Czech morning news in brief: top headlines for June 2, 2021

Babiš conflict-of-interest case goes to European prosecutor's office

The European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO), which started operating in Luxembourg on June 1, will receive the conflict of interest case involving Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, a Czech representative of the told the iROZHLAS.cz. The EPPO is to deal with all major cases that have an impact on the EU budget, on which the prosecution started working after November 2017. In the Czech Republic, this will concern about 60 criminal cases. The European Commission and Czech police have been investigating Babiš’s suspected conflict of interest. EC auditors concluded that Babiš is in a conflict of interest because he controls the trust funds in which he transferred his property, primarily the giant Agrofert holding. Both Babiš and Agrofert reject any conflict of interest.

Charles University law students can report sexual harassment online

Students of the Faculty of Law of Charles University can now fill in an anonymous online form to say whether they have encountered cases of inappropriate behavior, the faculty said in a press release today. The news comes in reaction to the sexual harassment scandal involving TOP 09 MP Dominik Feri who studied at the faculty from 2015-2020. Police are investigating Feri, 24, on suspicion of rape and sexual harassment. Feri has apologized for his inappropriate behavior in some situations but said he had never committed sexual violence. Feri has resigned as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. The faculty said it had sped up the steps that are to enhance prevention of and solution to inappropriate conduct at the faculty, including sexual harassment and violence. The faculty said that Feri's accusations are serious and the conduct of which he is accused is unacceptable. As Feri has finished his studies, no disciplinary action can be taken against him, the law faculty dean said last week. Feri will defend his case in court.

Voter popularity gap between Pirates/STAN, ANO shrinks

The opposition Pirates/STAN would win the Czech elections with 24 percent of the vote in May, followed by PM Andrej Babiš's ANO party (23 percent), figures from a new election model released by the Median agency Tuesday show. The numbers reflect a shrinking difference between the front-runner and the runner-up's result. The voter preferences for the Pirate/STAN (Mayors and Independents) coalition has fallen by 3 percent and ANO's standing has risen by 2 percent since April. The third strongest entity would be Together, the center-right opposition alliance of the Civic Democrats (ODS), the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL), and TOP 09, which would gain 19.5 percent of the vote in May, compared with 17 percent in April. According to the poll, election turnout for May should be 64.5 percent, while 27 percent of those polled said they would definitely not take part in the elections. Czech general elections will take place October 8-9. Median conducted the poll on 1,072 respondents from May 1 to 31.

Czech tennis star Kvitová withdraws from French Open after injury

Czech tennis player Petra Kvitová has unexpectedly withdrawn from the French Open due to an ankle injury that occurred after a press conference following Sunday's victory in the first round. The no. 11 seed, made the announcement on Twitter. Kvitová, who defeated qualifier Greet Minnen after swatting off match points in the second set, is a two-time Wimbledon champ. In 2016 she suffered a debilitating hand injury during an attack by an intruder at her home in Moravia. The tennis star recovered and has gone on to have a successful career, winning the Qatar Total Open in 2021, her 28th career title.

H&M's secondhand platform expands into Czech Republic

Swedish fashion chain the H&M Group has announced the expansion of its secondhand platform Sellpy into another 20 European countries, including the Czech Republic in the stage of its rapid expansion since its launch in Sweden in 2014. Sellpy is now also available in Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, France, Lithuania, Portugal, Bulgaria, Ireland, Romania, and Slovakia. The start-up oversees the entire sales process from picking up clothes from sellers to photographing, selling and shipping. Sellpy said in a statement second-hand was one of the fastest-growing market segments within the fashion industry. It said more than nine million garments have been sold on its platform in total.