Section: Radio Prague (Czech Republic)
Agencies abuse Czech visa system in Ukraine to fuel booming illegal business
Reporters from public service broadcaster Czech Radio have mapped a booming business for Ukraine agents and middlemen by ensuring clients get visas for the Czech Republic or wider Schengen area. And to help ensure demand for their services, they have rigged the visa appointments system so that it is blocked to those who try to get visas by...
Czech NGO denied access to eastern Ukraine
Czech humanitarian organisation People in Need has been stripped of its accreditation to work in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, an area of eastern Ukraine presently under the control of Kremlin-backed pro-Russian separatists. People in Need – or Člověk v tísni – has been working in the war-torn area since 2014, distributing tonnes...
V4 bloc seeks united front ahead of EU summit
The heads of government of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have concluded an informal meeting of the Visegrad Group held in Krynica, Poland. The gathering was designed to cement a common stance ahead of an upcoming EU summit, to be held in Bratislava on September 16, focused on post-Brexit EU reforms. Also present at the “V4+1”...
Czech Foreign Ministry vows to close “representative centre” of Donetsk separatists
Russia-backed separatists from Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region attempted to establish an official representation in the Czech Republic on Thursday, opening a mock consulate in Ostrava which was described as the “the first official representation in the EU” of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. The move...
Marek Hilšer: The activist and brain tumour specialist who’s running for president
Though the next Czech presidential elections don’t take place until the start of 2018, Marek Hilšer has already thrown his hat into the ring as a candidate. A doctor by profession, the 40-year-old is perhaps best known for his eye-catching civic activism, such as when – protesting Russia’s treatment of Ukraine – he and a colleague...
Czech politicians express solidarity with imprisoned Ukrainian pilot
A number of Czech politicians have expressed support for Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian pilot on trial in Russia for allegedly helping to cause the deaths of two Russian journalists in 2014. Savchenko is currently on hunger strike, and refusing to accept any verdict handed down by what she has described as a “totalitarian regime and a petty...
Czech MSF head says Luhansk ban will have huge impact on civilian population
Separatist leaders in the Luhansk region, in Eastern Ukraine, have ordered UN agencies and close to a dozen humanitarian aid groups out of the region, citing “grave violations” of local laws. Among those who have been forced to pack their bags are People in Need and Doctors Without Borders(MSF). I spoke to the head of the Czech branch...
Czech political leaders seeks to read off same foreign policy page
Czech president Miloš Zeman is set to meet with Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and other government and parliament representatives at Prague Castle on Tuesday for the second time this year to streamline their foreign policy stances. The Mediterranean refugee crisis and the situation in Ukraine are expected to be among the main issues on the...
Czech foreign minister pledges support for Ukraine and EU association agreement
Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Pavel Klimkin on Tuesday, expressed strong support for the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, a day before it was due to be discussed in the Czech Chamber of Deputies. While the agreement should be ratified easily in the lower house, the move was temporarily delayed by...
US convoy to begin closely-watched journey through Czech Republic at weekend
A US military convoy will arrive in the Czech Republic at the weekend and is expected to be met by both supporters as well as demonstrations in areas, divided over NATO membership over Russian intervention in Ukraine. Critics charge that opposition to the convoy has been artificially whipped up by groups long opposed to NATO membership. A poll...
