Czechia

What the government has said

“We do not consider the Commission's original proposal acceptable; it would lead to disproportionate interference with private communication.”Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar, 25 July 2026, translated from Czech

Receipt: Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar, 25 Jul 2026 (Echo24)

Both the Fiala and the Babis governments are on record. Prague voted against the mandate over encryption, backed Chat Control 1.0 in July 2026 and says it has no position yet on the permanent law. On 17 Sep 2026 the Chamber’s European Affairs Committee rejected any general content detection and any blanket undermining of end-to-end encryption.

How it voted in the Council

Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025

no The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.

Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026

yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.

A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.

How its MEPs voted

On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 21 MEPs elected in Czechia, 12 voted to reject it, 4 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 5 did not vote.

• 12 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
• 4 against rejection, letting the text pass
• 0 abstained
• 5 did not vote

The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.

Who decides in Czechia

Minister

Lubomír Metnar, Minister of the Interior; gave the government line of 25 Jul 2026. Justice Minister Jeroným Tejc

Ministry in charge

Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice

Permanent representation

Ambassador Vladimír Bärtl, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Ambassador Štěpán Černý, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)

National parliament

Chamber of Deputies: its European Affairs Committee (resolution 107, 17 Sep 2026) rejects any form of general content detection in interpersonal communication services (so-called Chat Control) and any blanket undermining of end-to-end encryption, and supports targeted, judicially reviewable and voluntary tools. It replaced the committee’s 2022 opinion, which had backed the then government’s position on binding detection orders

Source: vlada.gov.cz/cz/vlada/clenove-vlady/

Timeline

1. 1 October 2026The Council circulates resolution 107 to the delegations as ST 13900/26, with an English courtesy translation; the Chamber of Deputies sent it on 30 September. source
2. 17 September 2026After a briefing by Deputy Interior Minister Zdeněk Mach, the European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies adopts resolution 107: it rejects any form of general content detection in interpersonal communication services (so-called Chat Control) and any blanket undermining of end-to-end encryption, and supports targeted, judicially reviewable and voluntary tools. source
3. Since 25 Jul 2026Recorded as against. Receipt: Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar, 25 Jul 2026 (Echo24) source
4. 23 July 2026Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Czechia: yes.
5. 9 July 2026European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Czechia: 12 for rejection, 4 against, 0 abstained, 5 did not vote. source
6. 26 November 2025Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Czechia: no.

Sources

• Interior Minister Lubomir Metnar, 25 Jul 2026 (Echo24) (receipt)
• Interior Minister Vit Rakusan on the government vote, 14 Oct 2025 (CTK)
• Vote against the mandate, 26 Nov 2025 (CTK)
• European Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, resolution 107, 17 Sep 2026 (PDF, in Czech)
• Council, ST 13900/26, 1 Oct 2026: resolution 107 with an English courtesy translation (PDF)
• Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, about the representation
• Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from