a blázni by Juraj Jakubisko. The screenplay was co-written by Jakubisko and writer Karol Sidon, according to the organizers.
A breakthrough role early in Vášáryová’s career was the title character in the historical drama Marketa Lazarová, directed by František Vláčil. In 1998, this film was voted the most important work in the history of Czech cinema by domestic film critics and journalists.
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04/21/2026
The opposition Pirate Party has proposed introducing an additional reduced value-added tax (VAT) rate of six percent, which would apply to selected food and hygiene products. According to Pirate MPs, the measure is intended to improve affordability and ease the impact of current and expected inflation. If adopted, the amendment would reduce public budget revenues by approximately CZK 5.9 to 7.5 billion annually.
The Pirates propose including mainly fruit, vegetables, legumes, rice, millet, groats, milled grain products, eggs, pasta, plant-based oils, drinking water, and baby and infant food in the second reduced VAT rate. Among hygiene products, the six percent rate would apply to sanitary pads, tampons, and baby diapers.
According to Pirate MPs, the current VAT rates of 21 and 12 percent do not allow for sufficiently targeted tax relief on a narrow group of goods with significant social importance.
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04/21/2026
In the first quarter, older apartments recorded the highest year-on-year price increases in the Pardubice and Ústí nad Labem regions. In both cases, their prices rose by roughly one-fifth over the year. One of the reasons is strong demand from investors who have been buying up properties in these two regions. The Ústí nad Labem region showed the largest percentage difference in prices between older buildings and new developments.
According to the analysis, the average price of apartments in the Czech Republic was CZK 89,612 per square metre in the first quarter (up 16% y-o-y). In the Pardubice region, the price per square metre was CZK 70,666 (up 21% y-o-y). In the Ústí nad Labem region, it was CZK 46,333 per square metre, with the price of older apartments rising by 20% over the year. Despite the significant increase, apartments in the northwestern region remained the cheapest in the entire country.
However, prices per square metre in all regions except Prague and the South Moravian region were below the national average. The overall value of older apartments in the Czech Republic was thus driven mainly by prices in the capital, where the average price per square metre reached CZK 153,640 in the first quarter.
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04/21/2026
Environmental organisation Hnutí Duha (Rainbow) has called on Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) to publicly apologise after he labelled the group “terrorist”. The NGO has sent a pre-litigation notice and says it will sue if he does not apologise. Macinka made the remark earlier this month, backing fellow party member Filip Turek, who also threatened to block funding for environmental groups. Hnutí Duha says such rhetoric is unacceptable in a democracy and warns it could set a dangerous precedent.
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04/21/2026
Incoming Prague Archbishop Stanislav Přibyl believes work on a long-prepared treaty between Czech Republic and the Vatican will likely not continue after a recent court ruling blocked its ratification. The agreement, negotiated over 22 years, was partly deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic. Přibyl said he did not expect the document to be reopened or revised, arguing such treaties are rarely rewritten after signing. The court raised concerns over unlimited confidentiality of confession and restricted access to church archives. The deal, signed in 2024 by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party), aimed to define relations between the state and the Catholic Church, but now appears unlikely to move forward.
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