Czech news in brief for September 1: Tuesday's top afternoon headlines recap

Only presented yesterday, the draft state budget for 2027 achieved the unthinkable: having President Pavel and Foreign Minister Macinka - as opposite as two Petrs could possibly be - agree on something. Here are the main news driving the day.

Presented yesterday, the draft state budget for 2027 and its record-high deficit of nearly CZK 400 billion still faces an uphill battle if initial reactions are anything to go by. "The [draft] budget does not seem good to me, the suggested deficit is really high considering that we are in a period of economic growth," commented President Petr Pavel, who holds a veto power.

Internal discontent. More crucially, criticism has come from the ruling coalition's own ranks, with Motorist leader and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka slamming the size of the planned deficit. Intense negotiations are expected in the coming weeks before the government approves the final version of the budget at the end of September.

Radio Prague International (RPI), the foreign-language broadcasting arm and website of Czech public radio, is set to lose all funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the draft state budget for next year. Foreign Minister Macinka had previously vowed to reduce RPI's budget by one-fourth in 2026 and completely cut all funding from 2027.

Uncertain future. It will still take weeks for the government to approve the final version of next year's budget. RPI's fate is also directly tied to the future of Czech public radio, whose own funding model reform - supposed to take effect from January - could very well be delayed.

At 3.3 percent, Czechia had the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union in July, according to the latest data published by Eurostat. Across the bloc, the average unemployment rate stood at more than 6 percent, with the highest rates found in Finland, Spain, Sweden and France.

Different methodology. Using a different method than Eurostat, the Czech Labor Office puts the local unemployment rate higher, at 5 percent in July, which would still make it one of the lowest in Europe.

Adidas will become the new supplier of jerseys for the Czech national football team, replacing Puma's 33-year monopoly, the Czech Football Association (FAČR) announced. The new jerseys will be presented in a week, and will be worn by the Czech national squad for the first time on September 26 during a Nations League match against Croatia in Prague.

Fans await. Apart from jerseys, the new collection will also include a host of sportswear, and will be available to fans for purchase in the coming weeks.

Approximately 177,000 dogs have so far been registered by their owners in the Central Dog Registry, which has been active for its first month and aims to centralize data about all dogs kept in Czechia, help find lost or stray dogs, and combat illegal animal trade. Failure to register your dog may carry a fine.

Pet-friendly Czechia. According to the Chamber of Veterinary Surgeons, between 2.2 and 2.5 million dogs could gradually be added to the registry - which corresponds to a rough estimate of the actual number of dogs in the Czech Republic today.