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A West Bohemian spa town has won European Union funds to fight one of the most serious environmental problems in the area — an invasive plant that spreads like wildfire and lets almost nothing stand in its way. The project is believed to the first of its kind in the country and could lead to even more ambitious efforts.

The new centre-right coalition government has pledged to implement a series of reforms, reforms that could possibly put its stability to the test. That’s what president Klaus might have had in mind when he asked the new cabinet to “carry out reforms, not a revolution”. Radio Prague spoke to senior political analyst Jiří Pehe and asked him which way he thought we were heading.

The installation of milk vending machines or “milkomats” across the Czech Republic significantly boosted dairy sales last year, and the trend continues. Due to their massive popularity, farmers are now gearing up to expand the range of produce available through vending machines. Other dairy products are already available at some locations, and even vegetables, meat and honey may soon follow.

A new Czech centre-right government made up of the Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and Public Affairs has just been sworn in, after a month and a half of coalition talks. However, having pledged to carry out fundamental reforms and fight corruption, the really hard work starts now for Prime Minister Petr Nečas and his cabinet.

The centre-right government hasn’t even been appointed yet but already trouble seems to be brewing over personnel changes at the head of the Czech police force. Radek John, leader of the Public Affairs party, conceded in a television interview this weekend that he may replace the police chief with what he called ‘one of our own people’. The remarks have caused alarm amongst politicians and criticism from the media.

The Czech Republic’s premier film showcase, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, came to an end on Saturday night. In its 45th year, Central Europe‘s biggest film event drew some 127,000 viewers with its selection of over 200 films, about a quarter of which were premieres. So who took home the Crystal Globes this year?

After several months of decline in the number of traffic accidents, the first two weeks of the summer holidays saw a spike in the number of casualties on Czech roads. Authorities blame the increase on a combination of factors, including the heat. But they are at a loss over what should be done to make the country’s roads safer.

The lower house of Parliament failed on Friday to elect the new Czech ombudsman, a successor to the late Otakar Motejl who passed away in May. None of the four candidates including the strong favourite, former dissident Anna Šabatová, received sufficient support in two rounds of voting.

Assuming all goes well in the last meeting of the emerging coalition on Friday – involving procedural aspects of cooperation between the Civic Democrats, TOP 09 and the Public Affairs party – the coalition agreement will be approved by the broader party leaderships, and in one case by unconventional means. In a first for Czech politics, Public Affairs, which presents itself as the party of direct democracy, will be asking its members to vote on the party’s participation in the government online. Earlier today I spoke with new MP and e-marketing

Negotiating teams from the three parties who will form the next government finally closed the final chapters of their coalition agreement on Wednesday, paving the way for reforms aimed at improving the country’s public finances. It’s civil servants who will bear the brunt of budget cuts, although all citizens will find themselves digging deeper into their pockets with changes to state benefits and VAT.