The Czech Republic

BREAKING! Hungary eases travel restrictions, further alleviation to be expected

border koronavirus.gov.hu hungary

From Wednesday, anyone can enter Hungary without restrictions at the land and water border crossing points of six neighbouring countries. Presumably, further easing of restrictions can be expected in Hungary when the number of vaccinated people reaches 5.5 million.

A few days ago, Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó announced at a press conference in Slovakia that Hungary would lift the guarding of border crossing points at its internal Schengen borders and open the border crossings previously closed due to the coronavirus epidemic. The plan entered into force this week, after the Hungarian government amended the regulation on travel restrictions. Accordingly,

from 23rd June, anyone can enter Hungary without restrictions at the land and water border crossing points of six neighbouring countries, including Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia, except by air.

The Hungarian news portal, Turizmus.com, highlighted that the opening of the borders does not affect visits to hotels, restaurants (except terraces), spas, museums, and other attractions, as these services can still be used only by citizens of countries with which Hungary has a unilateral or bilateral agreement on the vaccination certificate.

So far, Hungary has a bilateral agreement with the following countries: Morocco, Albania, Bahrain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Northern Macedonia, Georgia, Croatia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Turkey.

In addition, the Hungarian government has signed another bilateral agreement with Kazakhstan. Accordingly, from now on, anyone can travel to Kazakhstan without restrictions if they have a Hungarian immunity certificate, and Hungary also accepts the Kazakh vaccination certificates, reported 24.hu.

However, the EU immunity certificate, which is expected to enter into force on 1st July, will only apply to vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, so those who have been vaccinated with a Russian or Chinese vaccine will need a negative Covid test to travel within the EU.

Meanwhile, Russia has also opened up to passengers with Hungarian citizenship and permanent residence if they arrive by direct flight from Hungary. According to the relevant government decree, the border crossing is open with a valid visa and a negative PCR test not older than three days.

Previously, the Russian authorities only allowed entry to passengers who arrived in the country for investment, economic, business purposes, or to visit relatives. The Russian government decree also covers citizens of Austria, Croatia, Luxembourg, Lebanon, and Mauritius, reported Index.

Presumably, further ease of restrictions can be expected in Hungary based on the announcement of Katalin Novák, Hungarian MP, according to whom

a significant portion of the current epidemiological restrictions will be lifted by the government when the number of vaccinated people reaches 5.5 million.

As Pénzcentrum reports, further details will be revealed on Thursday’s Government Info. So far, 5 million 432 thousand people in Hungary received their first vaccination, so Hungary might achieve the goal of 5.5 million vaccinated people in a week.

Regarding the possibility of easing the epidemiological restrictions in Hungary, experts highlighted that the need for mask use is still reasonable until 80% inoculation is achieved in Hungary. According to 24.hu, even though wearing a mask is uncomfortable and suffocating, it has an incredibly good barrier function, just like keeping social distance and washing hands frequently.

Thanks to all these, the spread of the new delta variant can be impeded more efficiently. As 24.hu reports, compared to other countries in the world, the presence of the delta variant is currently very low in Hungary. Numerically, only 5 cases of the mutant from India have been detected so far.

aircraft travel flight
Read alsoHungary in the safest green zone – where can we travel from now on?

Now not the time for budget cuts, says Hungarian finance minister

varga minister Hungarian finance minister

Economic policy should be focused on supporting investments, creating jobs and recovering capacities lost to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Hungary’s finance minister said after a meeting with his Visegrad Group counterparts in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Now is not the time for contractionary measures, but for rebooting the economy, Mihály Varga told an online press conference. Cutting support to economic players too soon would slow the pace of recovery, posing a risk to families, businesses and the economy as a whole, he added.

Even with economy protection measures accounting for almost 30 percent of GDP, Hungary’s budget deficit was around the European Union average, while the public debt level was significantly lower, Varga said.

The minister expressed concern over international proposals for the introduction of a global minimum tax, saying it posed a risk of global tax increases, while the original plan to tax tech giants could fall by the wayside.

Hungary’s stance on the proposal is clear, Varga said, noting that the country rejects any plan that would force it to raise taxes and hurt its competitiveness. Hungary’s 9 percent corporate tax rate brings in investments, he said, adding that a tax increase would hurt thousands of businesses and put jobs at risk.

In response to a question, Varga said Hungary was prepared to take part in the talks on the global minimum tax plan and believed that its partners could be persuaded not to eliminate tax competition.

Hungary will make its position known at OECD and EU forums, Varga said, adding that he had also discussed the proposal with his V4 counterparts on Tuesday as well as with the representative of Italy, which holds the presidency of the G20, at last week’s Ecofin meeting in Luxembourg.

As the incoming president of the Visegrad Group, Hungary is committed to continuing the work started by Poland and to strengthening the alliance, Varga said.

The minister said the Czech, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak economies had all contracted at a lower rate than the European Union average in 2020, adding that their output would be back at pre-pandemic levels this year.

national bank of Hungary -mnb nbh
Read alsoHungarian central bank raises base rate 30 bp to 0.90 pc

V4, French economy ministers discuss pandemic, strengthening Europe’s economy in Krakow

visegrad group four v4

The economy ministers of the four Visegrad Group countries and France discussed the experiences of the coronavirus pandemic and ways of strengthening Europe’s economy in the post-pandemic period in Krakow on Monday, Hungary’s innovation and technology minister told MTI by phone.

The ministers discussed in detail the economic, health care and social impact of the pandemic, László Palkovics said.

They established that Europe had faced a shortage of essential medical supplies and production capacities it would have needed to tackle the pandemic, Palkovics said, noting that Hungary had responded to the challenge by enhancing its domestic production capacities in ventilators, face masks and other medical supplies.

Discussing the economic aspect and the restarting of Europe’s economy, Palkovics said that global supply chains had posed a challenge but the industrial sector had recovered in a relatively short period of time.

“There is, however, still a shortage of some raw materials which must be tackled,” he said.

The five ministers also touched upon the issue of energy independence and agreed that the option of using nuclear energy and natural gas must be maintained.

The ministers signed a declaration on future cooperation in adjusting supply chains, ensuring financial schemes to European producers, developing the health-care sector and enhancing energy independency.

visegrad group prime minister
Read alsoVisegrád Group to set up a joint digital knowledge centre

Speed railway system to link Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary

bullet-train high speed railway
The transport ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia signed a cooperation agreement on developing the railway network of the region on Friday in Krakow, in southern Poland.
 
Deputy state secretary Péter Tóth, who represented Hungary at the talks, told a joint press conference that Hungary will see regional infrastructure development as a priority when it takes over the Visegrád Group’s rotating presidency in July.

 The Visergád Group will also coordinate during talks with the European Union on the
 
development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T),
he said.

The Hungarian stretch of the Via Carpathia, a north-south regional road, will be finished this year, Tóth said.

Andrzej Adamczyk, the Polish minister of infrastructure, said it was in the group’s interest that the region’s important transport corridors be included in TEN-T. Besides Via Carpathia, Adamczyk said the speed railway linking the four countries, the Danube-Odera-Elbe canal and the Polish central airport planned between Warsaw and Lodz should also receive funding.
 

Visegrád Group to set up a joint digital knowledge centre

visegrad group prime minister
Representatives of Visegrád Group countries have agreed to set up a joint digital knowledge centre to promote digital transformation in east central Europe and the development of digital economies in member countries, the IVSZ association for digital economy said on Friday.
 
The New V4lley Regional Digital Knowledge Centre is expected to further strengthen professional cooperation between all organisations participating in the development of the infocommunications sector in central Europe, the statement said.
Due to the unification of artificially fragmented markets, companies in the region can break through their boundaries,
IVSZ leader Balázs Vinnai said. The potentials offered by digitalisation could give a boost to the V4 region to become a European Silicon Valley, he added.
 

How good is the Hungarian metro system? – A regional comparison

metro M2

The underground system of the Hungarian capital has a relatively long history, as the Millenium Underground was built in 1896 and was the first underground line in the European mainland. But how do the current Hungarian underground system and general public transportation system fare against the cities of the surrounding Central and Eastern European countries?

The underground system of the Hungarian capital is currently not in a bad place; metro line four (M4) is still relatively new and modern, line two (M2) has been renewed, and the modernisation of metro line three (M3) is currently underway. The Millenium Underground, although not in a particularly bad shape, is ready for a renovation, and according to some plans, it will also be elongated, says Növekedés.

There have also been talks of a fifth metro line (M5) and a major rework of the commuter railway lines in Budapest, with some of them being relocated underground and connected to the others. These and many other developments are part of the large-scale city development project: Budapestvasut2040. If the new underground line is built, the Hungarian capital might get a much better ranking than it currently has and would immediately soar to the top. Now let us see how it currently fares.

Cities without any underground

Quite many surrounding capitals do not even have an underground system, such as Slovenia and Croatia, but neither Ljubljana nor Zagreb is large enough to have one necessarily, Növekedés reported. In the Slovak capital, Pozsony, there were attempts to create two underground lines, and the construction of one of them even began, but they were never finished. While there are currently no undergrounds in Serbia either, the construction of a system in Belgrade has been the focus of political programmes in recent times.

Budapest’s new metro line 5 could cost over €1 billion!

Renovated Hungarian metro cars are the real Russian roulette

Cities with underground

Warsaw

In the region, the last place goes to Warsaw, as it has only two underground lines to a city that is very similar in population to Budapest. The system is relatively new as the first underground was built in 1995, and the two lines are 32.4 kilometres in total lengths. It is also the only city in Poland with an underground.

Warsaw Metro Lines
Source: Wikimedia Commons / Jurij
Budapest

Hungary is unfortunately the second from the back. Although Budapest currently has four metro lines as part of its underground railway system, which would place it before the next contestant, but unfortunately, the total length of those lines is only 39 kilometres. If metro line five (M5) will be built, however, that would place the Hungarian capital much further up the list as Növekedés reported.

Budapest Metro Lines
Source: Wikimedia Commons / Vampeare
Prague

The third place goes to the Czech Republic’s capital, Prague. Although interestingly, it only has three metro lines, and they are labelled by letters rather than numbers – which is unique in the region – their total length is over 65 kilometres. That is quite a lot longer than the lines in the Hungarian capital. Additionally, both the metro cars and the lines themselves are pretty modern and in a good shape.

Prague Metro Lines
Source: Wikimedia Commons / Zirland
Bucharest

The second place goes to Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It has five metro lines, and the first underground railway car launched back in 1979. With an average of 1.5 kilometres of distance between stations – a total of 63 – and a total length of 77 kilometres, Bucharest passes Prague with quite a bit. According to Növekedés, in respect of the modernness and cleanliness of the system, it might be a bit beyond Hungary currently. It has many stations with old designs, and many of the cars are in bad shape or have been vandalised.

Bucharest Metro Lines
Source: Wikimedia Commons / Mliu92
Vienna

It might not surprise you that the winner in the region is Vienna, the capital of Austria. The system, called U-Bahn in German, is one of the most modern and the cars are in good shape. The first underground was operating in 1976, but the city had a predecessor to that with underground trams, which have been running earlier in the 20th century. Additionally, to that, Vienna also has an S-Bahn system, which is similar to the commuter railway lines of Budapest but far more superior.

Vienna Metro Lines
Source: Wikimedia Commons / HerrMay
Column Diagram Metro
Data from Novekedes.hu

But what about the prices?

According to Növekedés, the ticket prices of BKK (Centre for Budapest Transport) are on average compared to the region’s prices. You can see them in the following chart:

Ticket Prices Metro
Data from Novekedes.hu
Read alsoBudapest’s Millenium Underground celebrating its 125th anniversary! – PHOTOS

Commemoration for the martyr János Esterházy held in the Czech Republic

János Esterházy

Ethnic Hungarians and Poles held a commemoration in Mirov, in the Czech Republic, to pay tribute to János Esterházy, a leader of Slovakia Hungarians between the two world wars, on Saturday.

The commemoration marking the martyred count’s 120th birth anniversary, was organised by ethnic Hungarian association CSMMSZ and the local authority.

The event was attended by Miklós Boros, Hungary’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mirov Mayor Lubomir Pejchal, and representatives of ethnic Hungarian organisations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Count Esterházy (1901-1957), the sole Hungarian deputy in the Slovak Parliament before 1945, was a firm advocate of the ethnic Hungarian community, raising his voice against any violation of minority rights and against discrimination.

Commission preparing beatification of János Esterházy sworn in

Czechoslovak authorities arrested him in 1945 under the charge of war crimes, and turned him over to the Soviet military authorities. In 1947 he was sentenced to 10 years of forced labour in Moscow and handed a death sentence in absentia in Bratislava on trumped-up charges.

Two years later, the Soviet Union extradited the ailing Esterházy to Czechoslovakia, where the president commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment. The count died in a prison in Mirov in March 1957. His ashes were identified in 2007 in Prague’s Motol cemetery.

Read also4 reasons to visit Esterházy Palace in Fertőd − PHOTOS

House Speaker: Hungary’s aim is to boost W Balkan states’ EU integration

Hungary parliament Balkans

Giving a boost to the Western Balkan countries’ integration into the European Union will be a priority for the Hungarian presidency of the Visegrad Group (V4), to start in July, Speaker of Parliament László Kövér said on Friday.

The Hungarian presidency will host meetings of V4 parliamentary speakers in July, September and next March. In September, it will be combined with a meeting of Western Balkan House speakers, Kövér told a meeting of V4 speakers of parliament in Wroclaw.

The Hungarian presidency, he said, would coordinate the work done by lawmakers in the Visegrád countries in preparation for European conferences, he said.

The V4 countries — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia — will have a better chance of asserting their interests if they coordinate their positions on the future of Europe and disclose them as a group, Kövér said.

The Hungarian presidency will lay stress on protecting the cultural heritage and the identity of central Europe,

he said.

Further, the four countries are committed to developing regional defence cooperation, Kövér said.

The participants have approved a nine-point declaration on a variety of issues, including the situation in Belarus, the EU integration of Western Balkan countries and the Eastern Partnership policy.

Foreign minister presents 41,000 doses of vaccine to Czech Republic

hungary czech vaccine trade

Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó presented a consignment of 41,000 doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine Hungary has lent to the Czech Republic to Andrej Babis, the neighbouring country’s prime minister, on Friday.

The vaccines were handed over in the O2 Universum Centre for national vaccination in Prague.

Thanking the Hungarian government for its help, Babis praised bilateral relations and called Hungary a friend.

“Our Hungarian friends always came to help us if need be, we could always count on them,” Babis told reporters, noting that Hungary had donated 160 new ventilators and 200 hospital beds to help the Czech Republic’s Covid treatments.

Szijjártó said Hungary and the Czech Republic are friends and their economies are interconnected in multiple ways. The two countries’ citizens like to travel as visitors to each other’s country, he said.

As regards Covid-19 immunity certificate, Szijjártó noted that Hungary had concluded bilateral agreements with 11 countries on mutually accepting them and pledged further similar agreements with another two.

“Here we speak about important tourist destination countries,” he said, adding that inoculated citizens of those countries would be allowed to enter Hungary without requiring them to self-quarantine or present a negative Covid test.

Szijjártó denied online reports on certain Czech hotels banning entry of Hungarians inoculated with an eastern vaccine.

“This is not true, it is a lie,” Szijjártó said, adding that the Hungarian embassy in Prague double-checked the information and received a written statement calling it unauthentic.

Read alsoCzechs to fully reopen restaurants, bars, admit some foreign tourists

RegioJet to relaunch its rail routes in Central Europe

regiojet railway service

Central Europe’s leading private railway company is relaunching its trains to several destinations this June.

Summer is around the corner; more and more countries are deciding to reopen and sign bilateral agreements with each other in order to facilitate the free movement of mostly tourists. It seems that the end of this madness that has been going on for more than a year now will come to an end soon. RegioJet, for instance, definitely thinks so, as the company based in Brno will relaunch several of its railway lines leaving from Hungary.

International train services to resume in June

Starting from the 13th of June, Prague will be easily reachable from Budapest through Győr and Vienna.

The most budget-friendly prices will start at 9 euros.

The new-old routes of RegioJet will connect Budapest with Vienna and with Prague twice a day, according to vilaggazdasag.hu.

Radim Jancura, the owner of RegioJet, says that

Budapest will play an important part in his plan to expand the company.

It will be the location for their next base in order to provide clients with the best quality for the best price. During this summer, travelling to Vienna, Brno or Prague will be easier than before thanks to the frequent trains that will leave from Budapest not only on a daily basis but, depending on the destination, even twice or three times a day. Moreover, apart from these international connections, those trains travelling to Vienna and Prague will be available for internal usage, meaning that on the territory of Hungary, passengers will be able to enjoy the services provided by RegioJet on the route of Budapest-Győr-Mosonmagyaróvár.

Tickets can be booked already on their website.

Here are the ticket prices of the itinerary between Budapest and Prague. (Budapest – Vienna- Brno – Prague)

  • Low-cost class: from 16 euros
  • Standard class: from 20 euros
  • Relax class: from 25 euros
  • Business-class: from 35 euros

All of these mentioned prices include the possibility to book a seat, Wifi connection and a variety of daily newspapers and magazines.

The Standard class wagons allow you to watch a movie, listen to music or reach other contents making your travel more enjoyable, thanks to the screens inserted in the back of every seat. Moreover, in every class, except for the low-cost class, all passengers receive freshly prepared coffee and still mineral water.

Naturally, those travelling in business class are entitled to further benefits and treats. They are served champagne, orange juice and sweet pastry. Moreover, during their travel, they can buy foods or drinks for an excellent price. For instance, a can of beer or a bottle of water costs less than 1 euro, while a complete meal of sushi or Caesar’s salad can be ordered for around 3 euros.

Next, here are the ticket prices between Budapest and Vienna.

  • Low-cost class: from 9 euros
  • Standard class: from 11 euros
  • Relax class: from 15 euros
  • Business-class: from 25 euros

All these prices above include a cup of coffee and further services on board.

Finally, one of the most important news:

on May 29, RegioJet already launched their most awaited routes, connecting Budapest to Croatian cities located right at sea.

Split and Fiume are both possible destinations from Győr, travelling through Budapest and Zagreb. Already almost 5000 passengers have booked and bought their tickets for the overnight ride leaving from Hungary.

In June, these trains will leave from Győr 3 times a week, while in July and August, even more frequently, every single day.

Hungarian workforce - Passport Travel Luggage
Read alsoWould you travel abroad from Hungary? Important information!

Russia’s Prague embassy stronghold cleared out in spy dispute

czech-republic

A Russian charter plane took home dozens of Russian embassy staff on Monday, abruptly ending what Czech officials say was a decades-old practice by Moscow of using a disproportionately huge mission in Prague as a base for its spy activities.

The Czechs sent home 123 Russian staff and family members from the embassy on flights on Saturday and Monday, on top of 18 staff already branded spies and expelled in April, when Prague accused Moscow of blowing up an arms depot in 2014.

Under a new agreement, Russia and the Czech Republic will each limit the size of the other’s embassy to just seven diplomats and 25 support staff.

Russia has denied a role in the Czech arms depot explosions, in which two people were found dead. The Russian embassy did not respond to emails and phone calls seeking an explanation for why its mission in a country of 10.7 million people had been so big.

Several former Czech intelligence officials said the huge Russian embassy had long been a headache for them – and an important asset for Moscow.

“When you can have 140 people here, you have let’s say 80 people as members of the FSB, GRU or other (intelligence) services, than it is of course beneficial because they do not have anything like that elsewhere,” said Karel Randak, former director of Czech intelligence.

Although the Czech Republic is now a member of NATO and the EU, the huge Russian embassy was a relic of the Soviet era, when Czechoslovakia was a satelite of Moscow, said Jiri Schneider, former deputy foreign minister.

“The Soviet embassy in then Czechoslovakia, with hundreds of thousands of Soviet occupation troops, was an embassy in a colony,” Schneider said.

At the Vaclav Havel Airport, named for the writer who became president after leading the Velvet Revolution that toppled Communist rule, the Russian diplomats queued at Terminal 3, used for charter flights, to board a government plane.

The embassy, housed in a villa in the leafy Bubenec neighbourhood built by a pre-war industrialist and nationalised after World War II, grew after a 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia crushed a reform movement.

Although Soviet troops pulled out in 1991, Russia was still able to maintain its huge embassy, Czech experts said, due to diplomatic protocols that meant any tit-for-tat reduction would have hurt the smaller Czech Moscow mission in Moscow more.

The Czech counter-intelligence agency, BIS, said in its 2019 annual report that the mission’s size made controlling Russia’s intelligence efforts “extremely difficult”. For example, it has maintained a huge fleet of cars, off-limits to police.

Because of its central location, Czech territory could also be used by Russian agents for electronic eavesdropping, said Jan Padourek, former deputy director of Czech intelligence.

“The Czech Republic has an important geostrategic location on the frontier with the then West, which allowed for the use of technical means, not only human intelligence, to monitor the neighbouring Western countries.”

Putin Russia Czech USA
Read alsoRussia deems U.S., Czech Republic ‘unfriendly’

Czechs to fully reopen restaurants, bars, admit some foreign tourists

Czech restaurants, bars and nightclubs can serve customers indoors from Monday, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said, announcing a quicker-than-planned easing of COVID-19 restrictions following a court ruling.

The Czech Republic will also open up to tourists from some European and overseas countries who have at least had their first COVID-19 shot, effective Tuesday. The Czech government, which has been battling one of the world’s most severe second waves of the pandemic, had planned to open indoor facilities from mid-June.

But last week the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that blanket restrictions on restaurants were illegal, acting on a complaint filed by a customer.

“I am not entirely happy that we have to make such a radical easing in one moment. If it were not for the court ruling, then I would suggest sticking to the June 14 date (planned for reopening),” Vojtech told a televised news conference on Friday. Restaurants have been allowed to serve customers outdoors since May 17. Schools have also reopened.

From Monday, swimming pools, saunas and casinos will also be allowed to reopen, while the numbers allowed at shows and sports events will rise.

For restaurants, self-tests for COVID-19 will suffice, while for all other venues that are allowed to reopen people will have to get tested professionally, Vojtech said.

As of Tuesday,

the country will let in vaccinated visitors from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Austria, and Germany, as well as Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. Croatia should join the list too, but the deal has yet to be finalised, the foreign ministry said.

As of Friday morning, the seven-day number of reported cases per 100,000 dropped to 34. Earlier this year, the Czech Republic had one of the highest per capita COVID-19 infection and death rates in the world. The number of daily vaccinations has reached around 100,000. The country of 10.7 million has distributed 5 million doses of vaccines in total so far, and 1.37 million people have now received two doses.

Breaking – international train services to resume in June

Hungary train railway
Hungarian railways MAV said on Thursday that significant improvement in the epidemic situation will allow several of its international services to resume from June 1.
 
Hourly services between Budapest and Vienna will resume through Hegyeshalom, the company said in a statement. A direct railjet express service and night train to Switzerland will also restart and trains will leave for Munich every two hours during the day, in addition to a night service.
Services between Romania and Hungary
will be gradually restarted and a Wroclaw-Berlin service will again operate from May 24, in addition to trains to Krakow and Warsaw from May 26. Metropolitan EuroCity trains to Slovakia and the Czech Republic will again run from June 1, with full services resuming after June 13.
 
Báthory EuroCity trains will again operate to Poland from June 1, daily two InterCity services will operate to Kosice (Kassa) and trains will restart to Serbia through Kelebia.
 
One daily service will be again available between Budapest and Zagreb from June 25.

Czechs reappoint old health minister after losing four in eight months

prague

Czech Health Minister Petr Arenberger resigned on Tuesday after less than two months in office after coming under media scrutiny over property holdings and other business dealings, becoming the fourth health minister to exit in eight months.

His portfolio, in a country that has suffered one of the world’s highest per capita coronavirus infection rates, is going back to Adam Vojtech, who last September when the epidemic situation deteriorated sharply after a summer of relaxed restrictions.

With four months to go until an election, the opposition said Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s personnel policy was chaotic, and resembled the medieval Astronomical Clock in Prague’s Old Town Square, which shows rotating statues of saints every hour.

Vojtech was replaced last year by an epidemiologist and reserve army colonel – who quit after being caught breaking pandemic restrictions by visiting a restaurant.

Another minister was forced out after disagreements with Babis and under pressure from President Milos Zeman, who had unsuccessfully demanded that the government buy the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.

Arenberger was a Prague hospital director before joining the government on April 7, when the Czech Republic was emerging from its worst COVID-19 wave to date.

Daily infections have slowed sharply, from peaks of around 17,000 in January and March to the 695 reported on Monday.

Vaccinations in the country of 10.7 million have accelerated to over 80,000 each weekday, and shops and restaurant terraces have reopened amid a gradual easing of restrictions.

Arenberger quit after pressure from media reports about the number of properties he owned, one of which was rented to the hospital that he had led. He had also faced scrutiny over clinical trials at his private clinic and the privatisation of a downtown Prague apartment.

He has denied wrongdoing. On Tuesday he said an incorrectly completed asset declaration had probably triggered speculation.

The Czech Republic has the second highest per capita death toll in the world from the new coronavirus, according to Our World in Data. As of Tuesday, 30,041 were registered as having died of COVID-19.

beer- czech
Read alsoThirsty Czechs return to beer gardens as COVID rules relaxed

Polish PM says Czechs agree to withdraw lawsuit about Turow mine

Morawiecki

The Czech Republic has agreed to withdraw a lawsuit it filed at the European Union’s top court to halt operations at a lignite coal mine in Poland, the Polish prime minister said early on Tuesday.

On Friday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ordered Poland to immediately stop mining at the Turow mine operated by state-run PGE, pending a final decision in the case.

The Czech government had argued that a planned expansion of the open-pit mine was environmentally damaging for communities on its side of the border, and that Warsaw had violated EU law by extending mining at Turow until 2026.

But Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the two governments were now on the cusp of an agreement to de-escalate the dispute.

“Given the tightening of cross-border cooperation with the Czech Republic, it seems that we are already very close to an agreement,” Morawiecki said in comments posted on Twitter after an EU summit in Brussels.

“As a result of this agreement, the Czech Republic agreed to withdraw its lawsuit to the CJEU.”

Enviromental groups and Czechs living close to the border had complained about the mine, saying the drinking water supply has been affected and they have suffered from noise and dust as well as subsidence.

“We agreed to set up an expert committee to investigate the environmental issues related to the open pit,” Morawiecki said, adding that PGE would invest to lessen the outflow of water from the mine.

Morawiecki
Read alsoPolish PM says Czechs agree to withdraw lawsuit about Turow mine

Thirsty Czechs return to beer gardens as COVID rules relaxed

beer- czech

The world’s thirstiest beer drinkers finally clinked their pilsner mugs in the drizzle on Monday, as beer gardens opened despite unseasonably cold grey weather in the Czech Republic, a landmark event after five months of COVID-19 lockdown.

“Finally I am sitting here as a human,” said Martin Krisko, savouring his cold beer with a meal served hot, on a plate, rather than lukewarm in a plastic takeaway container, at the Beer Time pub in Prague’s former industrial quarter Smichov.

The Czech Republic, home to the original pilsner, consumes the most beer per capita in the world, and reopening its pubs for outdoor service is seen as an important step in its plans to relax its COVID-19 restrictions.

The country was hit hard by the second wave of COVID-19, with one of the highest per capita death rates in the world.

Lately, it has been reporting steadily decreasing numbers of coronavirus cases and hospitalisations. As of Monday morning, the seven-day count of new cases per 100,000 people decreased to 71, on course for further easing of restrictions.

A vaccination programme has gathered pace, with the government opening inoculations on Monday to those over 40. As of the beginning of the week, 4.1 million doses had been distributed in the country of 10.7 million people.

In Prague’s historic centre, locals gathered for beer in places usually taken by tourists, although gloomy weather with rain and temperatures around 15 degrees Celsius (60°F) kept the numbers thin.

“When everyone is inoculated and the weather turns nice, things will roll,” said Jiri Zaman, tapping pints at one of the restaurants in the cobblestoned Old Town Square.

Secondary schools are still shut, and some Czechs are critical of the government’s priorities in opening restaurant terraces first. But gyms opened too on Monday.

Gabriela Chomikova, headed to her fitness centre for the first time this year, said she was just grateful to be around other people, “rather than to be locked at home”.

cheers clink beer
Read alsoHungary’s best beers on tap – a guide

Russia deems U.S., Czech Republic ‘unfriendly’

Putin Russia Czech USA

The Russian government said on Friday it had officially deemed the United States and the Czech Republic “unfriendly” states, and that U.S. diplomatic missions could no longer employ local staff while Czech missions could employ a maximum of 19.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law last month to limit the number of local staff working at foreign diplomatic missions and other agencies, and ordered the government to

draw up a list of “unfriendly” states that will be subject to the restrictions.

Relations between Russia and the Czechs were badly hit last month when the Czechs accused Russian military intelligence of being behind a 2014 blast at an ammunition depot, and expelled dozens of Russian diplomats.

Russia rejected the allegations and retaliated by expelling Czech diplomats,

and also ordered the Czechs to let go the majority of their local employees in Moscow, many of whom have staffed a Czech hospitality and business centre in the city.

The Czech Foreign Ministry said on Friday the Russian decision was at odds with an international agreement committing countries to enable orderly functioning of diplomatic missions.

The Czechs saw the action by the Russian federation as a further escalation of the row between the two countries, the ministry said in a statement.

Hungary reaches deal with Czechia on unrestricted travel for inoculated

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Hungary has reached an agreement with the Czech Republic on unrestricted cross-border travel for each other’s nationals who have been inoculated against the coronavirus, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said early on Friday.

From Saturday, both countries will mutually recognise each other’s Covid immunity certificates, regardless of the type of vaccine used, Szijjártó said on Facebook.

He added that further talks on unrestricted travel for the vaccinated would take place in Lodz, Poland, later on Friday.

In addition to the Czech Republic, Hungary has reached agreements on mutual recognition of Covid immunity certificates with Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Turkey and Bahrain.

Romania also honours Hungarian immunity certificates and vice versa.

Czech town launches local ‘currency’ to boost post-COVID recovery

A Czech town has launched a scheme whereby residents are being given money to spend in shops and cafes badly hit by COVID-19 lockdowns, in the form of digital vouchers being marketed as a special local currency.

Up to 2,000 residents of Kyjov are each being given 400 crowns ($19) worth of “corrents”, a name blending the words for “coronavirus” and “currency”, to spend at 40 businesses including shoe shops, a pharmacy and a burger joint.

When they make a purchase under the scheme, participants pay for half of it with corrents and the other half with their own money.

“It is good to support people to come and buy a nice burger and support us as well,” said Verka Vaskova, who works at a fast food outlet near Kyjov’s main square.

“People are interested,” she said.

The Czech Republic, which has a population of 10.7 million, has been hard-hit by the pandemic. Restrictions kept most non-essential shops closed from late December until this week.

The Kyjov scheme is being funded to the tune of 800,000 crowns by a private individual who does not wish to be named, and administered by Pepe Rafaj, who came up with the idea.

Rafaj refers to the corrents as “drone money”, as a way of comparing it to the much-discussed concept of “helicopter money”, the idea that central banks could transfer cash directly to citizens as a form of monetary easing.

“I wanted to figure out how to take helicopter money and change it to drone money that will be targeted and effectively spent on boosting supply and demand,” he said.

The scheme is low-tech for consumers. They register online for a corrents account. When they make a purchase, all they need to do is either give their national ID card number to the business, or use a code delivered via a text message.

The business then sends a text message to the system, which automatically transfers the relevant quantity of corrents from the customer’s account to its own account. The business then get the corrents converted into crowns, usually the next day.

The country’s central bank classifies the Kyjov scheme as a local system of electronic discount vouchers, and therefore not a matter of concern for the monetary authority.

“At this time, for such an extraordinary purpose, it can be a suitable instrument,” Governor Jiri Rusnok told Reuters.

The mayor of Kyjov, Franisek Lukl, said he hoped the scheme could be expanded to other parts of the Czech Republic, perhaps using money from the European Union’s post-pandemic recovery funds. He said he planned to discuss this with the minister for labour next week.

“Part of this money … could be redistributed through corrents, because it is for the support of the local economy, the recovery after COVID-19,” said Lukl, who is also the chairman of the country’s Union of Town and Municipalities.

Pensioner Jarmila Perglova joined the scheme but had yet to spend her corrents. “Giving me 400, it’s good for the shopkeepers and for us as well,” she said. “I may buy shoes here across the street.”

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