Photo: X of the Government of the Czech Republic
In October 2024, Czechia signed a treaty with the Vatican, becoming one of the last countries within the European Union to do so. Such a treaty has been a long time in the making, having been rejected by the Czech parliament back in 2003. The 2024 treaty, signed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in December, but has now met with criticism by members of the Senate, some of whom have recommended a review of it by the Constitutional Court. Dr Daniel Bartoň, an independent lawyer with a focus on religious freedom and human rights, and an assistant professor at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of Charles University, joined me to discuss the treaty and the objections to it.
Let’s start with a general question: we have Vatican City, this landlocked micro-nation entirely immersed within the city of Rome, with no exports or imports to speak of, no trade deals to make or anything like that – why then do countries sign treaties with the Vatican?.
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Author: Danny Bate