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President Petr Pavel said he does not believe the controversies surrounding Filip Turek, the Motorists’ nominee for environment minister, are merely media fabrications. Speaking to reporters during his trip to Hungary, Pavel stated that Turek’s behavior and attitudes toward the law are “incompatible” with a high public office.

Pavel added that he is willing to hear Turek out, but finds it hard to imagine anything that would change his view, which he says is shared by a large part of the Czech public. He has repeatedly expressed reservations about appointing Turek to the ANO–SPD–Motorists government.

Turek has been criticized for racist and homophobic posts. He has apologized for some statements, denying authorship of others.

The Czech Labour Office received more than 303,348 applications for the new unified “super-benefit” during its first two months, outgoing Labour Minister Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) said after a government meeting. The benefit, introduced in October, replaces housing and living allowances, and child benefits. All previous recipients must reapply by the end of the year. Jurečka urged people not to wait until the last moment. By late November, 254,000 of the 418,000 households contacted by the office had reapplied.

According to Jurečka, 63% of applications were submitted in person at Labour Office branches and 37% via the online app Jenda. Those who submit their applications by year-end will begin receiving the new benefit in May, with current payments continuing until then. Anyone who fails to reapply will stop receiving benefits in January and will face a gap in support.

The incoming ANO–SPD–Motorists coalition says it plans to review the “super-benefit.”

Buying a 70 m² apartment in Prague now requires 14.8 average annual salaries, according to a CG Index analysis by Central Group. This is slightly less than in the first half of 2025 but approximately five salaries more than a decade ago. Prague, thus, remains the least affordable among European capitals and is less affordable than Bratislava (14.1), Munich (11.2), Warsaw (9.6), or Vienna (7.7).

Concerning the whole of Czechia, the 2025 Prosperity and Financial Health Index by Česká spořitelna and Europe in Data ranks Czech housing conditions as fifth worst in the EU, with the average apartment costing 13.6 annual salaries, up from 12.9 last year.

An OECD study shows that property prices and rents in Czechia have risen sharply in recent years, putting growing pressure on household budgets. The shortage of affordable housing affects young families, seniors, and vulnerable groups especially. Affordability is constrained by high demand, limited supply, and low-quality housing stock.

The newly elected Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Tomio Okamura (SPD), is leading a delegation of Czech MPs to Slovakia. The delegation includes only MPs from the incoming Czech governing coalition, drawing criticism from representatives of the outgoing parties, who said they plan to visit Slovakia independently next week.

As part of the delegation, a Czech-Slovak-Austrian meeting was held in Bratislava today, during which Czech and Slovak leaders agreed not to implement the ETS 2 carbon trading system or the EU migration pact, Okamura said. He added that discussions with Austria on these issues will continue.

ETS 2, set to start by 2028, would expand emissions trading to road transport and the heating of buildings, aiming to stabilise carbon permit prices and limit impacts on households and businesses. Okamura also rejected any obligation for Czechia to accept, as eh put it, “Muslim migrants.”

On Ukraine’s EU membership, Okamura and Austrian National Council Speaker Walter Rosenkranz oppose accession, while Slovakia supports it.