Petr Pavel and Andrej Babiš agree to resume foreign policy meetings

Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš have agreed to resume regular meetings to coordinate foreign policy. This agreement follows months of tension between the presidency and the government, which included a dispute over the President's participation in a NATO summit and a subsequent constitutional legal challenge regarding the division of powers.

Despite the agreement to meet, significant friction remains. President Pavel has stated he has no intention of withdrawing his constitutional lawsuit to clarify the competencies of the head of state versus the government. Furthermore, tensions persist between Pavel and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka; while Pavel dismissed Macinka's provocative statements as 'folklore,' the Minister has criticized the President's actions.

Separately, Prime Minister Babiš has advocated for increased cooperation within the Visegrád Group (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary) to defend Central European interests within the EU. He has also criticized the EU's Green Deal, claiming it has cost Czech industry approximately 6.5 billion euros.