The Ministry of Foreign Affairs could get rid of the Štiřín castle, as it has no use for it

Prague - The utilization of the Štiřín Castle by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is almost nonexistent. The goal is to terminate the activities of the contributing organization and return the assets and everything associated with it to the state. This was stated by the state secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radek Rubeš, at today's meeting of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee.

"Štiřín is a non-profit organization for the ministry; we do not see a significant benefit in continuing the relationship as it is set up. The goal is to terminate the operations of the contributing organization Štiřín and settle the obligations that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has," Rubeš said. "At the same time, to return the assets, meaning buildings and what is associated with them, back to the state," he added.

According to information from the ministry on the website, the law on the property of the Czech Republic imposes an obligation on the ministry to first make an offer to other state authorities. Only if no addressed entity shows interest in the castle can the government approve its permanent unnecessariness for the state. The ministry would then have to prepare at least two cost assessments.

The Štiřín Castle in Kamenice near Prague is established as a state contributing organization that falls under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It serves as a conference center or as a hotel. In the past, there was an effort to transfer the castle under the management of the Chamber of Deputies, but it was unsuccessful. While in previous years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contributed tens of millions of crowns annually to its operations, it is not counting on that in the budget for next year.