News

President Petr Pavel has cancelled Monday’s planned foreign policy consultations with the country’s top constitutional officials at Prague Castle. His office made the move when it emerged that some participants were unable to keep the scheduled time, despite the meeting being postponed by one hour. Prague Castle said in a press release that an alternative term would be sought.

The delay was caused by an extended cabinet meeting during which the cabinet approved the draft of the 2026 state budget. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) apologised to President Pavel for failing to meet the agreed time during a briefing after the government session. According to Babiš, the cabinet on Monday held its most demanding session since taking office in mid-December.

Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura (SPD) criticized President Pavel’s position ahead of Monday’s foreign policy consultations saying that the proposed draft of a joint declaration which coalition leaders received on Friday was “absolutely unacceptable to the entire coalition”. Okamura said the President’s Office has clearly failed to notice that the new government has a different foreign policy program and outlook from that of its predecessor.

Okamura said that talks on foreign policy should also address the issue of ambassadors and the president’s foreign trips. He added that the coalition believes the president is not acting in accordance with the Constitution in refusing to appoint MP Filip Turek (Motorists for Themselves) as a minister, an aspect which would also influence the tone of the debate.

Prices in pubs, cafés and other hospitality businesses have risen by 51 percent since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, prices in the hospitality sector increased by four percent, while nominal revenues grew by just over two percent, the Czech News Agency reported.

The data comes from an analysis by Dotykačka, a company that supplies cash register systems.

Restaurant owners have justified price increases by citing higher costs for ingredients, energy, rent and wages, as well as some taxes, including the value-added tax on beer, which was raised two years ago.

Czech soldiers were allies and family to the Americans they served with, and the United States did not take that commitment for granted, U.S. Ambassador to Prague Nicholas Merrick said on X on Monday.

His remarks came after U.S. President Donald Trump last week questioned the role of NATO member states in Afghanistan, saying allied troops stayed away from the front lines.

“After the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the Czech Republic and brave Czech soldiers stood by our side without hesitation,” Ambassador Merrick wrote. “Over the next 19 years, more than 11,000 Czech soldiers served shoulder to shoulder with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Fourteen Czech soldiers lost their lives and many others were wounded.”

Their service and sacrifices were real, the ambassador said. “The United States did not take this commitment for granted then, and we do not forget it today. Czech soldiers were allies and family to the Americans they served with. Their courage and sacrifice saved lives. It is an honor to represent America in a place where our friendship was strengthened by such sacrifice,” he added.

President Petr Pavel on Sunday also voiced recognition for the thousands of Czech soldiers who served in difficult conditions under NATO leadership in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years.

President Trump’s comments downplaying allied involvement in combat have sparked outrage in a number of countries.