On 16 June 2026, the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, accompanied by First Lady Eva Pavlová, visited the National Atmospheric Observatory Košetice operated by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) as part of an official visit to the Vysočina Region.
The Košetice Observatory is one of Europe’s leading sites for long-term monitoring of atmospheric composition, air quality and environmental exposures. The station is a key component of the Czech ACTRIS-CZ infrastructure and serves as an important point of collaboration between the European research infrastructures ACTRIS, ICOS and EIRENE.
For EIRENE, Košetice represents a strategically important observation site where environmental measurements and monitoring activities contribute to a better understanding of human exposure to environmental stressors. The long-term, high-quality datasets generated at the station support research on the exposome—the totality of environmental exposures affecting human health throughout life—which is at the core of EIRENE’s mission.
Coordinated by RECETOX at Masaryk University, EIRENE is developing a pan-European research infrastructure that advances exposome research and supports studies on the links between environmental factors and human health. Collaboration with environmental research infrastructures such as ACTRIS and ICOS is essential for integrating high-quality environmental observations into health-related research.
During the visit, President Pavel was introduced to the observatory’s activities in meteorological observations, air quality monitoring and long-term measurements of atmospheric composition. The programme also included a tour of the atmospheric monitoring station and its 250-metre measurement tower, one of the most important facilities of its kind in Central Europe.
The presidential visit highlighted the importance of long-term environmental observations and the value of collaboration among European research infrastructures. For EIRENE, the recognition of the Košetice Observatory by the President of the Czech Republic underscores the significance of the measurements and data that support research on the environment–health nexus and contribute to evidence-based policies for protecting public health and the environment.
The EIRENE IMP project was officially launched during a two-day hybrid kick-off meeting held on 25–26 June 2026 at the Technology Centre Prague. The opening event brought together project partners, representatives of national nodes of the EIRENE RI research infrastructure, and project managers from the beneficiary and the European Commission.
