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President Petr Pavel welcomed Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa at Prague Castle. They are set to discuss the war in Ukraine, cooperation with Africa, South America, the new US administration, mutual trade, security, and scientific relations. In the afternoon, the Portuguese President will meet with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, and Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Věra Kovářová.
Rebelo de Sousa has served as Portugal's president since March 2016 and is making his first official visit to Czechia.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala met informally with his Slovak counterpart, Robert Fico, on Monday, on the sidelines of the informal EU summit in Belgium. During the meeting, Fiala expressed his dissatisfaction with Fico's attacks on Czechia, Czech politicians, and the Czech media. The Czech Prime Minister commented on the meeting today at a session of the European Parliament's European Affairs Committee, emphasizing that standard communication with Slovakia should continue.
Czechia has sent a request to the Court of Justice of the European Union to intervene in the European Commission's proceedings against Hungary over a new law protecting national sovereignty. The “Sovereignty Protection Act” took effect last December and allows authorities to investigate and prosecute people accused of undermining the country’s sovereignty.
The Commission voiced concerns that the law threatens EU democratic values, undermines the principle of democracy and the electoral rights of European citizens, and also infringes on other fundamental rights, including the right to privacy, personal data protection and freedom of expression and association. According to critics, the new legislation is part of a long-term plan to suppress Hungary’s opposition parties. A Czech foreign ministry spokesperson said the ministry had signals that a dozen other EU member states were also planning to join the proceedings.
Forty-four percent of Czechs want Ukraine to win the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Support for Ukraine is higher in Poland, where 68 percent of the population is in favor. In Slovakia, less than a third of respondents want Ukraine to win. These results come from a poll published today by the Central European Digital Media Observatory (CEDMO) to mark the third anniversary of the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine. The Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
Real wages in the Czech Republic have fallen significantly since 2019, mainly because the country has experienced one of the highest cumulative inflation rates among EU member states, according to an analysis by XTB. Czech wages increased by 27 % in nominal terms since the end of 2019, but are 10 % lower in real terms due to high inflation. The decline in purchasing power is the most pronounced among all EU countries.
Since the end of 2019, consumer prices in Czechia have risen by 41 percent, with only Poland and Hungary recording stronger growth at 42 percent and 52 percent respectively. However, nominal wage growth in both countries exceeded that in the Czech Republic. The second steepest drop was recorded in Italy, where real wages are five per cent lower than in 2019, by contrast, real wages in Bulgaria rose by 36 per cent since 2019.
Defense spending must increase if Czechia is to fulfill the new tasks it will receive from NATO, according to Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army. To be able to fulfill these tasks and fully contribute to collective defense, defense spending must increase to three percent of GDP; the current minimum defense spending for NATO member states is 2 percent of GDP.
Czechia's leading symphony orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, has been nominated for Orchestra of the Year by the prestigious BBC Music Magazine. The result will be decided in a public vote held on the magazine's website until the end of February. The orchestra led by chief conductor Semyon Byčkov was shortlisted thanks to its recording of Bedřich Smetana's My Country, released by Pentatone last March on the occasion of the Year of Czech Music. Last autumn, the Czech Philharmonic was named Orchestra of the Year at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards in London.
Thursday will be overcast with isolated snow. Temperatures will range between - 2 °C to 5 °C.
On February 5th 1875, Františka Plamínková was born, a woman who would go on to dedicate her life to political causes, most notably the rights of women in Czechoslovakia. Tragically, this activism culminated in her execution by the Nazis in 1942.
For the first time ever, one of the world’s most famous fossils is coming to Europe. The fossilized remains of Lucy, a 3.18-million-year-old human ancestor, will go on display at Prague’s National Museum in August, giving visitors a unique opportunity to see these priceless relics up close.
Petr Brod grew up in a German-speaking Jewish family in communist Prague, soon learning it was wiser to converse in Czech in public. Brod fulfilled his ambition of becoming a journalist following a move to West Germany in his late teens, and found considerable success; after a stint at the BBC that saw him work on some of its top political shows, he joined Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which posted him to his hometown when the Velvet Revolution ushered in democracy in Czechoslovakia. When we spoke Brod, today 73, also discussed his friendship with protest singer Karel Kryl – and what might have happened if the Sudeten Germans had not been expelled after the war.
Trying to decipher the motives behind owning a football club is like putting together a colorful puzzle. Some clubs are owned by very wealthy businessmen, others by cities or even a foreign company. But they rarely, if ever make money and are definitely not a safe investment. So what motivates some rich Czechs to buy them? Football expert and editor-in-chief of Canal Plus Sport, Jiří Hošek, offers some insights.
Noah Breuer is an American artist with a personal connection to Czech history. His ancestors owned a textile factory in Dvůr Králové, which was confiscated during World War II, and most of his Jewish family perished in the Holocaust. In 2016, Breuer discovered fabric swatches from the factory in Czech archives, inspiring a series of artworks in textiles, paper, and glass that blend historical motifs with contemporary design. His works are currently on display in Břeclav at the exhibition Návrat (Return), organized by the non-profit Moravian Beauty. During his recent visit to Prague, I spoke with him about his family's legacy and his artistic response to it.
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