Property damage due to extreme weather events in Czechia has been increasing for a long time. According to the Czech Association of Insurance Companies, last year was another confirmation of this trend. Due to the autumn floods, as well as other intense storms and precipitation, covered damages reached more than CZK 36 billion. But this is not a Cz…

The heated meeting that took place last week on Friday in the Oval Office between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky led to increased interest in Czechia in financial aid to Ukraine.

As the US announce suspension of military aid to Ukraine, Czechia must prepare for potential escalation and increased Russian influence efforts, warns political scientist Jiří Pehe. In an interview, he outlined the key security challenges Czechia faces and the role it must play in European defense.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala has urged a boost in military aid to Ukraine in light of the European leaders' summit in London. He stated that this is the only way to prevent an aggressive Russia from advancing just a few hundred kilometers from Czechia. Fiala added that lasting peace in Europe can only be achieved through a well-armed continent, which …

Hundreds of Czech farmers joined pan-European protests against food imports from outside the European Union on Thursday. They are calling for the cancellation of the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, an end to duty-free imports from Ukraine and significant cuts in red tape.

Motol University Hospital, the largest medical facility in Czechia, has found itself at the centre of a serious anti-corruption operation by Czech police. Seventeen people have been accused so far, among them the hospital’s director, Miloslav Ludvík, who was dismissed from the position by Minister of Health Vlastimil Válek on the day that the opera…

Sent out from the heart of Europe, Czechia’s diplomats represent the country all over the world, including on the far side of the globe. As part of our new series on Czech Women Pioneers, we take a look at Czechia’s female ambassadors, who may still be breaking new ground today in their respective missions to different countries. The first women on…

The international order is undergoing its biggest change since the fall of communism and Europe must respond to it fast, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in an address to the nation on Monday. He said Europe must pull together and put “both money and weapons on the table” in defense of its values.

The results of the German parliamentary election held on 23 February are in, but were they surprising? The opposition CDU/CSU claimed first place and is now poised to form a coalition with the Social Democratic SPD, which recorded its worst performance since 1887. Meanwhile, the AfD secured second place, marking a historic milestone for the far-rig…

Violent crimes committed by under 18s have increased by 25% in Czechia over the past two years, leaving the country worried about its children. What could be the cause? And the solution?

Czechia’s leaders have responded to statements by US President Donald Trump, in which the president called Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator without elections”. President Petr Pavel said that to hold such a view “requires a dose of cynicism”.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Czech humanitarian organizations have supported at least 3.6 million Ukrainians with aid worth over CZK 6.9 billion. The estimate includes donations from Czech donors and international institutions.

The world of aviation has long captured the imagination, but the profession is still dominated by men. That said, the field has come a long way since the first Czech woman pilot, Božena Laglerová, became the thirteenth woman pilot in the world in 1911. Fast forward one hundred years, the field is still overrepresented by men. Major Kateřina Hlavsov…

After last week’s shock move by the US to sideline Europe from the Ukraine peace negotiations, seven EU leaders met for an emergency summit in Paris on Monday to consider the consequences of the rift and align their positions on key issues. The meeting brought few surprises, but left a lot of ruffled feathers amongst those who failed to get an invi…

Heads of states and other representatives met over the weekend at the three-day Munich Security Conference, held from February 14 to 16, 2025. This year, the conference mainly focused on transatlantic relations, Russia’s war on Ukraine, and the Middle East.

Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has requested the extradition of former Russian state television anchor Farida Kurbangaleeva from the Czech Republic. The journalist has been in exile since 2014, when she left Russia and her job at the state-controlled Rossiya 1 TV channel in protest of the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine.…

Czechia has dropped five places in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 46th worldwide. According to Ondřej Kopečný, program director of Transparency International Czechia, the main reason is the government's failure to prioritize anti-corruption reforms. "The political will to genuinely fight corruption is very low," he says.…

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala will meet his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico in Brussels today after a long week of a series of accusations from Bratislava. Fiala said that he found it strange that he hears more criticism of Brussels from Bratislava than criticism of Moscow. Fico, he said, orchestrates a foreign policy that does not correspond to C…

In Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in his 7th presidential election on Sunday. The 70-year-old autocrat, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, was reported to have won 86.8% of the vote. On Sunday, dozens of people protested outside the Belarusian embassy in Prague's Troja district to show their discontent with the alleged resul…

As the world takes stock of the new reality following the inauguration of Donald Trump to office, Czech officials are stressing the need to preserve close security and trade relations with the United States. At the same time they acknowledge that President Trump’s return to office may bring difficult times for Europe.…

With the eyes of the world on the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, Czechia’s Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, spoke about what he expects for Czech-US relations over the next four years.

In early December, I traveled to Ukraine with an international group of journalists to learn what Ukrainian leaders, analysts, and citizens want the West to know about the country’s needs in 2025. We had frank discussions about peace and war. We asked tough questions and often received even tougher answers. We were thanked, shown immense gratitude,…

Disinformation platforms are gearing up to target the Czech Republic's parliamentary elections this autumn. This stark warning came from Michal Koudelka, head of the Czech Security Information Service (BIS). During a parliamentary seminar on the risks of foreign interference in the electoral process he mentioned Russian interference as a very real …

The issue of top politicians’ salaries often stirs public emotions, especially in times of economic uncertainty. In Czechia, a proposed 6.9% salary increase for Members of Parliament (MPs) has ignited a fiery debate. Opposition parties argue for a salary freeze, citing economic concerns and public discontent. According to Viktor Daněk, Deputy Direc…

The Czech government has moved to liberalize its policy on kratom and other psychoactive drugs. Under a new law that came into force in January, substances considered low-risk will be sold under strict conditions to adults only. However, the premature lifting of the ban on their sale is causing problems.…

Young foreigners with Czech bank accounts are the usual target of gangs, who use the accounts to launder money acquired through online fraud. The well-organised, Russian-speaking gangs put up adverts on the Russian social network Telegram to entice people who will help to launder the money, usually unknowingly.…

In October 2024, Czechia signed a treaty with the Vatican, becoming one of the last countries within the European Union to do so. Such a treaty has been a long time in the making, having been rejected by the Czech parliament back in 2003. The 2024 treaty, signed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in December, but …

Criminal investigators have requested the extradition of Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) chair Tomio Okamura from the Chamber of Deputies over charges of inciting hatred or restricting the rights of a group during last year's controversial billboard campaign. The request was sent to the lower house on Tuesday. Okamura claims the prosecution is a…

Starting January 1, joining the Czech Army requires less demanding fitness tests . Instead of traditional push-ups and treadmill exercises, recruits now throw medicine balls and perform five-kilo squats. The goal is to attract more candidates, especially IT specialists and other professionals.

Beer is the national drink of Czechia and holds the same status in Belgium. This shared cultural importance is why both countries have been at the forefront of efforts to unite European beer nations and resist efforts to classify beer as a hard alcohol, which would subject it to stricter regulations. Czechia has now also taken the lead as the head …

On January 1, Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe via its territory, following the expiration of a five-year agreement between Ukraine's Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom. The Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is strongly opposed to the move, whereas Czech politicians broadly welcome it and claim that it will not have an impact on the c…

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party) used his Christmas address to warn against fearmongering and the dangers of authoritarianism, calling for unity, responsibility, and perseverance. While Fiala highlighted his government’s achievements and urged citizens to resist negativity, opposition leaders dismissed the speech as overly p…

On December 21st 2023, a series of horrific events transpired at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. The fourteen deaths in the heart of Prague, the deadliest mass attack in Czechia’s history, shocked the country and the world, and forever tainted a place of learning and vibrant student life with tragedy and grief. One year later, Czechia pr…

The Czech lower house on Wednesday approved a series of amendments to the Lex Ukraine law, stemming from the need to address asylum issues and security concerns relating to the ongoing war. One of the controversial points of the bill was its aim to make it more difficult for Russians to obtain Czech citizenship.…

Russian oligarch Rostislav Zorikov, the former son-in-law of Russian arms dealer Boris Obnosov, will remain on the Czech national sanctions list. The Prague Municipal Court on Tuesday rejected his complaint, ruling that the government’s decision to blacklist him and his now ex-wife Olga had been fully justified.…

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský received the seal and stamp symbolizing the termination of the Warsaw Pact from Hana Hlaváčková, President of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, which has been their custodian until now. The handover took place at the opening of the Foreign Ministry's traditional year-end event, held to thank partners, in…

The Senate has passed an amendment to the gun law that will oblige arms dealers and shooting range owners to report suspicious clients to the police. The measure is a forerunner of a massive overhaul of the gun law that will come into force in 2026, approved in reaction to the tragic shooting at the Prague Faculty of Arts almost exactly a year ago.…

The “Lex Babiš” law prohibiting members of the government from owning media outlets has been a political battleground since it was approved in 2016. Now significant parts of the law have been invalidated by the Constitutional Court for procedural reasons, presenting a new setback in efforts to prevent conflict of interest in politics.…

Although only founded in 2022, the Motorists political party is quickly establishing itself in Czech politics. Following success in the 2024 European elections, and a confident first party congress on December 7th, the Motorists are striving to present themselves as a valid contender for Czechs’ votes. Danny Bate spoke to political scientist Jiří P…

Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria has collapsed after 13 years of conflict, bringing to a close over 50 years of rule by the al-Assad family. The fall of the Assad regime in Syria has been welcomed by the West – including Czechia. But what exactly are Czech political representatives saying about the developments?…

The proportion of young Czechs planning to have children in the next three years has significantly declined, with the sharpest drop among those in difficult economic situations. These findings are part of the ongoing ‘Contemporary Czech Family’ research project, a collaboration between Masaryk University in Brno and Charles University in Prague. I …

The Czech Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday passed the 2025 state budget with a CZK 241 billion deficit. It was approved with the support of the four ruling parties, despite strong criticism from the opposition, including the Pirate Party, which recently left the coalition government. Vít Pohanka asked Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist at Trinity Bank, f…

Petr Pavel is currently exploring the southern hemisphere, as the Czech president continues his two-week visit to Australia and New Zealand. Together with First Lady Eva Pavlová, the president is working through a full programme of meetings focused on trade, diplomacy and defence, as well as some more relaxed cultural experiences.…

This Sunday, December 1, Prague will host the annual International Charity Market. Organized by local embassies and the Diplomatic Spouses Association, this one-day event will feature Christmas gifts and Saint Nicholas treats from over 40 countries, with all proceeds supporting Czech charities.

Czechs are wary of the euro. Despite the fact that Czechia has been a European Union member country for more than two decades, the common European currency is viewed with suspicion by the majority of the population.

There was a small but vocal pro-Palestinian demonstration welcoming the chief of Israeli diplomacy Gideon Saar in Hradčany today. However, the voices of the 15 to 20 protesters did not reach the inner rooms of the Černín Palace, the seat of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The military air base in Prague-Kbely is planning to establish a new memorial featuring a Russian/Soviet Yakovlev Yak-40 aircraft. A petition opposing the idea has been initiated by soldiers, who advocate for showcasing a Czech aircraft instead.

“More funding, more soldiers and more active reserves” that was the message Czech army commanders sent to politicians and the public in connection with the growing threat of war. The army chief-of-staff said NATO’s new collective defense commitments would necessitate far-reaching changes in the Czech military.…

Israel's recently appointed foreign minister, Gideon Saar, will visit Czechia on Thursday during his first official foreign trip. The Czech Republic supports the Jewish state in its fight against Hamas and Hezbollah with fewer reservations than other EU countries.

Czechia will have troops on the ground in Africa again, with members of the country’s army set to return to the Sahel region, as part of a NATO programme to help train the Mauritanian military. A two-year mandate for up to thirty special-forces soldiers was approved by the Czech parliament last week.…