Related articles

Despite its minority support in the lower house the centre-right governing coalition on Wednesday pushed through the state budget for 2009, securing the votes of all five rebel deputies and overriding protests from the opposition Social Democrats and the Communists. This could be seen as a major victory for Prime Minister Topolánek’s government, but there’s a hitch. The budget, which operates with a deficit of some 38 billion crowns, or more than 1.9 billion US dollars, is based on a 4.8 percent economic growth forecast which critics say is simply

Not everyone has been happy with how the Czech government has planned for the country’s fast-approaching EU presidency, but have you ever wondered what, in such a situation, you would do differently? Well, now a new computer game is giving Czech high school students the chance to try out their own approach. Europe 2045 sees students trying on the shoes of Angela Merkel, Gordon Brown and Mirek Topolánek, and finding out, by extension, how the EU works. Early feedback points to the game being a success, with students reportedly promising to do each

Czech ratification of the Lisbon Treaty has essentially been on ice for eight months as the Constitutional Court weighed in on whether such an agreement was in any way at odds with the nation’s constitution. The court eventually found that it was not – but far from marking the beginning of smooth sailing towards the treaty’s ratification, fresh squabbles and delays are threatening to cast a shadow over the Czech EU presidency.

The Czech government will probably decide upon a date for euro adoption next year, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said on Tuesday. Speaking to his Maltese counterpart, Lawrence Gonzi, Mr Topolánek said that there was now no time to come up with a date for euro adoption this year. Malta entered into the eurozone at the start of this year, which PM Lawrence Gonzi described in Prague on Tuesday as having been a ‘fundamental step’ for his country. The head of the Czech National Bank Zdeněk Tůma has said that euro adoption should be debated in 2009, in light of exporters’ calls to switch to the single European currency and the global financial crisis.

Some disaffected Civic Democrats as well as some of the party’s conservative voters – disappointed with the current direction of their party under leader Mirek Topolánek – could soon have new options available on the political right. Figures close to the Czech President, Václav Klaus, made clear earlier that they were planning to found a new party tough on EU integration and tough on the Lisbon treaty – now that will be a reality. On Monday, the 33-year-old economist Petr Mach, a former advisor to Mr Klaus and the head of the conservative think-tank

Less than a month before it is due to take up the EU presidency, Prague hosted the first event linked to its new role. The President of the European Parliament, along with the heads of the Parliament’s political groups, came to Prague to discuss the Czech agenda for Europe, with the Lisbon treaty high on the list.

NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday affirmed their support for US plans to install anti-missile defenses in central Europe saying that the deployment of a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in neighbouring Poland would make a "substantial contribution" to protecting Europe from the threat of long-range ballistic missiles. Despite the clear implication that the US missile defense components would be incorporated into European defense structures, the statement has left critics in the Czech Republic unconvinced.

In this week’s One on One, Dominik Jůn talks with Ondřej Matějka, a young man with a passion for a historically significant region of the Czech Republic.

The Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek has revealed that he was aware of plans to create a Eurosceptic pro-Klaus splinter party even before the February presidential elections. The comments were made during a television interview, in which the PM added that despite this information, he remained loyal to the president and did everything in his power to secure Mr Klaus’ re-election. Commenting on the plans to create Libertas’cz, based on the Irish lobby group, Mr Topolánek stated that he believed that the Civic Democrats will be able to continue as a strong and unified party. In separate comments, the Czech PM conceded that efforts by the government to ratify the Lisbon Treaty by the end of the year will be difficult.

Czech Foreign Karel Schwarzenberg has apologised for the publication of a transcript of a meeting last month between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek. While some Czech officials have denied the authenticity of the record, the magazine Reflex, which printed the minutes, claims it an interesting insight into how power deals are struck.