Morning Briefing │ Tuesday, February 20th, 2024

* ARMY:

The Czech Defence Ministry has shrunk to less than half of its military and civilian staff since the Czech Republic joined NATO, with the figure falling from 77,700 at the beginning of 1999 to just over 36,000 25 years later, according to data provided by the ministry to CTK and published on its website.

* WEATHER:

Tuesday is predicted to be overcast with a chance of rain throughout the day and some wind in the late morning and afternoon. Temperatures should range between 5 and 9 degrees Celsius.

* RUSSIA:

Czechia supports imposing further sanctions against Russia in response to the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said in Brussels on Monday while attending a meeting of EU foreign ministers. He added that all signs pointed to Navalny’s death being a politically motivated murder and Putin having blood on his hands again.

* EVENTS:

For three days in May, Prague will become the European centre of community energy. Together with REScoop.eu, the European Federation of Energy Communities, the Union for Community Energy (UKEN) is organising Europe’s largest conference on energy community development – European Energy Communities Forum 2024 – on 13-15 May 2024 at the Olšanka Hotel in Prague.

* TOURISM:

The Prague City Council will allocate CZK 22 million for marketing campaigns to promote inbound tourism. CZK 2 million are earmarked directly for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Franz Kafka and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana.