PM Babiš: Foreign policy consultations to end

The regular meetings of Czech constitutional officials at Prague Castle to discuss foreign affairs will no longer take place, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) said after Wednesday’s talks with President Petr Pavel. The meetings, which brought together the president, prime minister, leaders of both parliamentary chambers, and the foreign minister to coordinate stances on foreign policy, no longer made “much sense,” according to Babiš. He told journalists he will now discuss foreign policy directly with the president, while Pavel will meet the other participants separately. He also added that he now discusses foreign policy within the ANO, SPD and Motorists' Party coalition.

The decision follows last week’s controversy, when Pavel published text messages sent by Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists‘ Party) to his advisers, which Pavel has described as amounting to an attempt at blackmail. Babiš said he wants to calm the situation and confirmed that the Motorists’ Party honorary president Filip Turek will not be appointed environment minister.

Former Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) criticised the decision to end the coordination meetings, calling it “completely wrong” on X. He warned it could lead to chaos and weaken the Czech Republic’s standing abroad. Other opposition figures reacted similarly.