Daily news summary
Taxify banned from operating in Prague
The app-based ride sharing service Taxify has been banned from operating in Prague until it meets the conditions required from a regular taxi service.
The Prague Municipal Court ruled on Tuesday that, like Uber, the Estonian company must agree to respect conditions which would put it on an equal footing with taxi drivers, by operating a licensed service, with drivers registering and taxing their earnings in the Czech Republic. Taxify may still appeal the verdict.
The company started operating in the Czech Republic in 2015 and the number of active Taxify drivers is estimated at several hundred.
Opposition parties calling for commission to evaluate influence of foreign agents
Opposition parties in the lower house are calling for a parliamentary commission which would evaluate the influence of foreign agents on developments in the Czech Republic.
A joint proposal for such a commission has been tabled by the Civic Democrats, the Pirate Party, TOP 09, the Mayors and Independents and the Christian Democrats. The move comes in response to an intelligence service report warning of heightened activity on the part of Russian and Chinese agents in the country.
The report for 2017, issued on Monday, is to be debated at a special government session.
Lower house speaker to attend Bush’s funeral
The Speaker of the Czech lower house of Parliament, Radek Vondráček, will represent the Czech Republic at the funeral of former US president George Bush in Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday, according to the Office of the Czech President.
Czech political leaders paid tribute to Mr.Bush on the news of his death, highlighting his service to his country and the fact that he helped usher in a new post-Cold War era and assisted the states of the former Eastern block in joining the democratic community of nations.
Czech prime minister in Morocco
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš is on a two-day business oriented visit to Morocco. The prime minister is accompanied by Trade and Industry Minister Marta Nováková and a delegation of 37 business leaders.
Mr. Babiš is due to hold talks with his Moroccan counterpart Saadadin Usmani and sign an inter-governmental agreement on industrial cooperation. The two sides are also expected to debate the problem of migration.
Morocco is the Czech Republic’s biggest economic partner in the region of North Africa. In the past five years Czech exports to Morocco doubled and a number of Czech companies are active on the Moroccan market.
MP Feri on Politico’s “dreamers” list
The youngest Czech deputy in the Czech lower house Dominik Feri (22) from TOP 09 has appeared on Politico’s list of 28 people who are shaping, shaking and stirring Europe.
The people listed are divided into three categories :doers, dreamers and disruptors. Dominik Feri appears eighth on the list of dreamers.
Dominik Feri, who was on the local council of his home town Teplice at the age of 18,won a seat in the lower house in last year’s parliamentary elections. He is the youngest ever MP in the country’s history.
Number of prisoners up by 10 percent in last decade
The Czech Republic has one of the highest rates of prisoners per capita in Europe, according to a comparative study conducted by the Council of Europe.
In 2015 the Czech Republic had 198 prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants, which is 6 percent more than in 2005.
The number ranks the Czech Republic 11th on a list of 49 countries monitored.
The overall number of prisoners has grown by 10 percent in the last decade. The number of jailed women is up by 48 percent.
Weather forecast
Wednesday should be clear to partly cloudy with day temperatures between 1 and 5 degrees Celsius.
