Ústí district approves zoning for lithium mining

The deputies of the Ústí region approved the designation of a corridor for lithium mining near Cínovec in the Ore Mountains on Monday, after the decision was postponed in December. At that time, some MPs had questions that needed to be answered first.

The mining plans are being driven forward by the company Geomet, which is 51% owned by the ČEZ Group and 49% by the Australian holding company EMH. A representative of ČEZ answered the questions of the delegates, but not to everyone's satisfaction. Some representatives complained that the issue of the fees that the investor would pay to the affected municipalities was unclear. For example, the mayor of Dubí, Jiří Kašpar, is demanding CZK 100 million per year. ČEZ, on the other hand, stated that Dubí would receive CZK 800 million over 25 years of extraction for the extracted raw materials alone, i.e. only CZK 32 million per year. MP Papajanovský said that the state could count on CZK 1.1 billion in taxes annually, of which the Ústí district would receive CZK 100 million.

The meeting was also attended by citizens from the region, most of whom were critical and feared for their quality of life. They felt that the investor had not sufficiently addressed the concerns of the municipalities.

ČEZ promises to invest CZK 42 billion in the project, creating 2,000 direct jobs and a further 2,000 indirect jobs. The processing plant is to be built in Prunéřov in the Chomutov district, where the ore from Cínovec will be transported by rail.

In the end, 38 MPs voted in favor of the corresponding amendment to the principles of spatial development, 5 were against and 5 abstained. This represents a further formal step in the planning process.

Yesterday, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Karel Havlíček (ANO), explained in the Chamber of Deputies in response to a question from Papajanovský that the state does not currently envisage any special compensation for the Ústí nad Labem region for the planned lithium mining in the Ore Mountains. According to Havlíček, if compensation were introduced, other regions affected by mining could also demand it. In his opinion, jobs would be created in the region, all the usual taxes and duties would be paid there and new business opportunities would be created.

Czech Republic improves in the corruption index

After 46th place last year, the Czech Republic has risen to 39th place in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2025. A representative of the organization said: "Under the Fiala government, confidence has increased that corruption is not systemically rooted in the Czech Republic. This means that rules are not being circumvented on a large scale in order to favor a few small interest groups. In fact, a number of anti-corruption laws were passed last year, for example in relation to whistleblowers or lobbying." Referring to Prime Minister Babiš's conflict of interest as an entrepreneur, he also spoke of uncertainties regarding further developments.

The Czech Republic has thus returned to its 2018 ranking and, with 59 out of a possible 100 points in the Corruption Index, is slightly below the EU average of 62 points. Germany is in 10th place with 77 points, while Slovakia is in 61st place with 48 points, one point and two places lower than in 2024.

Czechs are optimistic about the future

Last week, the European Parliament presented the results of the Eurobarometer, for which around 26,500 people in the EU were surveyed in November last year, including around 1,000 in the Czech Republic. In terms of expectations for the future, the Czech Republic scored significantly better than the EU average of 44% with 57% positive responses. At the same time, 42% of respondents consider EU membership to be a good thing (the EU average is 64%), just as many are undecided and 15% consider it to be a bad thing.

A survey conducted by the renowned Czech institute STEM in October 2025 with 1023 participants, the results of which were published yesterday, showed somewhat different results in terms of EU membership. According to the results, 57% of Czechs are satisfied with EU membership, the highest figure since 2010. Just under two thirds of respondents would vote against the Czech Republic leaving the EU. Only around 23% are in favor of the introduction of the euro in the Czech Republic.

Czech MEPs expelled from EP group

Czech MEP Nikola Bartůšek has been expelled from the "Patriots for Europe" group in the European Parliament, it was announced on Monday. The newspaper Deník N reports that the reason for this is a system of nepotism (similar to the one that recently came to light in Saxony-Anhalt): Nikola Bartůšek's husband would have worked for Czech MEP Ondřej Dostál, while in return she would have recommended Dostál's wife for her group's secretariat. What is interesting in this case is that Bartůšek entered Parliament for the far-right Přísaha party, while Dostál ran on the list of the Communist-led Stačilo! coalition. Cooperation for the benefit of the family thus spans the entire political spectrum here and shows that even representatives from far-flung political camps can work well together.

There is now also pressure on Nikola Bartůšek to leave the Přísaha party. Its founder owes his fame to a corruption investigation that he led. In the last parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic in 2025, Přísaha failed with just 1.08% of the vote. The movement had entered the European Parliament in 2024 on a joint list with the Motorists, although this success was probably mainly due to the latter. However, both seats are now held by Přísaha after Filip Turek won a seat in the Czech Parliament and resigned his EP mandate (and will now not be appointed Environment Minister by President Pavel).

Actress Jana Brejchová passes away

Czech actress Jana Brejchová has died at the age of 86, her daughter announced last weekend. She was one of the best-known and most popular actresses in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic and appeared in over 100 films. She was honored with both a Bohemian Lion for her life's work and a state award for her services to culture and art. The Ministers of Culture and Sport have proposed to the government that a funeral with state honours be organized for Brejchová. The last artist to receive this honor was Karel Gott in 2019.

Brejchová first appeared in front of the camera at the age of 13 in the film "Olověný chléb" (Lead Bread; GDR title: Children of a Great Love). One of her best-known roles was in the 1960 film "Vyšší princip" (The Higher Principle), for which she received an award at the Locarno International Film Festival. This film and "Probuzení" (Awakening) from 1959 were already screened at the Czech Film Wednesday. She is probably also known to many for her role as the Queen in the popular fairytale series "Arabela" (The Fairytale Bride).

Reading marathon in Ústí

The Ústí Regional Library will try to set a new record next week: With a 130-hour reading marathon, an entry in the Czech Book of Records is to be made. From 10 a.m. on Monday to 8 p.m. on Saturday, around 200 people will read aloud around the clock, including well-known personalities, authors and partners of the library from the cultural scene. The event will be broadcast live on YouTube. After last year's 80-hour reading marathon, the Ústí nad Labem Regional Library is setting the bar even higher. "Symbolically, the event ties in with the 130th anniversary of the founding of the German library in Ústí nad Labem," said Veronika Balcarová, spokesperson for the library in Ústí. The campaign also raises funds for the rescue of wild animals. If you speak Czech, you can find all the information on the library's website.

(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)

Change of leadership at the Brücke|Most Foundation

After almost 30 years at the helm of the Brücke|Most Foundation, Professor Helmut Köser stepped down as Chairman of the Executive Board at the end of January. Peter Baumann, who played a key role in establishing the foundation as Managing Director from 1997 to 2017, was unanimously elected as the new Chairman of the Board. He will take on the role on an honorary basis.

Professor Köser founded the Brücke|Most Foundation in 1997 together with his mother Gertrud Köser with the aim of sustainably promoting understanding and cooperation in East-Central Europe and bringing people on both sides of the border closer together. Under his leadership, the foundation established itself as an important player in the field of intercultural education, encounters and knowledge transfer. Numerous cross-border projects set standards in German-Czech and East-Central European exchange.

The formative initiatives include the Czech-German Culture Days, which have been taking place since 1999 (since 2018 under the auspices of the Elbe/Labe Euroregion), a scholarship program for Czech and Slovakian students at the Dresden University of Music since 2001 and a wide range of historical and political education programmes. Since 2019, it has been coordinating and supporting trips by Saxon school groups to places of learning and remembrance within Germany and Europe on behalf of the Saxon Ministry of Culture as the state service center "Learning Places of Remembrance and Commemoration".

Peter Baumann praised Helmut Köser as a key figure in German-Czech civil society: "With his vision and tireless commitment, Professor Köser not only built a foundation, but also created real bridges between people and cultures. His work has provided cross-generational impetus for a peaceful and united Europe."

Professor Köser looks back on the development of the foundation with gratitude: "It fills me with great joy to see how an idea has grown into a living network of exchange, learning and mutual respect. I will of course remain associated with the foundation as a donor. In my view, the reorientation of the Foundation in terms of content and personnel, which we have been working on since 2018, is now complete. I am convinced that the new Board of Directors will continue to pursue my and our common goals with great commitment. It is my wish that the Brücke-Villa in Dresden-Blasewitz will remain the heart of the foundation."

Demonstrations for the president

Tens of thousands of people showed their support for Czech President Petr Pavel at several demonstrations in the Czech Republic on February 1. So many people responded to the call of the initiative Milion chvilek na podporu prezidenta Petra Pavla (Millions of Moments in Support of President Petr Pavel) in Prague alone that they could not all fit on the Old Town Square (Staroměstské náměstí). Demonstrations also took place in other cities such as Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Zlín, Vrchlabí, Jeseník, Třeboň and Uherské Hradiště.

The demonstrations were a reaction to pressure from Foreign Minister Petr Macinka on President Pavel to appoint the honorary chairman of the Motorist Party Filip Turek as Minister of the Environment (we reported on this in the last newsletter).

After a meeting between President Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš at the beginning of the week, the Prime Minister declared the Turek case closed. "President Pavel will not appoint Turek as Environment Minister and that is the end of the chapter for me," said Babiš. Political observers saw two winners after the dispute with Pavel and Babiš and the motorist as the big loser. However, it is unlikely that the Motorists will present a new candidate for the ministerial office in the foreseeable future in order to avoid having to concede this bitter defeat. The dispute is therefore likely to continue to simmer for a while, albeit to a less extreme degree.

Pope appoints new Archbishop of Prague

The new Archbishop of Prague is the former Bishop of Litoměřice Stanislav Přibyl. Pope Leo appointed him as the 38th Archbishop of Prague on February 2, the Catholic feast day of Candlemas. He takes office on April 25. He will remain administrator of the diocese of Litoměřice until then.

With Přibyl, Pope Leo initiates a generational change. At 54, Přibyl is the youngest Archbishop of Prague for over 100 years. He succeeds Jan Graubner, who held the office for less than four years. However, Graubner was already 74 years old when he was inaugurated. At the age of 75, he submitted his resignation to Pope Francis, as is customary at that age. Graubner succeeded Archbishop Dominik Duka, who died in November last year.

Stanislav Přibyl himself was only Bishop of Litoměřice for a short time. He took office less than two years ago. This year, he attracted attention by declaring 2026 as the Year of Reconciliation, referring to the expulsion of the German population from the diocese of Litoměřice. Every month, a memorial mass is celebrated at various places in the diocese that stand for the sometimes violent acts of expulsion.

Přibyl was considered the favorite for election as the new archbishop. He comes from a music-loving family from Prague and held his first parish post in the central Bohemian mining town of Přibram, where he was involved in the restoration of the important Baroque pilgrimage site of the Holy Mountain.

He later moved to Litoměřice as vicar general, where he worked until 2016. He then served as Secretary of the Czech Bishops' Conference for seven years and became Bishop of Litoměřice in 2024. Přibyl not only holds a degree and doctorate in theology, but also a master's degree from the Faculty of Socio-Economics at Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem. In 2025, he was awarded a doctorate in art history by the Catholic Faculty of Charles University in Prague. He has been a member of the Redemptorist Order since 1995.

Punctual and popular - the Czech Railways

According to a press release, the trains of Czech Railways České dráhy (ČD) were more punctual in 2025 than they have been for nine years. 88.2 percent of the almost 2.5 million trains were on time, 0.6 percentage points more than in 2024. If the academic quarter applied to railroads, i.e. a tolerated delay of 15 minutes, 98.5 percent of all ČD trains would have been on time.

A total of 168 million passengers were transported, which was slightly less than in 2024. ČD blamed the decline on the lowest fuel prices in a long time. The railroads were also plagued by long-term construction sites, not only in the Czech Republic but also abroad, such as on the German-Czech border in the Elbe valley between Bad Schandau and Schöna and between Hamburg and Berlin. In contrast, the new Baltic expres long-distance connection to Poland ensured more passengers. ČD hopes to be able to transport more passengers again this year due to fewer construction sites. České dráhy is still a long way from the pre-coronavirus level of 182.1 million passengers in 2019.

However, Czech Railways not only scored with punctuality and new connections, but also continued to modernize its trains. More ComfortJet trains were deployed on long-distance connections in and outside the Czech Republic. A total of 450 new trains with WLAN were added. There are now a total of 5,277 train connections with WLAN in the Czech Republic. 4,603 connections have power sockets and USB ports and 7,379 České dráhy connections are barrier-free.

This is also appreciated by travelers. In its own app Můj vlak (My Train), České dráhy 2025 achieved a rating of 4.21 out of a possible 5 points. According to České dráhy, this is the highest score since the rating was introduced. In 2023, the score was 4.1 points. According to České dráhy, almost 173,000 travelers took part in the evaluation, submitting 834,000 ratings.

Czech Republic remains abstinent in February

The "Dry January" initiative, which originated in the UK, is now also very popular in Germany. However, while the participants in this campaign can now sit back and relax, the dry month is only just beginning in the Czech Republic. "Suchej únor" (translated: Dry February) is the name of the corresponding campaign, which aims to question alcohol consumption. This is actually very high in the Czech Republic. According to statistics, 1.6 million people have risky drinking habits. Moreover, the social and cultural significance of beer drinking in the Czech Republic is well known. But drinking habits are also changing in the land of beer. People are now drinking much more non-alcoholic beer, which is often available on tap and in very good quality. The consumption of high-proof spirits is also declining in the long term.

The campaign, which was founded in 2013, is becoming increasingly popular. Originally it was only aimed at men, but later at society as a whole. The "Suchej únor" association recently counted around 1.5 million registered participants. They receive daily guidance and support with abstinence via a website and/or app, combined with tricks and daily thoughts for inner reflection. This year, Dry February focuses on the four themes of time, love, sleep and money. As there are exactly 28 days in February, each week has a new theme.

Incidentally, the Czech Republic is not alone in celebrating Dry February. Slovakia officially joined the campaign in 2021. Canada also has a Dry February instead of a Dry January. Founded around the same time, the Dry January and Suchej únor campaigns were unaware of each other for a long time. One of the founders, Petr Freimann, recently explained quite simply in the podcast Sober Heroes why they came up with the carnival month of February in the Czech Republic: "At the beginning of the new year, we thought about what we could do for our health and came up with a month of abstinence. And then we just started in the next best month."

Bison to be reintroduced to the Duppau Mountains

A reserve for bison and wild horses will be created in the Doupovské Mountains in the north-west of the Czech Republic in the coming years. Initially, seven bison and twelve wild horses are to be settled on an area of more than 130 hectares. The environmental protection organizations Česká krajina and Refugium, which are involved in the project, have already begun purchasing suitable land. A fundraising campaign has also been initiated to finance the project. Almost a third of the required 2.5 million crowns (100,000 euros) has already been raised. In the Czech Republic, bison already live in Milovice in central Bohemia, which was once also a restricted military area. The protected area is home to 50 bison on an area of 350 hectares. Wild horses are already more widespread in the Czech Republic and have already been bred in several places.

According to the Czech Academy of Sciences, keeping bison is the ideal option for this part of the Doupovské Mountains. The animals should help to preserve the character of the open landscape.

The planned reserve is located in the east of the mountains, in the smaller part that is in the Ústí district. It borders on the military reserve, which today occupies the largest part of the Doupovské Mountains. The Doupovské Mountains were inhabited until shortly after the Second World War, when the predominantly German population was expelled. The center was once the small town of Duppau with around 1,600 inhabitants. From 1955, the Hradiště restricted military area was established in the mountains and the remaining population was expelled. Not only the town of Duppau disappeared, but also another 76 villages and individual farmsteads.

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(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)

The Czech-German Future Fund has been running the "One Year at the Border" project for several years. As part of this project, several people are employed in areas along the Czech-German border to promote cross-border cooperation.

The eponymous year runs from April 2026 to June 2027. All information can be found on the website of the Future Fund. Application deadline is February 28, 2026.

To the Future Fund

(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)

Dispute between President and Motorists escalates

The dispute between the head of the Motorist Party, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, and President Petr Pavel over the appointment of the honorary chairman of the Motorist Party, Filip Turek, as Minister of the Environment has entered a new phase. In short messages to presidential advisor Pavel Kolář, Macinka threatened the president with "burning all bridges in a way that will go down in the history books as an extreme case of cohabitation" if Pavel did not appoint Turek as environment minister. Pavel described the late-night text messages on Wednesday as an attempt at blackmail and published the text message communication. The president also announced that he would call in the police to investigate whether the text messages constituted a criminal offense.

Pavel refuses to appoint Turek as environment minister because of his publications on social networks that trivialized the Nazi dictatorship and were racist. Macinka currently holds the post of Foreign Minister as well as heading the Ministry of the Environment. However, Macinka and the Motorist Party insist on Turek as Environment Minister.

Political analysts interviewed by the media differed in their opinion as to whether this was really a case of blackmail and who was more harmed by this communication. The dispute had escalated too far in the meantime and was always negative, possibly first and foremost for the government's popularity.

Macinka gave a first example of how he intended to harm Pavel in relation to the NATO summit in the summer. According to an agreement between President Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the Czech Republic was to be represented there by the President. Macinka wanted to prevent this, as Pavel was acting outside the constitution by not appointing Turek. Macinka also said that with him as a supporter, a delivery of L-159 light fighter planes to Ukraine would have come about, which Pavel vehemently supports. However, the defense minister, who was nominated by the small right-wing populist SPD party, rejected this, and the entire cabinet also spoke out against it.

Meanwhile, critics accuse Macinka of not bringing a constitutional action against Pavel over his powers because he fears defeat. Macinka rejects the lawsuit because the Constitutional Court is unilaterally on Pavel's side, which caused outrage not only in judicial circles. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, for his part, called on both the President and the Foreign Minister to ease tensions and invited them to a joint meeting.

The dispute also comes at a time when President Pavel publicly announced for the first time at the end of last week that he would be available for a second term in office if "he was healthy and had the necessary support". Pavel has been in office since March 2023. A term of office lasts five years. The president can only be re-elected once in the Czech Republic.

Donation account for shooting victims

Just over a week after the bloody shooting in the small town of Chřibská (Kreibitz), the population is showing an enormous willingness to help the victims of the shooting. Last Monday, a 39-year-old man killed the janitor of the town hall and injured a further six people, including the mayor of the town, Jan Macháč. The shooter ended up shooting himself.

The Ústí district then set up a donation account for the janitor's surviving dependents, the families of the injured and to support the city. Since then, over 750,000 crowns (31,250 euros) have already been collected in the account (as of 30.01.2026), including considerable large donations from many towns and municipalities from northern Bohemia such as Krupka (Graupen), Hřensko (Herrnkretschen), Rybniště (Teichstatt) and Ludvíkovice (Loosdorf), which each donated around 1,000 euros, but also a large number of small donations from private individuals. The Ústí (Aussig) district contributed 200,000 crowns and hundreds also attended the funeral mass for the former janitor in Chřibská and the Protestant funeral service in Česká Kamenice.

For all those who would also like to donate to the account, here are the details for the account at Bank Česká spořitelna: CZ37 0800 0000 0000 2222 9922 (IBAN), GIBACZPX (BIC).

The most valuable company in the Czech Republic is a defense group

While the world of the stock exchange has suffered a number of setbacks in recent days due to Donald Trump's Greenland policy, there has been an unusual success: Czechoslovak Group (CSG), the Czech arms manufacturer owned by entrepreneur Michal Strnad, has floated some of its shares on the Euronext stock exchange in Amsterdam. CSG received 3.8 billion euros for 15 percent of its shares. It thus replaced the energy group ČEZ as the most valuable Czech company.

According to Forbes, the 33-year-old Strnad has also catapulted himself to the top of the richest Czechs with the IPO of his company. Renate Kellnerová was previously a woman at the top. At the same time, Strnad became the third richest person in the world under the age of 40.

CSG intends to invest 750 million euros from the IPO in further investments and takeovers. The company is considered to be the fastest growing defense company in the world. It was founded in the 1990s by Jaroslav Strnad, the father of Michal Strnad, who handed it over to his son in 2018. Like other defense companies, it grew especially after Russia's attack on the whole of Ukraine in February 2022. It is not a pure defense company, but is made up of a variety of companies in the defense sector, but also mechanical engineering. One of the best-known brands is Tatra, a manufacturer of commercial vehicles.

Founding of the Bohemian Switzerland Mountain Club

Almost 90 years after its dissolution, Bohemian Switzerland once again has a mountain association. It was founded a year ago. But now, as a first major act, it has signed a memorandum with the administration of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, which provides for the coordination of the activities of both partners for nature conservation and a better tourist environment.

The founding members of the association include the municipality of Hřensko, the branch of the Czech Tourist Club in Janov, a district of Hřensko, and the Paal company, which runs the viewpoint, snack bar and restaurant at the Prebisch Gate.

The association sees itself in the tradition of the Mountain Association for Northernmost Bohemia, which was based in Krásná Lípa (Schönlinde) from 1885 to 1938 and was dissolved by the National Socialists in 1938. The first chairman until his death in 1925 was the doctor Johann Hille from Schönlinde. After 1945, the association was never re-established as most of its members were expelled from Czechoslovakia, as were almost all Germans. However, the Krásná Lípa branch of the Klub českých turistů (Czech Tourist Club), which was founded later and dissolved in 1948, preserved some of the legacy of the old association. In 1972, the old Wolfsbergbaude chalet and observation tower were saved by being formally taken over into private ownership (find out more about the tower here).

Rail vehicle manufacturer invests in Děčín

One of Europe's largest repair workshops for freight rail vehicles is located in Děčín (Tetschen). The local company Ryko has now put a new workshop into operation for just over 5 million euros. Ryko will press wheelsets here in future. In this way, 2,500 wheelsets can be processed each year.

The investment shows that Ryko is continuing to grow. In 2025, 5,800 freight wagons were overhauled in Děčín. Ryko is also growing in terms of employment. The plant currently employs 360 people, with plans to hire more, mainly experienced production workers and technicians, especially fitters. Ryko works for customers in 15 European countries. In addition to Děčín, the company also has sites in Mladá Boleslav (Jungbunzlau) and Kralupy nad Vltavou (Kralup on the Vltava).

Low-cost fuel chain expands

Tank Ono is a household name for cross-border commuters from Germany. The chain is by far the cheapest and therefore a popular destination for German fuel tourists. Now the chain, which currently has 46 stations, mainly in the German-Czech border region, is gaining a prominent new location. For the first time, Tank Ono will have two filling stations on highways. The first is currently being prepared on the D4 southbound near Lety and Horosedly in the Písek district, the second on the D1 Prague-Brno, near Divišov. Both filling stations are due to open this year.

Tank Ono is known for offering the same fuel prices throughout the country. It keeps them particularly low thanks to a lower profit margin. It has thus made a name for itself as the cheapest filling station.

(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)