Without having any idea what would happen a few days later, Czech PM Andrej Babiš said after the cabinet meeting last Mon. that we're now seeing the result of Germany's welcoming policy toward illegal migrants. He was reacting to an upgrade of the security level in Germany. After an attack on Sat. in Berlin allegedly by a German-born Islamic terrorist, Babiš said that all such attacks are the result of uncontrolled migration and the policy of Wir schaffen das that Europe had for many years. Pres. Petr Pavel hasn't commented on the Berlin incident, but he told MFD two weeks ago that Czechs might envy Germany's level of average wages or social benefits, but certainly not its problems with migration, with minorities who are difficult to integrate or with the extremism that is associated with unmanaged migration. Most Czechs could agree with that statement, yet Pavel also said that the Czech approach to EU migration policy is one of the reasons some allies fear that the CR is moving away from Europe. Which raises an important question: If there is one day a United States of Europe, as Pavel prefers, will it have a German migration policy, or a Czech one?
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Mon, Jul 13, 2026
Petr Pavel brings in billions for CSG
Hollywood stars are sometimes ranked by the amount their movies make at the box office, and by this measurement, Dustin Hoffman was the biggest name at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival this year, with at least $3.3bn. That doesn't mean he's a billionaire, because films are always a team effort and also have high production costs. And so it is with the Czech ammunition program. According to CEO David Chour of Czechoslovak Group, it had cost Kč 100-110bn as of last Oct. (not counting administration and coordination costs), and 55-60% of the 3.7m shells had been made or sourced by CSG. Chour said that he thinks the idea for the program was a team effort and that among those involved were Tomáš Pojar, Jana Černochová, Petr Pavel and people around Pavel. Based on this, it would perhaps be possible to say that Pavel, as the face of the ammo program, has brought in more money for CSG than Dustin Hoffman has for his studios. But unlike Hoffman, Pavel is only getting started. At the Ankara summit, he told The Telegraph that we should consider capacity payments for arms makers. Then Pavel would even get credit for shells not produced.
Wed, Apr 29, 2026
Havel and Pavel's United States of Europe
If Czech TV, Czech Radio and other mainstream media are your chief sources of Czech news, you might not have heard that Pres. Petr Pavel considers the creation of a United States of Europe to be probably the only solution if Europe wants to remain relevant. When Pres. Václav Havel spoke about EU federalization in the French Senate in March 1999, his "shocking" words and his visit to Paris in general were dissected by the media from almost every angle, but not this time. It's almost exclusively the "alternative" media that are discussing Pavel's open call for EU federalization. Perhaps ČT, ČRo and others are waiting for a single Havel-like speech in which Pavel explains all his European ideas, including euro adoption, abolition of the EU veto, strengthening the European part of Nato and joining a German sphere of influence. And of course whether Pavel would follow in Havel's footsteps by running for office yet again after the reformatting of the country. Perhaps for governor of the new European state of Czechia.
Wed, Sep 10, 2025
Babiš's German problem
European natural-gas prices that were wholesaling at around €17 per MWh in 2019 are now about €33. An analysis by BCG found that a price of €60 would cause the margins of energy-intensive companies to turn negative, with the result that production would no longer be worthwhile. SKW Piesteritz chemicals of eastern Germany told Handelsblatt that a price of €60 is realistic and that the EU's Methane Emission Act could lead to a halt in gas exports to the EU because of reporting requirements that are viewed unfavorably by gas-producing countries (such as Qatar). Handelsblatt didn't mention that SKW is 100% owned by Andrej Babiš's Agrofert. That company doesn't break out individual results for SKW but has indicated in the past that it is key to Agrofert's financial health. This means that voters can probably believe Babiš when he says he wants to destroy the Green Deal entirely, permanently and without compromise. It also means the higher the gas price, the more his incentive to do so.