Daily news summary
PM Babiš visits Polish counterpart, Frontex agency, in Warsaw
Czech Prime Minister and ANO party leader Andrej Babiš travelled to Warsaw on Monday to visit the headquarters of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, which he says should focus mainly on returning migrants to the country of origin or to the transit states.
Babiš has recently criticized the European Commission’s plans to increase funding for Frontex, arguing that it amounts to duplicating European security structures and boosting an agency that has not proven very effective.
In Warsaw he also met his Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki. Among the topics on their agenda was the upcoming EU summit in Brussels and migration. They also agreed on the need to help source countries of migration improve conditions at home.
EU’s Juncker criticises CE state’s “scandalous” stance on refugees
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has criticized central European member states for refusing to accept mandatory quotas agreed in 2015 to take in refugees, and especially for rejecting his own proposal to at least host unaccompanied refugee children without families.
Juncker said in an interview with the French daily Le Monde published over the weekend that their stance was "scandalous" and failed to demonstrate even "basic solidarity" with other EU states.
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš last month refused to even consider taking in 50 orphans from Syria but has since softened his stance.
Bark beetles threaten Ždárské vrchy protected natural area
A bark beetle infestation that has affected spruce forests in the Vysočina region is also threatening the protected natural area of Žďárské vrchy in western Moravia.
Extensive felling of trees to combat the problem could negatively impact many animal species, including hawks and white-tailed eagles, conservationists say.
The Czech Republic’s largely coniferous forests are facing the worst bark beetle infestation in at least 200 years. The amount of spruce wood damaged by the insects has risen steadily in recent years.
Experts are warning that the nation’s forests could be wiped out if the current monoculture forestry format remains unchanged.
Chamber of Commerce: GDP growth will slow to 3.3 pct in 2019
Due to the chronic labour shortage, Czech economic growth will slow to 3.6 percent this year and to 3.3 percent in 2019, the Czech Chamber of Commerce says in a new forecast.
The prediction is based on data from the retail bank Česká spořitelna and the chamber’s own surveys.
By June 2019 there could be half a million unfilled positions, about 60,000 more than today, according to the chamber, which has been lobbying the government to double the annual quota for workers from Ukraine to 40,000 to help fill the gap.
Fish infected with herpes virus ordered destroyed
Veterinarians in East Bohemia have ordered some 80 tons of fish be destroyed following an outbreak of the herpes virus at the Buñkov fish farm near Pardubice.
Although the strain cannot be transmitted to humans, it is highly contagious among fish species. It is the first such outbreak reported this year.
Krpálek wins judo Grand Prix gold in Mexico
Czech judo competitor Lukáš Krpálek has won his third Grand Prix gold medal in Cancún, Mexico. The Olympic champion and World number two defeated Andy Granda of Cuba in the above 100 kilogramme category. The Czech secured the win in the minute of the contest.
Krpálek is a former world and European champion and current Olympic Champion in the U100 category. He is the most successful judoka in Czech and Czechoslovak history, and was named Czech Judoka of the Year eight times between 2008 and 2015.
Prague City Hall to restore Fuchs café on Štvanice Island
The Czech capital is preparing a project to repair the dilapidated Fuchs café on Štvanice Island between the Karlín and Holešovice districts.
Prague city councillors have earmarked some 20 million crowns to restore the 1930s’ era functionalist style café to its original state.
There are also plans to build a new footbridge to the island and install landscaped gardens.
Weather outlook
Tuesday should be clear to partly cloudy throughout most of the country with daytime highs of 18 to 22 degrees Celsius. The unseasonably warm weather is expected to continue throughout the week.
