Daily news summary

Babiš says he believes prosecutor will halt Stork’s Nest investigation

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says he believes that the state attorney will halt his investigation on suspicion of abuse of EU subsidies in connection with Stork’s Nest, a hotel and conference centre near Prague.

He made the comment on Sunday, a day before the prosecutor is expected to announce whether criminal charges will be brought against the PM and members of his family, as the police have recommended.

Mr. Babiš said on the Prima TV station that if he is charged, he will remain in government. He denies any wrongdoing.

iRozhlas: PM and ministries at odds over EU presidency hires

Efforts to keep spending down could mean that the Czech Republic does not have enough officials to handle the country’s presidency of the European Union in 2022, the Czech Radio news site iRozhlas.cz reported. Individual ministries originally said they needed 600 new staff but the government says it will not provide funding for any more than 200.

iRozhlas said neither the Ministry of Finance nor the government possessed methodology or an analysis with regard to how to calculate the number of hires necessary.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said in July that the proposed intake of staff should be adequate to handle the EU presidency. He said the government’s top priority was state budget austerity.

Austrian politicians exploring legal action over financing of Dukovany completion

The deputy governor of Lower Austria, Stephan Pernkopf, and former Austrian minister of the environment Elisabeth Köstinger have not ruled out taking legal action against the Czech Republic at the EU over the financing of the completing of the Dukovany nuclear power station in Moravia, the Austrian daily Kurier wrote on Saturday night. Both politicians have criticised a positive environmental impact assessment issued on Friday for new nuclear units at the Czech plant.

The pair said they wanted to hear from the Prague government who would finance the construction project. Once they had done so they would ascertain whether it was possible to file a lawsuit over state support at the EU, Ms. Köstinger said.

The Austrian politicians are also opposed to the extension of the life span at Dukovany’s existing reactors.

Study: Czech prices have tripled since 1993

Prices in the Czech Republic have almost tripled since the foundation of the state in 1993, according to a new analysis produced by Raiffeisenbank. The Czech crown has strengthened by roughly a quarter in the same period, the study found.

Raiffeisenbank analyst Helena Horská told the Czech News Agency that if somebody had placed CZK 100 under their pillow in 1993 it would today get them around a third of the goods it would have then.

However, if they wished to spend the same sum abroad they could buy a similar amount as today, because prices abroad have grown at roughly the same tempo as the crown has strengthened, she said.

Over 100,000 children in Czech Republic to start school Monday

Around 107,800 children are set to enter first grade at schools around the Czech Republic on Monday morning. The total number of pupils at elementary schools will be roughly 953,500, which is approximately 12,500 more than in the previous academic year.

Secondary school students will number around 409,000, an increase of roughly 5,000 on the figure this time last year.

Czechs lose opening game at Basketball World Cup to US

The Czech basketball team lost their opening game at the sport’s World Cup in Shanghai 67:88 to title holders and five time champions the United States. The Czechs held their own for much of the encounter but fell short of achieving a sensation, despite the fact the Americans were without many star names.

It is the first time a Czech squad is participating in the competition in 37 years.

Above-average temperatures forecast for September

September should see above-average temperatures for the time of year, according to a regular four-week forecast issued by the Czech Hydro Meteorological Institute. This is despite the fact that the first week of the month will see temperatures fall to as low as 16 degrees following a number of days of 30+ degrees Celsius.

Precipitation in September should correspond to the long-term average, forecasters said.

Weather forecast

Monday is expected to be rainy in the Czech Republic, with maximum daytime highs of 19 degrees Celsius. Temperatures should be below 20 degrees Celsius for most of the week.