Security Committee meeting on counter-intelligence service (BIS) called off

A meeting of the Security Committee of the lower house of Parliament, ostensibly set for Friday to discuss reappointing the director of the counter-intelligence service (BIS), will likely not take place.

Committee chairman Radek Koten (SPD) said in a letter to its members that there was no legal basis for convening the extraordinary meeting, which had been requested by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO).

The term of current BIS head Michal Koudelka, who took up the post in 2015, is set to end in mid-August. While he has the backing of Babiš and most committee members, President Miloš Zeman has been a vocal critic and refused to promote him to the customary rank of general.