Former prime minister Mirek Topolánek may enter the race for president, the news site novinky.cz reported. According to the news site Topolánek is seeking to gain support from the Civic Democratic Party’s ten senators, the precise number of signatures he would need for his candidacy. Topolánek himself has neither confirmed this possibility, nor ruled it … Read more
Czech foreign trade surplus increased in September from a year ago, as exports grew faster than imports, figures from the Czech Statistical Office showed Friday. The trade surplus rose to CZK 20.2 billion in September from CZK 19.4 billion in the corresponding month last year. Economists had forecast a surplus of CZK 17.8 billion. … Read more
Whether gathering dust in your loft or currently spinning on your turntable, it’s a fair bet that at least some of your vinyl records came from a small factory in the Czech Republic. The facility in question is the headquarters of GZ Media, based in the small town of Lodenice, 25km (16 miles) west … Read more
The EU’s latest stance on anti-Russian sanctions ‘looks hypocritical’ and demonstrates Brussels’ ambivalence, Czech President Milos Zeman said on Thursday night in a TV Barrandov broadcast. “I assert that the European Union’s decision to announce anti-Russian sanctions was a foolish thing to do. Now other [European politicians] say the same,” he said. “The United … Read more
Investor Daniel Kretinsky, the majority owner of central European energy group EPH, is near a deal to buy Czech bus and rail car manufacturer Skoda Transportation, a source with knowledge of the talks said on Friday. The deal is not yet finalised, the source said, confirming Czech media reports. The source said that Kretinsky, … Read more
The Czech central bank delivered its second interest-rate hike of 2018, but its message that it won’t be in a hurry to further raise borrowing costs in one of Europe’s best-performing economies drove the koruna to a two-week low. The bank increased the benchmark rate to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent on Thursday, the second … Read more
A far-right party whose leader wants to quit the EU and urged Czechs to walk pigs near mosques and stop eating kebabs, performed surprisingly well in an election, potentially giving it a chance to influence how the next government is formed. The Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party rode a wave of far-right sentiment in … Read more
One of the important issues discussed at the two-day EU summit in Brussels was proposed changes in the mechanism of EU decision-making, which would allow some EU members to push ahead with integration faster. For the Czech Republic, which is still outside the Eurozone, this could present a serious problem. There is general consensus in … Read more
Europe’s year of political upheaval isn’t over. In the Czech republic, a charismatic, controversial billionaire dubbed the ‘Czech Berlusconi’ – and more recently the ‘Czech Trump’ – is poised to take power. Hot on the heels of Austria’s hard shift to the right, this weekend’s legislative election in the Czech Republic could be another shock … Read more
