Daily news summary

Czechs trust in EU slowly growing

Czechs’ trust in the EU has increased to 44 percent, up by five percent as compared to last year, according to the results of a poll undertaken by the CVVM agency.

Forty-eight percent of respondents said that the measure of integration within the EU should best remain as it is and 73 percent said they are against the Czech Republic adopting the euro.

The negative public stand against euro adoption has been evident since 2010. In the years between 2006 and 2009 the number of supporters and opponents was more or less balanced.

ANO to keep list of future ministers under wraps

The ANO party will not reveal its list of candidates for ministers in the next coalition government, ANO leader and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Monday. He was responding to calls from the Social Democrats for the list to be unveiled ahead of a Social Democratic Party referendum on whether the party should enter into a coalition government with ANO.

ANO will also need to address a recently voiced condition for tolerance from the Communist Party which wants the parties of the future government to commit not to increase the country’s presence in foreign missions.

Art historians appeal for Libeň Bridge to be preserved

Art historians from the Academy of Sciences have appealed to Prague councillors not to approve the demolition of Libeň Bridge dating back to 1928. City councillors are divided on the matter and are due to vote on it on Thursday.

Art historians have sent the city council an open letter asking councillors not to consider just the economic aspects of the decision but to take into account the cultural legacy which is at stake.

The bridge has been badly neglected and some councillors argue that pulling it down and building a new bridge would be less costly than saving the old one.

Finance Ministry fined for violating law on public tenders

The Ministry of Finance has been fined for violating public tenders, Czech television reported on Monday.

The Antimonopoly Office is reported to have found violations in more than half a dozen cases and fined the ministry over 1.5 million crowns altogether.

The ministry rejects any wrongdoing and has taken the matter to the regional court in Brno.

Fix mulled for shortage of doctors serving with emergency services

MPs are considering legislative changes in a response to a major shortage of doctors working with the emergency services, Czech Television reported on Monday. Under a new proposal, young doctors who do not yet have the attestation that makes them full doctors would be allowed to serve with ambulance crews if they are overseen by an experienced colleague.

Rescue services in all regions of the country are suffering from a shortage of doctors. Or almost 1,000 in action at present only around 60 are young doctors, Czech Television said.

Czechs into quarter-finals after drubbing of France at ice hockey worlds

The Czech Republic have reached the quarter-finals of the Ice Hockey World Championships. Coach Josef Jandač’s team demolished France 6:0 and had their qualification secured when Sweden later beat Switzerland.

David Pastrňák and Roman Horák scored two apiece for the Czech Republic while Dmitrij Jaškin and Martin Nečas each found the net once in Sunday’s game. In their final Group A match the Czechs will face Austria later on Monday.

Weather forecast

Tuesday is expected to bring rain and a drop in day temperatures to between 13 and 17 degrees Celsius.