News

The Czech Constitutional Court has rejected a complaint by Maltese company Fynerdale Holdings, which had sought compensation of 1.7 billion crowns from the Czech state. The firm argued that investigators and prosecutors mishandled a criminal case involving fraud with poppy seeds and other crops. Lower courts ruled that the claim was time-barred and that the state was not liable for the alleged damage. The Constitutional Court agreed, saying the courts had dealt with the company’s arguments in a logical and consistent manner. Fynerdale Holdings also failed earlier in an international arbitration over the same case.

Heavy snowfall hit parts of Czechia early on Friday morning, moving east from western Bohemia and causing widespread traffic problems.

Road crews began clearing snow overnight, but fresh snowfall and poor visibility still led to numerous accidents. Stranded trucks blocked traffic at two points on the D5 motorway in western Bohemia, while the D6 motorway west of Prague was also closed. Some public transport services in Central Bohemia experienced delays.

Snowfall is expected to continue across most of the country through the morning, easing later in the day.

Meanwhile, eastern regions remain in the grip of severe frost. In the Hradec Králové region, temperatures fell below minus 20 degrees Celsius for the fifth night in a row. The lowest reading, minus 27.3 degrees, was recorded in Orlické Záhoří. Freezing conditions are expected to return nationwide over the weekend.

President Petr Pavel met with US Ambassador to Czechia Nicholas Merrick to discuss international issues, including the case of a Czech national detained in Venezuela. The Presidential Office said both sides stressed the importance of the transatlantic partnership, NATO cooperation, and adequate defence spending. The US embassy said the talks also covered joint security projects, including the Czech ammunition initiative and the F-35 fighter programme. It was their first meeting since Ambassador Merrick presented his credentials last October.

The Czech government will decide next year whether to build two new nuclear units at the Temelín power plant, Industry and Trade Minister Karel Havlíček said on Thursday.

If approved, the government could activate an option linked to its existing contract with South Korea’s KHNP, which is already set to build new nuclear units at Dukovany. Havlíček added that the Temelín project would still be open to other bidders.

According to Havlíček, the Czech state cannot do without new nuclear capacity at Temelín, since the planned reactors at Dukovany alone will not be sufficient.