Current Affairs | All stories

Just days ahead of a scheduled EU summit on migration, Prague has announced the launch of a Visegrad group project to strengthen Libyan border protection and improve the plight of refugees in the country. The Czech Republic, which now faces a lawsuit over its failure to take in refugees, is pushing the view that the crisis needs to be resolved outside of Europe.

While many world leaders slammed US president Donald Trump’s decision to formally recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to move the US embassy there, Czech president Miloš Zeman has welcomed the move, saying that the Czech Republic should follow his example.

The European Commission has announced it is suing the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary in the bloc’s top court for their refusal to take in asylum seekers in line with the Commission’s mandatory re-distribution mechanism. Prague says it will not change its stand and warns that a court case will only further undermine public trust in EU institutions.

The Czech Republic’s newly appointed Prime Minister, Andrej Babiš, has one week to put together his new Cabinet team. Mr Babiš is planning to draw on ANO party’s former government members as well as a number of incoming experts. But how likely will the new Cabinet get a majority in the first confidence vote in the Chamber of Deputies?

The Czech Catholic Church says that it is near to sealing an agreement with the Vatican for the return of the remains of Cardinal Josef Beran back to his homeland. Cardinal Beran was persecuted by the communist regime when it came to power in 1948 but eventually left for Rome, where he ended his days.

Slovak born billionaire businessman Andrej Babiš has been appointed Czech prime minister by the country’s president.

The Czech Centre in London has in recent years devoted a lot of its energies to bringing cutting edge Czech art and design to the UK capital. Now it’s able to do so on its own premises, after relocating to the same building as the country’s embassy and other institutions in the Notting Hill district. I recently stopped by to discuss the Czech Centre’s new location, and some of its projects, with director Tereza Porybná.

In the New Year, Czech TV will broadcast one of its most ambitious projects to date and its biggest co-production ever: a two-part miniseries about 18th century Habsburg ruler, the Empress Maria Theresa.

The newly-elected lower house of Parliament has started debating the most important bill of the year – the state budget for 2018. Although the time-frame for its approval is tight, observers predict a tough battle ahead, not only as regards the allocation of funds but the size of next year’s state deficit.

The collapse of a footbridge across the Vltava River which left four injured on Saturday, has raised concerns regarding the state of the city‘s other bridges. Prague City Hall has now said it may close some of them for safety reasons.