Czech news in brief for June 26: Wednesday's top headlines

Organizers of the 2024 Karlovy Vary Film Festival have announced that Greek director Christos Nikou's romance Fingernails will close the event. During the ceremony, Jiří Bartoška will present crystal globes to actors Ivan Trojan and Clive Owen. Artistic director Karel Och described Fingernails as a tender, unusual romance and the first English-language film by Nikou. The festival will screen 136 films, maintaining its annual selection range of 130 to 140 films. It will run from June 28 to July 6.

The European Commission's 2024 Convergence Report reveals that the Czech Republic meets only one of the four criteria for eurozone entry—long-term interest rate convergence. It fails in price stability, healthy public finances, and exchange rate stability, though the Commission expects progress in public finances in the near future. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Petr Fiala stated that Czechia’s adoption of the euro is definitively off the table at least until the country’s next general election, which will come around October 2025.

The Czech Prosecutor General's Office reported a decrease of about 700 criminal proceedings last year, totaling 197,000. They initiated prosecutions against 70,500 individuals and brought 65,000 to trial through indictments, motions for punishment, or plea bargains, also prosecuting over 200 companies. The structure of large-scale criminal activity remained largely unchanged, influenced by international tensions, including Russian aggression against Ukraine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The Slovak Government Office criticized Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala's statement that resuming intergovernmental consultations with Slovakia is premature due to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's health following an assassination attempt. The Slovak government found Fiala's remarks disrespectful, particularly ahead of President Petr Pellegrini's visit to the Czech Republic. They emphasized Slovakia's peaceful stance on the war in Ukraine as a sovereign position that should not hinder Czech-Slovak relations.

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini arrives in the Czech Republic today for his first foreign visit since taking office. He will meet Czech President Petr Pavel at Prague Castle to discuss political relations. Pellegrini's agenda includes meetings with other constitutional officials and honoring victims of the December shooting at Charles University. The visit aims to reinforce close Czech-Slovak relations despite differing views on Ukraine.

The new construction law and digitization of procedures in the Czech Republic, effective July 1, may encounter initial challenges, says Deputy Prime Minister Ivan Bartoš. The shift aims to modernize long-overdue processes, but higher fees for permits, such as wells, are causing concern. Bartoš assured of a three-year transitional period for adaptation. Despite criticism and logistical issues, the Ministry for Regional Development says it is committed to the transition.

The Prague General University Hospital (VFN) reports a doubling of syphilis cases and a 1.5-fold increase in gonorrhea cases between 2013 and 2022. Experts attribute the rise to decreased fear of STDs, drug and alcohol use, sexual experimentation, anonymity, dating apps, and the summer season. More than half of respondents admitted to not using condoms during extramarital sex, according to the CzechSex survey.

The Czech Chamber of Deputies backed a bill to extend temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russian aggression. The amendment to the “lex Ukraine” law will now be reviewed by parliamentary committees. Interior Minister Vít Rakušan confirmed the EU’s unanimous decision to extend protection until March 2026. The bill includes provisions for long-term residency for refugees meeting specific conditions, such as economic self-sufficiency.

By 2030, Prague will face a shortage of 12,000 secondary school places, despite awareness of the issue since 2015, according to an analysis by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR). Speaking to Deník N, Zdeňka Havlová, head of the City Analysis Office, highlights that the city’s growing population exacerbates the problem. IPR’s analyses indicate that tens of thousands of places will be missing across secondary, elementary, and kindergarten schools by 2050, requiring urgent solutions and significant funding.