Current Affairs | All stories

Czech scientists working in collaboration with colleagues from four other European states have created a robot that can assist elderly or post-surgery patients in a variety of situations. Commercial interest in the Robo M.D. was quickly piqued with a demonstration of the new mechanical nurse earlier this week, and the door to further development is wide open.

The 2012 state budget on Wednesday sailed thought the lower house of Parliament despite heated protests from the opposition who labeled it “misleading” and “unrealistic”. The budget which anticipates a reduced deficit amounting to 3.5percent of GDP was tailored according to April’s growth forecast and the government has admitted that a significant revision can be expected in the spring.

After years of debate, the lower house of the Czech Parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of direct presidential elections. A last-minute deal between the coalition and the opposition Social Democrats ensured sufficient support for the motion; if approved by the Senate, it will allow Czechs to elect their president directly for the first time in 2013 when Václav Klaus leaves office.

For many people 2012 promises to be a tough year or at least one of big changes: a new survey by the Czech Chamber of Commerce has suggested that every fifth company in the Czech Republic is planning layoffs in reaction to the slowing economy – some letting go hundreds, while others will cuts jobs for dozens of employees.

The EU’s plan to save the euro has in recent days divided the Czech political scene. While the fiercely eurosceptic President Václav Klaus said the country should stay out of the planned loan to the IMF, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg noted the Czech Republic would have little choice but to approve it. On Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas came out to clarify the government’s position – and hinted that if it were up to him, the government would say no.

A Czech military plane brought five injured Libyans to Prague for treatment on Monday night. All are in need of surgery which overcrowded hospitals in their homeland are unable to provide. An appeal from Libya for European countries to help treat their wounded has led to the Czech government extending its Medevac aid programme for children to adults with serious medical problems.

While the Czech Republic has not yet made a final decision as to whether to contribute 3.5 billion euros to the IMF package intended to save the common European currency and the eurozone, the Czech Foreign Minister says the country can either join the majority of EU countries in their efforts and remain in the centre of further integration, or face marginalization in the union.

More than 10 hours of negotiations in Brussels, lasting well into the early hours of Friday morning, were not enough to produce agreement by all 27 EU member states to back key changes to the EU treaty in the face of the eurozone debt crisis.

Czech Culture Minister Jiří Besser tendered his resignation to the prime minister on Thursday amidst allegations of corruption and unethical behavior. The minister said that while he was innocent of any wrongdoing he felt that he lacked support in the cabinet and in his own party which would allow him to defend his case. He is the seventh minister forced out of the Nečas government since it took office in June of 2010.

More than a dozen important bilateral agreements and business deals were on the agenda of a two-day state visit to Prague by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his entourage. Bilateral relations were at the forefront of attention, but topics such as the eurozone’s debt crisis and the recent parliamentary elections in Russia were also addressed.