News

French President Emmanuel Macron was welcomed at Prague Castle by the Czech head of state, Petr Pavel, on Tuesday. The two leaders discussed military aid to Ukraine and insisted that Russia not be allowed to triumph in that conflict.

Mr. Macron said his ministers would continue to discuss French involvement in a Czech plan to purchase hundreds of thousands of ammunition rounds from third countries for Ukraine, financially backed by other states. He described the Czech initiative as significant.

The French leader said Russia could not win in Ukraine and that it was necessary to support the Ukrainian people and army for as long as required.

Mr. Pavel said he was in favour of seeking new forms of assistance to Ukraine, including a discussion on a possible presence in the country; not in the form of combat troops, but in the form of assistance.

Mr. Macron began his one-day trip to Czechia with a visit to Prague’s French secondary school. He is also due to hold talks with the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala.

The French leader was last in Prague in 2022 for the first gathering of the European Political Community and an informal European Council summit.

The international security conference Globsec is moving from Bratislava to Prague for its 2024 edition, Seznam Zprávy reports. The event came under fire in recent months from Prime Minister Robert Fico in Slovakia, who repeatedly criticised the conference and said he would rather give the money for it to other institutions. Meanwhile, it received the support of the Czech President Petr Pavel, who signed the official patronage of the conference on Monday. The Globsec headquarters will remain in Slovakia.

The event, which aims to promote dialogue on foreign and security policy issues, has been held 18 times in the Slovak capital. It will take place this year in Prague from August 30 to September 1.

Czechia is not focussing enough on the prevention of corruption or regulating lobbying sufficiently, the Council of Europe's anti-corruption body GRECO said in an assessment report published on Monday. The anti-corruption group wrote that although Czechia has a robust legal framework for the prevention of corruption, there is too little focus on guidance, training and awareness activities, as well as on supervision and enforcement, and progress in some areas, such as lobbying, has been slow in recent years. The Council of Europe gave the country 20 recommendations for improvement.

EU member states should avoid unilateral measures that could increase gas prices for consumers, Czech Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela said at a meeting in Brussels on Monday. He wants to discuss abolishing the fee that Germany charges other EU countries for gas transit through its territory. This idea is supported by neighbouring countries Poland, Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. Síkela expects to discuss the issue directly with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.