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Czech President Petr Pavel, accompanied by the First Lady Eva, is departing for a three-day visit to Switzerland. He will meet Swiss President Viola Amherd and visit key institutions, including the Federal Institute for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Protection in Spiez and the Federal Office for Armaments in Thun. Pavel will also tour the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and open a business forum with a delegation from the Czech Chamber of Commerce. On Wednesday, he will address the Swiss parliamentary foreign affairs committee and meet with Czech expatriates. Pavel previously attended a peace summit on Ukraine in Switzerland in June.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský voiced strong support for North Macedonia’s efforts to advance its EU accession talks, following his meeting in Prague with North Macedonian Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski. Lipavský emphasized that the journey to EU membership will require considerable effort from North Macedonia. Mucunski expressed optimism, suggesting that with mutual commitment, EU accession by 2030 could be achievable.
Negotiations for EU membership with North Macedonia and neighboring Albania began in 2022, with the initial "screening" phase concluding at the end of 2023. This phase, conducted with the European Commission, involves reviewing national laws to identify areas requiring alignment with EU standards. Lipavský reaffirmed his full support for North Macedonia’s progress in these negotiations.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala voiced opposition to establishing an EU-wide intelligence service during a discussion on common security challenges facing the European Union, describing the idea as unrealistic.
Fiala’s comments came in response to a recent report by former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, which included this proposal. At the same time, Fiala expressed support for strengthening cooperation between the intelligence services of the 27 EU member states.
The Czech civilian counterintelligence agency, BIS, is also skeptical of the proposal. BIS spokesperson Ladislav Sticha noted that EU member states' intelligence services already collaborate closely through joint projects. He stressed that national security remains a national responsibility, making the formation of an EU-level intelligence agency particularly challenging.
The Czech Social Security Administration (ČSSZ) is planning to digitize the processing and calculation of pensions, with an estimated project cost of around CZK 300 million and a completion timeline of two years. However, funding has not yet been finalized.
Labor Minister Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) aims to secure the funding for this digital pension system by the end of the year. Starting next year, maternity, paternity, and caregiving benefits will be processed electronically, using a similar approach to that of the e-sick leave system.
The 17th Juniorfest International Film Festival for children and young audiences will feature a diverse program including around 60 feature and short films, workshops, discussions, and interactive sessions. Running from November 8 to 13, the festival will take place in Pilsen, Dobřany, Přeštice, Klatovy, Horšovský Týn, and Domažlice. This year’s festival will also mark the 40th anniversary of the German fantasy film The NeverEnding Story.
The festival’s lineup showcases films from nearly 20 countries, including six Czech premieres, spanning genres like comedy, drama, nature documentaries, and science fiction.
The National Technical Museum in Prague is celebrating 70 years since the first prototype of the Czechoslovak Spartak wristwatch was developed and introduced into mass production in Nové Město nad Metují under the Prim brand. Exhibition curators call this milestone a triumph of Czech industry, highlighting that the production of mechanical watches is highly complex, and Czechoslovakia achieved it in record time.The exhibition, titled “Big Bang! The Birth of the First Czechoslovak Wristwatches,” will be held in the Architecture, Construction and Design gallery from November 6 until March 30, 2025.
Foggy during the day, gradually overcast. Lowest night temperatures will be between 5 and 0 °C, and the highest daytime temperatures between 4 and 7 °C.
Marta Kubišová’s Prayer for Marta, the unofficial anthem of the Velvet Revolution, and the Hussite chant Ktož jsú boží bojovníci, or All You Mighty Warriors of God, are among the six Czech songs selected for the first-ever EU Songbook, published on Tuesday.
A campaign simply called ‘Bird Traps’ (Pasti na ptáky) has been launched to raise public awareness and improve the protection of Prague’s birdlife. The centrepiece of the campaign is a powerful video, featuring professional dancers and filmed in the Czech countryside.
New documentary World Between Us follows Czech photographer Marie Tomanová as her career skyrockets in New York. The intimate film is also a portrait of Tomanová’s art historian husband, Thomas Beachdel – and reflects the close friendship between the photographer and its director, fellow Czech Marie Dvořáková. I caught up with Dvořáková, a one-time Student Oscar winner who has also spent a large part of her life in the US, days after the documentary’s world premiere.
Around 1.5 Americans claim Czech identity. Czech Radio spoke to some of them and here is a snapshot of their opinions just before the historic presidential election.
Gabriel Guerreiro, a singer-songwriter, musician and artist originally from Brazil, has been living in Prague for eight years. He shares with us his journey to Czechia, the life of a musician, and what inspires him to make music.
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