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Europe lacks unity on some issues, which prevents it from becoming a global player, European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela said at a conference titled “Czech Priorities in European Policy”, organised by Euractiv. “Europe certainly has what it takes to rank among the strongest global actors, but to achieve this it needs greater unity” Síkela said. He noted that in recent months there have been cases when common interests were traded for supplies of gas or oil, or for a simple desire to weaken Europe.

The number of charging stations for passenger electric vehicles in Czechia increased by almost one fifth last year, according to data from the Transport Research Centre. There are now more than 7,500 charging points around the country. The rise in charging stations is linked to the growing popularity of electric vehicles: 21,000 EV’s were sold last year, bringing the total number in Czechia to almost 58,000. According to experts, however, most people still charge their electric vehicles at private locations, such as homes or workplaces.

Honorary president of the Motorists party and MP Filip Turek says his lawyers have prepared a draft lawsuit for protection of personality rights against President Petr Pavel over his refusal to appoint him  minister of the environment and the stated reasons for his decision.

Speaking to journalists ahead of a meeting of coalition leaders, Turek said he wanted to discuss his next steps with coalition partners. Turek said he was deeply offended by the president’s justification as to why he was unsuitable for the post of minister, particularly the president’s claim that he is a Nazi sympathiser, arguing that the posts he had placed on social media were intended as black humor. According to Turek, the president has voluntarily entered a political confrontation by failing to respect the results of October’s general elections.

Children and adolescents under the age of 18 are becoming increasingly radicalized, with growing levels of aggression and brutality and more serious consequences for victims, according to Czech Chief Public Prosecutor Lenka Bradáčová. The chief prosecutor told the news site Novinky.cz that last year confirmed the rise of this negative trend, including more crimes committed by minors resulting in severe injuries or loss of life. Bradáčová highlighted the emergence of a new phenomenon known as “experiential violence,” in which young people form groups and jointly attack randomly selected victims. She said the perpetrators often copy dangerous behaviour and draw inspiration from the internet. Police President Martin Vondrášek also said the police are aware that young people are becoming increasingly radicalized.