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The rapid growth of generative AI is influencing many areas of life and there is no doubt that it will play a role in campaigning in the European elections. So are Czech parties preparing to harness the potential it affords and will Czech voters be able to recognize AI-driven disinformation?
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The ruling coalition has accused opposition leader Andrej Babiš of undermining the government’s support for Ukraine through his “pacifist” language and putting at risk Czechia’s security. At a special session of the lower house on Tuesday the prime minister said the opposition should make clear whether it sides with the free West or with Putin.…
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As the world watched the orchestrated re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president for the next six years, Russian nationals in Prague gathered on Wenceslas Square in a symbolic show of support for the “Noon against Putin” protests at home. Many of them did not get the chance to vote.
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Czechia on Tuesday celebrated 25 years since its accession to NATO, on March 12, 1999. One of the main events on the anniversary was the conference Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted with speakers including Bill Clinton, who was US president when the Czechs joined the alliance.
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Czechia, along with Poland and Hungary, joined NATO exactly 25 years ago, on March 12, 1999. But how has Czech membership of the alliance actually gone over the last quarter century? And how has Russia’s war on Ukraine impacted that membership? I discussed those questions, and many more, with Michal Smetana, an international security expert and ass…
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Former US President Bill Clinton is in Prague for a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Czechia’s admission to NATO. On Sunday night he visited Prague's Reduta jazz club, where he celebrated the country’s admission to Western structures together with then president Vaclav Havel and US secretary of state Madeleine Albright a quarter of …
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Friday marks Petr Pavel’s first year as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes so far? And did he succeed in uniting the divided Czech society? I discussed these questions with political scientist Vlastimil Havlík from Masaryk University in Brno:
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Relations between Czechia and Slovakia, which were part of one country for over seven decades, have consistently been described as “exceptional”. But mounting differences over foreign policy have now led the Czech government to suspend a planned joint meeting of the two cabinets in what is seen as a clear message that Prague wants to distance itsel…
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France’s president Emmanuel Macron recently refused to rule out the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine and that position appeared to find support from his Czech counterpart in Prague on Tuesday. Petr Pavel said combat troops could not be deployed – but sending instructors to the war-ravaged country was an option.…
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Blacksmiths, foresters, welders and glassmakers are among the demanding professions where people will be able to retire up to five years earlier that the rest, according to a pension reform bill drafted by the labour ministry. Overall, the proposed reforms will be a major overhaul of the present system.…
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While Czechia’s arms industry has seen record exports in the last two years, its armaments makers are still facing one major problem, according to the country’s defence minister. Jana Černochová says international banks are making it hard for such firms to acquire loans or make payments.
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The Paris summit on Ukraine appears to have kicked into action a Czech plan to purchase badly needed ammunition for Ukraine outside of the EU. After struggling to secure international funding for the project, Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Monday that 15 EU member states are now willing to back the purchase.…
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Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala is set to host his counterparts Slovakia, Poland and Hungary in Prague on Tuesday. The meeting of the Visegrad Four leaders comes against a backdrop of calls to cancel the summit after Slovakia’s Robert Fico made a speech widely seen as pro-Russian. I discussed the V4 today with Mats Braun, head of the Institute for …
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A Median poll published Tuesday reaffirms ANO’s long-term commanding lead among Czech voters. But the survey also suggests that the Czech Pirate Party, one of the smaller parties in the coalition, are now ahead of government leaders the Civic Democrats. So, what are the Pirates doing right? I put that question to political scientist Jiří Pehe.…
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President Petr Pavel made international headlines at the Munich Security Conference when he said Czechia could secure about 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine – if partner states provided the funding. How realistic is this plan? And what would such a delivery mean for the Kyiv government? I spoke to international affairs and security expert Micha…
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A Thursday night screening at Prague's Edison Filmhub of the film Utøya, about the mass shooting at a summer camp in Norway, provided an opportunity to discuss the aftermath of December’s shooting at Charles University. One topic was potential changes to Czech gun legislation, which guest speaker Jan Bartošek, who works for the Ministry of the Inte…
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In August 2023, Canada appointed a new Ambassador to Czechia, Emily McLaughlin. Ambassador McLaughlin, whose career has spanned over 20 years in the Canadian Foreign Service, has previously held positions in New York, London and Hong Kong. Recently, I met with her at the Canadian Embassy in Prague to discuss her mission, her hopes of connecting wit…
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Czechia has announced that it will abstain in the vote on an EU migration and asylum pact expected to take place later this month. According to government officials, the new draft of the proposal would reduce the possibility of effectively preventing illegal migration on the EU’s external borders.
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Czech legislators are spreading disinformation on the floor of Parliament – including those from government parties. So says political scientist Miloš Gregor, who is currently also an advisor on this subject to Prime Minister Petr Fiala. I asked him what kind of disinformation was being heard in lawmakers’ debates.…
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Czechia’s score in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has hardly improved at all over the last eight years. While its position in the 2023 ranking remains the same as the year before, it still scored well below the EU average. I spoke to Marek Chromý, head analyst at Transparency International’s Czech branch, to …
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Czechia has just signed an agreement with the United States to buy two dozen F-35 advanced fighter jets. The procurement is seen as significantly boosting the Czechs’ military capabilities and integration with NATO and represents the largest defence contract ever signed by the country.
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A memorial plaque was unveiled in the French city of Marseille on Friday dedicated to former Czechoslovak diplomat Vladimír Vochoč, who helped to save hundreds of Jews from France during the Holocaust. Despite his service to the country, he was persecuted by the Communists and spent more than seven years in prison.…
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Following days of filibustering, the lower house on Thursday approved a government proposal to allow postal voting for Czechs living abroad. The governing coalition wants the bill, which faces two more readings in the lower house, approved in time for the 2025 parliamentary elections. I spoke to political scientist Petr Just about its significance …
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The Czech Senate rejected ratification of the Istanbul Convention in a hotly contested vote Wednesday night. The treaty, which Czechia formally signed in 2016, seeks to prevent, prosecute and eliminate domestic violence. So why have Czech politicians rejected it? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.…
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Many Czechs have been shocked by a case in which a man got only a suspended sentence for raping his minor stepdaughter – after a court expert said the violations, which went on for two years, had not greatly impacted her. Following the verdict, the victim repeatedly attempted suicide. I discussed the case with Lucie Hrdá, a lawyer and women’s right…
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Prague has been hitting back at propaganda launched after Czechia recently refused a Russian “summons” to the UN Security Council. With the social media campaign “Pro-Kremlin Fairy Tales”, the Czech Foreign Ministry is using humour to highlight the absurdity of Russian claims, combining storybook images with biting commentary. Karel Smékal, head of…
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Participants of talks on developing a peace formula for Russia's war on Ukraine met in Davos last Sunday and President Zelensky subsequently asked Switzerland to organize a high-profile peace conference on the drawn-out conflict. I spoke to Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian, who represented Czechia at the Davos talks, to find out how much pr…
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Labour and Social Affairs Minister Marian Jurečka has come under increasing pressure to resign over a Christmas party held at the ministry on the night of the tragic shooting at the Faculty of Arts. The minister has apologized for what he called “poor judgement” and said he was prepared to resign if the prime minister asked him to go.…
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The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas has been going on for over two months, with a devastating impact on the civilian population. Caritas is one of the NGOs that is there trying to help, and is also calling for an immediate ceasefire – in stark contrast to the Czech government, who voted against such a move. I spoke to Lenka Pipková, Foreign Co…
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As Prague reels from the events that transpired on Thursday, it is difficult for most people who were there to put their experience into words. However, David Vichnar, assistant professor in the Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures at Charles University, who was in the building at the time of the attack, agreed to speak about what happ…
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President Petr Pavel has called on Czechia’s government, who have been taking a battering in the ratings for some time, to seek help with their communication skills. But is it actually possible to sugarcoat austerity policies that leave voters with less money in their pockets? I spoke to Anna Shavit, a political marketing expert who teaches at Char…
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Drones have become a weapon of key importance in the war in Ukraine. Russia has clearly understood this and is reportedly ramping up its wartime production by converting prisons and schools into drone factories. In order to help the Ukrainian army keep up, a new Czech NGO is trying to raise money to deliver 10,000 drones to the country.…
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Bijan Sabet became US ambassador to Czechia in early 2023. Since then Mr. Sabet has become a familiar face in Prague, meeting top Czech officials and military top brass and hosting events with various civil society groups. In a wide-ranging interview, the successful tech investor speaks about his connection to Joe Biden, experience as an early back…
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A Kantar CZ poll published on Sunday indicates that opposition leaders ANO now enjoy no less than 34.5 percent support, with coalition leaders the Civic Democrats down to just 12.5 percent. Another new survey indicates the lowest level of satisfaction with politics in general since the pandemic. I spoke to political scientist Petr Just, beginning w…
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The Czech Centres, which promote Czech culture around the globe, have a new director general. Jitka Pánek Jurková, who for some years headed the Czech Centre in Brussels, says her priorities will include using the arts to promote values and tailoring the network’s activities to individual countries.
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Hospitals are bracing for a staff crisis in December after the Health Ministry refused to meet doctors’ demands for higher pay and less overtime. Hospitals are cancelling non-essential surgeries, some are closing entire departments and stretching their resources to the limit to cover emergency care in the coming weeks.…
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A recent survey by the Kantar.cz agency indicates that Czechs’ support for Ukraine in the war with Russia is slowly waning. According to the results, 51 percent of Czechs are no longer in favour of continued military support for the country, up from 36 percent just over a year and a half ago. To learn more about what’s behind the dwindling support …
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Czech President Petr Pavel is among the 28 most influential people who will co-determine the character of Europe in 2024, according to the Brussels-based website Politico , which describes him as a hawk on Russia and China, a supporter of Ukraine and promoter of NATO enlargement. Others in the top 28 are French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian op…
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Most schools in Czechia were closed on Monday, with a reported 7,000-plus taking part in a one-day protest strike demanding better funding for education. Medical and industrial workers also demonstrated against the government’s austerity measures. But how much can this action impact the coalition?
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After freezing Russian state-owned property on Czech territory, Czechia is now pushing for restrictions on movement for Russian diplomats within the Schengen space. Prague argues that Russian agents working undercover as diplomats greatly benefit from the EU’s borderless zone.
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