What Czechia is writing about: The budget has the second-highest deficit ever — Fico continues to face criticism for his words about NATO

Fico and NATO: Slovak press and politicians keep up the criticism, Babiš declines to comment

Last week, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico questioned Slovakia's commitments under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense and claimed that the West is looking for reasons to go to war with Russia. The Slovak press reacted extremely sharply — Denník N wrote that Fico is a "coward and a liar. A traitor," denik.cz reported. Deník ↗ According to iDNES.cz, Nový Čas added that the prime minister "has questioned our NATO commitments. He is scaring people with talk of war." iDNES.cz ↗ Slovak President Peter Pellegrini called for a more cautious tone and warned that Slovakia should not signal that it would stand aside if the alliance were attacked; the Speaker of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, Richard Raši, also distanced himself critically from Fico's rhetoric, and the chairman of Progressive Slovakia, Michal Šimečka, declared that if Fico questions Article 5, Slovakia has a problem with its allies, ČT24 reported. ČT24 ↗ Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš avoided commenting directly on Fico's words, but stressed that Czechia will respect Article 5 and that the country currently faces no immediate security threat, iHNed.cz wrote. iHNed.cz ↗

During his trip to the US, President Petr Pavel also commented on Saturday's conference held by the Svatopluk association in Prague, at which former President Miloš Zeman and MP Jindřich Rajchl (SPD) spoke alongside the sanctioned Russian political scientist Fjodor Lukjanov — according to Pavel, "whoever puts Russia before Czechia is not a patriot," Seznam Zprávy reported. Seznam Zprávy ↗ ODS chairman Martin Kupka reacted to the participation by saying that Rajchl "is curing his insignificance with grandiose talk" and called him a "Kremlin collaborator"; he also called on Prime Minister Babiš to officially distance himself from his coalition MP's participation, Forum24 reported. Forum 24 ↗

Babiš stands by his statements about judges, union demands evidence or an apology

At an ANO movement rally in Havířov, Prime Minister Babiš criticized the independence of the courts and called the verdict in the Stork's Nest case a "verdict made to order," while hinting at the existence of a judicial "mafia" — the Judges' Union is demanding that he either substantiate his claims or withdraw them, but on Monday the prime minister stood by his words and continues to call the Stork's Nest case a political trial, ČT24 reported. ČT24 ↗ According to Forum24, at Monday's press conference after the cabinet meeting, Babiš declared that "once the traditional parties found out I wasn't stealing, they made up Stork's Nest." Forum 24 ↗ According to Novinky.cz, judges are taking the prime minister at his word and want to meet him in person to clarify his questioning of the judiciary. Novinky ↗ In Prague, hundreds of people also demonstrated on Wednesday evening in favor of mandatory training for judges in cases of sexual and domestic violence, Novinky.cz reported. Novinky ↗ Babiš went after judges over suspended sentences for serious rape cases — according to him, it is precisely such judges who undermine trust in the judiciary, Aktuálně.cz reported. Aktuálně.cz ↗

Related to the same topic is a change to the statutes of the government's advisory councils, which, according to the cabinet, are now to reflect the commitments made in the government's policy statement — MP Barbora Urbanová (STAN) fears that the councils will thereby lose their independence and their ability to push through changes such as redefining rape or training judges, while government human rights commissioner Taťána Malá (ANO) defends the change as improving efficiency, Seznam Zprávy wrote. Seznam Zprávy ↗

Budget approved with the second-highest deficit in history, fuel regulation returns in October

On Monday, the government approved next year's state budget with a deficit of CZK 386 billion, three billion less than the original August proposal, with revenues expected to reach CZK 2.199 trillion and expenditures CZK 2.585 trillion, Aktuálně.cz reported. Aktuálně.cz ↗ Despite the reduction, it is the second-highest deficit in Czech history, and former Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said that no economic argument could justify such a deficit during a period of growth — "it would make a great scenario for a political sitcom. In raw reality, though, it's a very expensive joke," iDNES.cz wrote. iDNES.cz ↗ An economist consulted by Novinky.cz went even further, warning that "once Czechia goes bankrupt, Babiš will be laughing at us from his château." Novinky ↗ The government also approved a pension increase averaging CZK 304 and a one-off payment of CZK 2,000 for pensioners, ČT24 reported. ČT24 ↗

Starting October 1, daily regulation of fuel prices will also return — the Ministry of Finance will set maximum prices with a margin of CZK 2.50 per liter, and the excise tax on diesel will drop from CZK 9.95 to CZK 8.011 per liter, a decrease of about one-fifth, Deník.cz reported. Deník ↗ The state is also introducing, for two years, an extraordinary tax on refineries amounting to 50 percent of the increase in their gross margin compared to 2025, which, according to Deník, should bring in about CZK 5.5 billion a year. Deník ↗

Under the radar

Prime Minister Babiš appointed his longtime tax advisor Jan Čapek to head the investment group Hartenberg Holding, which has annual revenues of around CZK 23 billion — this happened back in April, and it brought Čapek into the narrow circle of people to whom Babiš has entrusted oversight of his assets, while the European Commission, according to Deník N, has repeatedly pointed out that the prime minister still has not adequately resolved the risk of his conflict of interest. Deník N ↗ Former deputy regional governor Unucka was finally convicted of rigging public contracts — he received a suspended sentence and a fine of CZK 2.5 million, iROZHLAS reported. iROZHLAS ↗ Dagmar Havlová handed over the license to her husband Václav Havel's legacy to the Prague Municipal Library, which will now be responsible for spreading it, Aktuálně.cz wrote. Aktuálně.cz ↗ In Romania, former pro-Russian presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was detained, Novinky.cz reported. Novinky ↗ Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov won regional elections with 99.85 percent of the vote, according to the election commission, Novinky.cz writes. Novinky ↗ KDU-ČSL chairman Jan Grolich declared that this year's elections will be a milestone and that his party, despite three-percent poll support, is aiming to lead future coalitions as well, iDNES.cz reported. iDNES.cz ↗ Foreign Minister Petr Macinka called in New York for greater dialogue with India, which he says Czechia needs as a partner, iROZHLAS reported. iROZHLAS ↗ Associations of towns and municipalities from Czechia and Slovakia signed a memorandum in Brno on deepening mutual cooperation, Protext reported. Protext ↗

What hotinfo is following

Whether Fico will return to the subject of NATO commitments, and how the alliance's leadership will react to his words.

How the Judges' Union will react to the fact that the prime minister has not withdrawn his statements about a judicial "mafia," and whether he will eventually meet with them.

Whether the change to the statutes of the government's advisory councils will, in practice, limit their ability to push through changes such as redefining rape.

How the regulation of fuel prices will actually play out at filling stations starting October 1.

What happens next with the appointment of Jan Čapek to head Hartenberg Holding, given Babiš's possible conflict of interest.