Czech news in brief for September 10: Wednesday's top headlines

Czechia will vote against an EU proposal requiring online services to scan users’ messages for child abuse material, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Wednesday. The government had initially planned to abstain, but officials decided to protect citizens’ privacy and freedom. The measure, proposed by the European Commission in 2022, would compel platforms like social networks and chat apps to alert authorities to illegal content involving minors. Fiala said the vote could take place in Brussels later this month.

Global car manufacturer Hyundai will hold three additional full-day shutdowns at its Silesian plant due to weak car sales, union members said Wednesday. The stoppages are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 22–23, and Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Last week, the plant had three non-production shifts, and earlier this year, it had four non-production days. Last year, the plant produced 330,890 cars, down 2.8 percent from 2023, with this year’s target around 295,000 vehicles.

Only 27 percent of Czechs aged 25 to 64 have tertiary education, well below the OECD average of 42 percent, according to a report presented this afternoon by the Ministry of Education. Vladimír Hulík noted that higher education attainment strongly depends on parents’ education, with 60 percent of children of university-educated parents completing university compared to 30 percent of children of parents with only secondary education. Expanding higher vocational schools could help close the gap with Western countries.

A Belarusian driver was sentenced Wednesday to seven years in prison for people smuggling after a Syrian woman suffocated in his truck, the Central Bohemia Regional Court said. The prosecution alleges that the Belarusian continued the transport even though he knew the refugees were in poor health. Stanislav Schalkouski, 30, denies knowing about the 30 refugees in the trailer. Judge Jiří Wazik described the chaos inside the truck as “inconceivable” and said Schalkouski was part of an organized smuggling group in Central Europe.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said today that dialogue with Israel is preferable to imposing sanctions on extremist Israeli ministers, echoing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s call. Fiala and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský noted there is no consensus on sanctions, which EU foreign ministers have debated for a year without support, and stressed that engagement is more effective than breaking relations. Spain, highly critical of Israel's actions, announced this week an arms embargo against Israel.

The European Commission said Tuesday that Czechia could secure over two billion euros (≈50 billion CZK) from the EU’s new Security Action for Europe (SAFE) program. SAFE offers low-cost loans to help member states purchase military equipment. Czech authorities have expressed preliminary interest, particularly for German Leopard 2A8 tanks, but a final decision is due by November. The Defence Ministry noted that financing is secured via the state budget even without SAFE.

A STEM survey shows 46 percent of Czechs perceive society as very or extremely divided, compared with 60 percent of Slovaks, according to a joint study with Slovakia’s DEKK Institute. The survey also found that 21 percent of Czechs know someone who now approves of using violence against political opponents, versus 36 percent in Slovakia. Pessimism about bridging societal divisions is higher in the Czech Republic, with 13 percent seeing ideological conflicts as insurmountable.

Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3, launched with the iPhone 17 and Apple Watch Series 11, now offer Live Translation, letting users speak naturally while the device translates in real time. The feature supports English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish, but Czech is not yet available. In the Czech Republic, the AirPods Pro 3 start at roughly CZK 7,490. Apple plans to add four more languages, including Italian, Japanese, Korean, and simplified Chinese, by year-end.

After final planning approval, Prague’s Václav Havel Airport will get its first underground railway station. Construction, costing CZK 6.5 billion, is set to begin in 2027 and take three years. The station will connect the airport to Prague and Kladno, with two platforms and direct access to both terminals. The wider Prague-Kladno line modernization, including ten structures, is expected to finish by 2029–2030.

Nearly 1,000 readers queued at Prague’s Old Town Hall for the launch of Dan Brown’s new Prague-set novel, The Secret of All Secrets. The event included 100 signed copies, music by the Prague Philharmonic, and talks from the author’s team. Prague City Tourism plans themed walking tours to sites featured in the book, including Klementinum, Folimanka shelter, and the Old-New Synagogue, aiming to boost cultural tourism in the city.