Current Affairs | All stories

The European Figure Skating Championships have just got underway in the north Moravian city of Ostrava. Almost 170 skaters from 33 countries are taking part in the colourful extravaganza, which is being held in the Czech Republic for the first time in 18 years.

The Czech Republic is considering joining an international court case against a planned highway toll on Germany’s historically free autobahns that critics say would discriminate foreign drivers. Transport officials from 11 EU member states, including the Czech Republic, met in Brussels on Wednesday to consider the legal possibilities.

“Are you cold? Take a coat!” That is literally the message on a wardrobe on the main square in Prague 6 where people in need can pick up clothes at the very spot where others have dropped them off. The person behind #Darujkabat (#Donateacoat) is local woman Blanka Fröhlichová. I asked her where she had found the inspiration for the novel project.

The Czech Republic has slipped 10 places on a list of 176 countries in watchdog Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Government pledges to curb corruption were largely ineffective last year with warnings that interest groups are “capturing” the state.

Czech diplomats have managed to negotiate the release of a Polish national jailed in Syria since 2015. According to a statement from the Office of the President the man was released on humanitarian grounds and is reported to be in “satisfactory” physical condition.

The Czech Republic has been experiencing the worst case of smog pollution in recent years. The maximum for airborne dust particles has been exceeded in most parts of the country for nearly a week. People with respiratory diseases and heart conditions as well as elderly people and children were advised to limit outdoor activities and regulations curbing the activities of the biggest polluters has been in declared in several regions, including Prague.

A Czech minister has, to some extent, broken ranks over how the European Union should negotiate with Britain over Brexit. Interior minister Milan Chovanec has suggested that when it comes to the rights of Czechs living in Britain, Prague should go it alone and launch its own talks with London regardless of what the other 26 EU countries are doing.

If you’re looking for a Czech who probably has a good take on what the Donald Trump presidency has in store it’s the director of president Miloš Zeman’s foreign affairs office, Hynek Kmoníček. He took up that post after stints as Czech ambassador to India, Australia, and the United Nations. And Kmoníček is the hot tip to become the next Czech ambassador in Washington, likely taking up the post within a few weeks. I asked him first of all what the Trump presidency priorities would be.

In the Czech Republic, much has been made of the new US president’s Czech connections, given his former marriage to Czech socialite and businesswoman Ivana (formerly Zelníčková) from 1977 to 1991. Together they had three children who have now become household names – Donald Jr, Eric and Ivanka – and of course Donald Jr. speaks fluent Czech. The hope is that this and other factors could be assets when it comes to Czech-US relations.

Andrew Schapiro, whose mother was born in the city, has been one of the most visible US ambassadors to Prague in recent decades. Since his appointment in September 2014 the diplomat has pursued a distinctly liberal agenda, and notably fell afoul of President Zeman, who said he was unwelcome at Prague Castle.