Lawmakers in the lower house of the Czech Parliament agreed Thursday to lift former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš immunity from prosecution in a fraud case involving European Union subsidies. The approval allows prosecutors to decide whether Babis should be indicted for his alleged involvement in the $2-million fraud. Czech police have repeatedly recommended Babiš’ indictment. It wasn’t immediately clear when prosecutors would complete their review of the case. Babiš denies any wrongdoing and has said the allegations against him were politically motivated. “Even though the charges are purpose-built, I’m not opposing the move when it comes to facts,” said Babiš. The allegations involve a farm that received EU subsidies after its ownership was transferred from the Babiš-owned Agrofert conglomerate of around 250 companies to Babiš’ family members. Later, Agrofert again took ownership of the farm. The subsidies were meant for medium- and small-sized businesses and Agrofert wouldn’t have been eligible for them. Lawmakers twice before lifted Babiš’ immunity from prosecution in the case. The prosecutors had to ask them to do it again following October’s parliamentary election. “I can declare with clear conscience that I have never done anything unlawful,” the food, chemicals and media tycoon said, calling the case...
The Czech government has declared a state of emergency as it awaits a massive influx of Ukrainian refugees.
Inflation in the Czech economy will accelerate, mainly due to the impact of the Ukraine crisis on energy prices, and it could go above 11%, Czech National Bank board member Tomas Holub said. Therefore it is important to preserve the public’s belief that inflation will return to the central bank’s 2% target, Holub said in an interview published by the Hospodarske Noviny daily paper on Tuesday.”I thought some while ago that inflation would surpass 10% in April or May, but that it certainly won’t go over 11%. I am definitely losing that certainty now,” Holub said. “We have to put stress on people not losing their faith, even under these extreme conditions, that inflation will go significantly down next year,” he said. The Czech National Bank has lifted its benchmark rate by 425 basis points to a 20-year high of 4.50% since last June. That has included 375 basis points worth of hikes at the last four meetings. This brought the central bank to a comfort situation, where the board could just fine-tune rates and choose between 25 and 50 basis points for the possible next rate hike, Holub said. The bank, the most aggressive among central European peers in...
The Czech National Bank (CNB) has initiated steps to withdraw the license of Sberbank CZ.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) said that the Czech government will release up to an additional CZK 400 million worth of weapons to Ukraine as it struggles to repulse a Russian invasion. The request for more weapons was expressed by the Ukrainian President. “Zelenskyj asked me for specific weapons and military equipment. I found out that we can provide,” said Fiala. Defence Minister Jana Černochová (ODS) said the Czech Republic will donate 30,000 pistols, 7,000 assault rifles, 3,000 machine guns, several dozen rifles for snipers and about a million rounds of ammunition. On Saturday the Czech Republic sent Ukraine machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition worth 188 million crowns. Mr. Fiala said the democratic world must stand strong and united in the face of this aggression. He said the latest developments in Ukraine showed the importance of investing the required 2 percent of GDP into defense which the Czech Republic was committed to fulfilling by 2025. The Czech prime minister said isolating Russia would be costly, but Europe must be prepared the price for future European security. “The blackest scenario is happening. It’s an attack on the whole of Ukraine, that’s scary. It’s a terrible situation,” he...
Let’s treat Ukraine as a NATO member. An attack on a free country is an attack on all of us. We have a moral obligation to use the economy as a weapon to its fullest extent, no matter what it costs us. We call on all economists in the world to participate. We have just seen Russia invade another country right before our eyes. And not with dubious background media or political manipulations to which Putin has resorted to this day, but with full military force. By any standard, this is an insane, senseless attack. They are shelling a country that does not want to be shelled. And why? Because Ukraine has ceased to be Putin’s puppet since 2014. He bit them once then, laughing and mocking the advanced word, and now he has whetted his appetite and is biting a second time – with full force. We have a moral duty to wage full-scale economic warfare. This is a full-scale attack; we must retaliate in full. The current sanctions will not make Putin give in. We are no longer negotiating, Russia has turned out to be a state terrorist. We have been attacked, NATO or not. We should use...
The Czech government approved on Saturday sending weapons and ammunition worth 188 million crowns to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s attack, the Czech Defence Ministry said. The shipment, which includes machine guns, assault rifles and other light weapons, will be delivered by the Czech side to a location picked by Ukraine, the ministry said. Moreover, the Czech Republic is calling on EU states that are members of the International Investment Bank (IIB) and the International Bank for Economic Co-operation (IBEC) to quit the Soviet-era institutions which count Russia as their largest shareholder. The Czech Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday that as part of actions to punish Russia for its attack on Ukraine, the Czechs would speed up their planned departure from the IIB, which moved its headquarters to Budapest from Moscow in 2019, and the Moscow-based IBEC. Machine guns, submachine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and ammunition worth 7.6 million EUR. This morning, the Czech government approved further military assistance to Ukraine, which is under attack by Russia. Our aid and support continues.#SupportUkraine — Ministerstvo obrany (@ObranaTweetuje) February 26, 2022 Yesterday, the Czech Republic banned Russian airlines from flying to the central European country from Saturday and...
The Czech Republic will probably ban all Russian air operators from using its airspace, the agency Ria Novosti reports. The move will be the second of its kind in the European Union. In fact, Poland already banned all Russian air operators, the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has announced. “I have ordered the Cabinet of Ministers to prepare a decree which will result in the closing of Polish airspace for all Russian airlines,” he declared in a Facebook post. Poland is an important transit country for Russian airlines on most of their westbound flights. As they are not allowed to overfly Ukraine, Belarus, and south-western Russia due to the ongoing military activities accompanying Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they have been forced to take a detour via Poland. Direct services between Russia and Poland are operated by Aeroflot (from Moscow Sheremetyevo to Warsaw Chopin) and LOT Polish Airlines (from Warsaw to Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg). While Aeroflot will no longer be allowed to serve Poland once the ban enters into force, LOT continues to schedule services to both Russian cities. Britain has already banned Russia’s Aeroflot from flying to the UK — a move which saw Russia retaliate with a tit-for-tat ban on British Airways and blocking British airlines from...
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and called for the toughest sanctions to be imposed on the country for its transgressions. In a speech on Thursday, Fiala slammed the “unprovoked invasion” of Ukraine by Russia, calling it an “act of aggression against a sovereign state” which must not go unanswered. “I condemn the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Fiala said, who called on “all Czech citizens in Ukraine to leave the country.” “Our country is not in immediate danger,” he assured concerned citizens, highlighting Czechia’s membership of the European Union and of NATO as primary reasons for its national security. “I will head to the European Council session in Brussels, where I will push for the toughest possible sanctions against Russia,” he added. “We will thoroughly discuss the effects of the aggression and our reaction to it,” Fiala vowed. “I convened the State Security Council, which will address the country’s security in the current situation, preparations for further development, and coordination of further action,” he added. On Thursday morning, the Czech Foreign Ministry warned against any trips to Ukraine and called on Czech citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. Air traffic between the Czech Republic and Ukraine...
The Czech Republic will close Russian consulates in the country and stop issuing visas to Russians apart from humanitarian cases, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday. The country will close two Russian consulates in Brno, and Karlovy Vary and also shut its consulates in St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg in Russia, Fiala said. He said the government would also call home its ambassadors to Russia and Belarus for consultations. The moves come after Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Thursday in the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Moreover, the minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, said that the country had a plan in place to take in many thousands of refugees from Ukraine. The Czech president, Miloš Zeman, has called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “crime against peace” and that he had been mistaken in recently saying he believed Russia would not carry out an attack, calling the Kremlin’s move “irrational”. People will gather on Prague’s Wenceslas Square this evening at 5 pm to express their support for Ukraine following the Russian attack. xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenalbóng đá atalantabundesligacầu thủ haalandUEFAevertonfutebol ao vivofutemaxmulticanaisonbetbóng đá world cupbóng đá...
Czech President Miloš Zeman, who had in the past promoted warm relations with Moscow, said on Thursday Russia’s attack on Ukraine was a “crime against peace” and required a response through harsh sanctions including cutting the country from the SWIFT international payments system. “It is time to reach for much tougher sanctions than those originally planned, by which I mean above all a sanction in the area of the so-called SWIFT,” Zeman said in a speech. “It is needed to isolate a madman, not just defend against him by words, but by concrete measures.” Zeman also expressed support for Ukraine and its people. He recalled that he and Prime Minister Petr Fiala will attend the NATO summit on Friday. “I believe that the situation will calm down, not by a cowardly compromise, but by a decisive response against the aggressor,” he added. Přečtěte si přepis projevu prezidenta republiky 🇨🇿 Miloše Zemana k občanům České republiky: https://t.co/NwsozAzVLM pic.twitter.com/m2L6FRGd6g — Jiří Ovčáček (@PREZIDENTmluvci) February 24, 2022 Latest People gathered on Prague’s Wenceslas Square and at the Russian Embassy in the city on Thursday to express their support for Ukraine following the Russian attack. A large gathering is organized for 5 o’clock in...
The Czech Republic stands ready to rapidly deploy hundreds of soldiers where needed at NATO’s request, Seznam Zprávy news outlet reports. The Czech Ministry of Defence stated that the North Atlantic Alliance is constantly on standby with its collective Rapid Reaction Force, to which Czechia contributes units that change continuously at biannual intervals. The ministry confirmed that Czechia has its units ready in case of need. “By the end of June, Czechia has 180 anti-chemical specialists and about 400 members of the 4th Rapid Deployment Brigade on standby. However, their detachment is not a reaction to the current situation. The soldiers were already preparing for these tasks during the past year,” said Jakub Fajnor from the Ministry of Defence press department. Defence Minister Jana Černochová said on Monday that the deployment of Czech troops in Ukraine is now out of the question. Due to the need for a rapid response to the development of security threats, NATO created the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) a few years ago, which can intervene to help an allied country within a matter of hours. The force consists of approximately 5,000 soldiers at any given time, which support the air, naval and...
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