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Renewables have suddenly come into the spotlight in the Czech Republic thanks to statistics showing a rocketing upsurge in solar power and a new measure giving grants to households which switch to environmentally friendly heating. But there are questions whether renewables’ hesitant progress can continue without up front Green Party backing in government and changes to the current rules.

The Czech EU Presidency last week launched a bid to make a mark on history by creating a Europe-wide platform for the study and recognition of the crimes committed by former Communist regimes. The move has sparked a debate within the Czech Republic and abroad over whether such a step aimed at unlocking the problematic past is desirable.

Plastic bags are one of the most visible symbols of the post-Communist Czech consumer society. The disposal bags are just that – discarded and littering the capital and countryside alike. Czech Environment Minister Martin Bursík has now vowed to act. In today’s Talking Point we explore the arguments that have erupted between the minister and retailers.

The Czech Republic has recently been criticized by the Council of Europe for surgically castrating sex offenders. Last year, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment visited several of the country’s psychiatric wards and prisons. In its report, the committee called surgical castration a degrading form of treatment, and recommended that Czech authorities abandon it. But most Czech sexologists and health care professionals disagree. They believe that surgical castration is the most effective

The government has unveiled the main part of its plan to cushion Czechs from the worst of the world financial crisis. In the process, it has stirred up a fierce debate about whether it has made the right diagnosis of the problem and found the right cure.

The communist regime in Czechoslovakia crumbled in 1989, and 20 years on, a caustic debate still smoulders over how to interpret it – not among the staunch mindsets of those who enforced the regime and those who suffered through it – but rather for the nation’s grade school students, none of whom were alive yet when the Berlin wall came down.

A recent opinion poll suggested that a majority of Czechs are so far satisfied with their government’s running of the EU presidency one month on – even its handling of the gas crisis and the conflict in Gaza. But one area the government apparently mishandled was its commissioning of artist David Černý’s Entropa, the controversial art work which surprised Europe when it was unveiled in Brussels roughly three weeks ago. Even now, it is apparent the work will not soon be forgotten. But was it appropriate? The artist and colleagues duped the Czech government

Student life is inextricably linked for me with rather grotty living conditions and a whole lot of Kundera books; a story I think I share with numerous other, recently-graduated, Brits. But how does the Czech student experience compare? And what is it like for young Czech academics to study at the same institutions, where, just 20 years ago, this country’s undergraduates brought about the Velvet Revolution? To find out, I visited ‘Prague Student’ – an exhibition honouring the role that students have played throughout this country’s history – accompanied

On January 1, this coming Thursday, the Czech Republic takes over the rotating presidency of the European Union, becoming only the second ex-communist country after Slovenia to helm the 27-state bloc. However, some fear the Czech EU presidency could be overshadowed by the Czech president, Václav Klaus. Though his position is largely symbolic, Mr Klaus’s fiery anti-EU rhetoric has been receiving a great deal of international attention – and leading many to ask what impact he is likely to have on the Czech presidency.

Glassmaking - one of the trademarks of the Czech Republic – is going through hard times. This autumn, the biggest Czech glassmaker, Bohemia Crystalex trading, was forced to close down two of its four plants and sack nearly 2,000 employees in order to stay afloat. Does that mark the end of the country’s long glassmaking tradition? And what will other producers do to avoid getting into a similar situation?