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The European Commission has opened an investigation to assess whether Czech Railways is not charging prices below costs with the aim of shutting out competition in rail passenger transport services in violation of EU anti-trust laws. EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said that while the Commission welcomes vigorous price competition to the benefit of passengers it is concerned that Czech Railways may have charged prices that are so low they could not cover the costs of the services provided. Czech Railways is the main railway operator in the Czech Republic and until 2011 it was the only rail company active on the Prague – Ostrava route. Following the arrival of rival companies RegioJet in 2011 and LEO Express in 2012 Czech Railways significantly decreased the prices it charged passengers.

The Czech Republic and most of its Central European neighbours are among the least empathetic countries in the world according to a US survey. Michigan State University attempted to survey around 104,000 people aged between 18 and 90 in 63 countries worldwide and tried to rank their overall empathy. On the basis of those scores, the Czech Republic was placed 55th in the table. Slovakia was placed in 57th place with nine out of the 10 worst placed countries in former communist countries. The most empathetic countries are Ecuador, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Denmark, and the United Arab Emirates.

The European Commission is set in the next days to give final clearance to Czech subsidies for solar and wind power totalling around 40 billion crowns, according to Thursday’s edition of the business daily Hospodářske Noviny. The aid covers renewable power facilities put into operation between 2006 and 2011. For many years the annual aid to the owners was paid without Brussels clearance but the Czech energy regulator finally warned that this would have to stop. Last year the aid was paid after a top official a the Czech energy regulator signed off on it. He later lost his job with the Energy Regulatory Office head Alena Vitaškova once again in a clash with the Ministry of Industry and Trade over whether the massive payment will be made this year. A decision must be taken by the end of November.

One of the three big Czech banks, Komerční Banka, declared a rise in profit for the first nine months of the year of 7.7 percent to 10.6 billion crowns (around 392 million euros). That figure was boosted by many exceptional items, such as Komerční Banka’s, sale of its stake in the car company Visa Europe. Without that boost the profit figure would actually have fallen by 8.9 percent to 9.1 billion crowns. The number of bank clients rose by around 8,000to stand at 1.65 million.

Famous lyrics writer Michal Horáček declared that he will run for Czech president in elections due in 2018. Horáček declared himself as a non-party candidate in a press conference on Thursday. He has been mulling the move since April. He said that he could cover the costs of the campaign himself and is now only for volunteers to help. He added that his campaign will stress the central role for the Czech Republic’s future of both the EU and NATO. Current head of state Miloš Zeman, frequently criticized for his friendly relations with Russia and China, has not declared yet whether he will run for another term in direct presidential elections.

Some 55 Czech police officers departed on Monday for missions in Serbia and Macedonia. The officers are travelling to the Balkan countries to help in the face of the migrant crisis. Police president Tomáš Tuhý similar missions have left Czech police well-prepared for security threats currently faced by the European Union. Czech officers have also served on missions in Bulgaria or Croatia.

Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has warned against the rise in anti-establishment and anti-EU movements around Europe. Speaking at a conference of Slovakia’s Social Democrats (SMER-SD)of Prime Minister Robert Fico, Mr. Sobotka said Social Democratic parties around Europe must react to the concerns of the public in order to prevent this trend. Anti-establishment and ant-EU movements feed off people’s frustration and fears of the future, but what they offer is a grave danger for the continent, because the only alternative to EU integration and the single market is competition, nationalism and protectionism, the Czech prime minister said.

The government has approved a report summarizing President Miloš Zeman’s attendance of the Rhodes Forum, organized by Vladimir Yakunin, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, at the end of September. Approval by the cabinet was delayed since last week when several ministers were reportedly absent; human rights minister Jiří Dienstbier, who was critical of the president’s attendance, had requested the visit be discussed at the cabinet level. In his view, President Zeman symbolically cast doubt on the Czech Republic and the EU’s resolve in the face of Russian aggression. Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Bělobrádek said that discussed was whether the president’s trip had been in line with the Czech Republic’s foreign policy. The Office of the President said the journey has cost 300, 000 crowns (around 11,000 euros).

The Visegrad Four group is fulfilling its mission within the European Union and has proved effective on the issue of refugee quotas, says the Czech president, Miloš Zeman. Speaking on Saturday at the close of a meeting of V4 heads of state in the Polish city of Rzeszów, Mr. Zeman said other EU members were taking the group’s position on board and there was now barely any talk of a quota system agreed last year. The four countries have expressed opposition to the scheme, under which set numbers of refugees are allocated to EU members.

The Czech and Slovak governments met for a joint working session in Bratislava on Monday to discuss the state of bilateral ties, cooperation in security and defense and their position on key European issues. Twenty-three years after the Velvet Divorce, the two neighbors say their relationship is better than ever.