Czech MPs vote to ratify defence treaty with US

The Czech lower house ratified a defence cooperation agreement with the US on Wednesday. The document had already been signed by the Czech and American ministers of defence. The minister of defence, Jana Černochová, told MPs that the agreement represented a security guarantee for Czechia. The bill ratifying the deal must now be signed by President Petr Pavel.

Earlier discussion of a government pension reform bill was interrupted until Friday. Deputies from the opposition ANO and Freedom and Direct Democracy parties spoke for three and a half hours at the start of the session, which is considering tightening the rules on early retirement and slowing the indexation of state old-age pensions.