About: Czech Republic
Taiwan delegation irks China with eastern Europe tour
A Taiwanese government delegation is visiting three eastern EU members to the dismay of China, which is irritated by any signs of Taiwan acting as an independent country.
Taiwan foreign minister adds Slovakia to rare Europe trip
Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu will visit Slovakia next week on a rare trip to Europe that will also include a trip to the neighbouring Czech Republic and a virtual address to a forum in Rome, his ministry said.
Czechs want to know what’s wrong with their ill president
When Vaclav Havel nearly died of a ruptured intestine as Czech president in 1998, doctors provided daily updates on his condition.
Czech PM, named in Pandora probe, leads polls ahead of vote
A populist billionaire at odds with the European Union who featured in the Pandora Papers is the narrow favourite in Czech elections starting on Friday (8 October) that promise a tight result.
Czech far right sets ‘Czexit’ referendum law as price for post-vote talks
The far-right SPD party, which may play a role in forming a new Czech government next month, would demand the cabinet propose legislation that could lead to a referendum on leaving the European Union, party chief Tomio Okamura said.
Czech PM says ‘no place’ for Afghan refugees in Europe
There is no place for Afghan refugees in the European Union which should instead help them to stay in their homeland, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Tuesday (7 September).
EU ministers clear Irish and Czech recovery plans
EU finance ministers approved on Monday (6 September) the recovery plans submitted by Ireland and Czech Republic, meaning that the proposals sent by 18 member states since April to access the coronavirus fund have now been validated.
WHO sounds alarm over rising COVID deaths in Europe
The World Health Organisation warned Monday (30 August) that 236,000 more people could die from COVID in Europe by December, sounding the alarm over rising infections and stagnating vaccine rates across the continent. Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria are among the countries with the highest mortality.
Czech government opts for interim spymaster amid political row
The Czech government delayed appointing a new head of its BIS counterintelligence agency on Monday (9 August) in a move seen as allowing Prime Minister Andrej Babis to keep the country's president on his side going into an October election.
Half of Europeans vaccinated as Germany warns on rising virus cases
More than half of all European adults are now fully vaccinated, the EU said on Thursday (22 July), as countries across Europe and Asia battled fresh outbreaks blamed on the fast-spreading Delta variant.
Czech President Zeman calls transgender people ‘disgusting’
Czech President Miloš Zeman, commenting on a Hungarian law that bans LGBT material from schools, told a television interview on Sunday (27 June) that he finds transgender people "disgusting".
EU Commission joins Czechia in legal case over Polish coal mine
The European Commission has decided to join the Czech Republic in a bitter lawsuit against Poland over what plaintiffs say is an illegal extension of a license to operate the Turów coal mine near the Czech and German border.
Czechs forward Babiš case to new EU prosecutor’s office
A Czech prosecutor said Thursday (3 June) that the case of the billionaire prime minister's conflict of interest as an entrepreneur and politician has been forwarded to the new EU prosecutor's office.
Closing the Czech coal industry could cost 25,000 jobs
The Czech Republic is currently considering how best to use EU green funds to modernise its economy and secure just transition of its three coal mining regions. According to experts, the coal phase-out could result in the loss of 25,000 jobs, but investments in renewables can restore the balance.
Poland, Czechia fail to mend divisions over Turow coal mine
The leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic met on Monday (24 May) to discuss solutions to the dispute around the Turów open-pit mine in Poland, which could see the Czechs drop the ongoing lawsuit in the EU's Court of Justice.
Poland will not comply with EU top court ruling on Turow, PM says
Poland will not comply with the ruling of the European Union's top court, which ordered Warsaw to immediately stop mining in the Turów lignite mine on the border with the Czech Republic, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday (24 May).
Thirsty Czechs return to beer gardens as COVID rules relaxed
The world's thirstiest beer drinkers finally clinked their pilsner mugs in the drizzle on Monday (17 May), as beer gardens opened despite unseasonably cold grey weather in the Czech Republic, a landmark event after five months of COVID-19 lockdown.
A tale of three countries: how Czechia, Germany, and Poland plan to ditch coal
For decades, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic have been at the heart of Europe's so-called "lignite triangle" which produces most of the continent's coal-based electricity. But with climate change now a top political priority, the priority is shifting to renewables.
Poland’s energy transition
Poland's coal dependence has propelled the country at the forefront of European Union efforts to decarbonise energy production, the largest source of emissions. With climate change now a top political priority, Warsaw is coming under growing pressure to close remaining coal mines and power stations.
Poland prolongs Turow mine life despite international outcry
Poland's climate ministry has extended a mining concession for the open-pit coal mine in Turów until 2044, outraging environmental campaigners, who said the move would worsen the climate crisis.
The EU/UK trade deal and Czech PM slams EU auditors as ‘mafia’
This week on EURACTIV’s Yellow Room, we are talking about the ratification of the EU’s post-Brexit trade agreement with the UK. At last, we may be seeing the turning of the page on economic and diplomatic relations between the two...
Russia expels seven EU diplomats over ‘solidarity’ with Czechs
Moscow on Wednesday (28 April) expelled seven European diplomats after their countries ordered Russian diplomats to leave in solidarity with the Czech Republic, which is engulfed in a diplomatic row with Russia.
Bellingcat connects the dots between Czech explosion and Bulgaria poisoning
Vladimir Putin dismissed as "absurd" Prague's accusations against Moscow after Czech authorities accused the Russian secret services of being behind a deadly arms depot blast in 2014. But the investigative website Bellingcat connected the dots back to Russia.