Fifty-seven thousand Ukrainian children and students have signed up to attend Czech schools in the new school year, according to Czech Education Minister Vladimír Balaš. At the start of June, it was estimated that 130,000 Ukrainian students and children were on Czech territory. However, it is still unclear how many children will start attending school. The capacity of schools should be sufficient in most places in the Czech Republic, thanks to the law amendment called Lex Ukraine II, allowing principals to create separate classes. For the 2021-2022 school year, about 965,000 primary school pupils have enrolled, statistics from the education ministry show. In the last school year, only a fraction of Ukrainian children attended classes – 19% of children were enrolled at the kindergarten level, while 38% were at the primary school level. Low parental awareness was a barrier to the participation of Ukrainian children in lessons, as were rejections by schools and kindergartens. The situation was also complicated by the ongoing Ukrainian online classes. Some Ukrainian principals insisted on “distance” attendance for their students, including those in exile. This overlap, therefore, led to pupils focusing exclusively on online learning from Ukraine. The positive news is that according to the PAQ Research study,...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. The Czech Interior Ministry will give out 200 million crowns to regions for running their assistance centres of aid to Ukrainian refugees that the regions have so far funded from their own budgets, the ministry has written on its website. . The amount of money Czechs donated to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion six months ago has exceeded 4 billion Kč (over €160 million), the Czech News Agency (CTK) reported. Czech senior opposition ANO deputy group leader Alena Schillerova handed a proposal for convoking a lower house session on a no-confidence vote in the government, signed by 74 MPs, to lower house head Marketa Pekarova Adamova (TOP 09). Out of the 74 MPs signing the motion, 56 were from ANO and 18 from the junior opposition Freedom and Democracy (SPD). Defence ministers of Czechia, Poland and Slovakia signed a joint declaration on Saturday that, starting from September, Czech and Polish aircraft will help Slovakia in the defence of her skies, Czech Radio reports. Canoeist Gabriela Satková won the water...
The Prague City Court declared bankruptcy on Sberbank CZ, the Czech subsidiary of the Russian Sberbank. In late July, the court launched proceedings in the Sberbank CZ bankruptcy case. The bank is insolvent and, according to June’s data, it has overdue liabilities of more than EUR 2.3 million. On 6 October, the Prague City Court will hold a second hearing on the lawsuits filed by creditors. “During bankruptcy, the debtor’s assets are sold, and the proceeds are distributed among his creditors,” the report reads. In early May, the Czech National Bank (CNB) revoked Sberbank CZ’s banking license, after which the Prague City Court took appropriate measures to liquidate the bank. With measures to revoke the license, the Central Bank of Ukraine reacted to the deterioration of the situation in the Sberbank subsidiary due to the outflow of deposits in the wake of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. As reported, in July the European Union extended sanctions against the Russian Sberbank as part of the seventh package of economic restrictions. Sberbank closed its branches in the Czech Republic on February 25. The 25 branches of Sberbank CZ, which is part of the Sberbank Europe group, have a customer base of 120,000 people. Sberbank...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. The Czech Interior Ministry will give out 200 million crowns to regions for running their assistance centres of aid to Ukrainian refugees that the regions have so far funded from their own budgets, the ministry has written on its website. . The Czech Republic and Ukraine plan an agreement on cooperation in education to harmonise their steps in instruction that is to be signed in the autumn. According to the original estimates, up to 130,000 pupils from Ukraine were expected to start attending schools in the Czech Republic in the new school year. The Czech civil servants trade union ended the strike alert it had declared in support of its demand for a pay rise in early June, its leader Pavel Bednar told journalists today, following the Czech government decision to increase the relevant salaries. The frozen salaries will be raised by 10 percent as of September not only for people working in the public sector but also for civil servants. At the upcoming Expo 2025 world exhibition in Osaka, Japan, Czechia is...
Russians traveling to the European Union will have to pay more and withstand additional bureaucracy to obtain a short-term visa, according to a compromise solution aimed at allaying member states’ differences on how far restrictions should go. The Czech government, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, will propose fully suspending visa-facilitation agreements with Russia and Belarus at a meeting of foreign ministers in Prague next week, according to Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky. That move would fall short of a ban for tourists called for by members including Estonia in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It would still allow Russians and Belarusians to apply for short-term entry. But it would increase processing times for visas, require more documentation and raise costs to 80 euros ($80) from 35 euros. Germany is among governments that have pushed back on the kind of across-the-board visa restrictions backed by the Baltic states, who have complained about an influx of Russian tourists this summer since Moscow lifted Covid-19 restrictions in July. Lipavsky acknowledged this week that member states were divided on this issue. “Receiving a European tourism visa is a privilege, not a human right,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told journalists in Tallinn...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. Czechia wants to help Georgia enter the EU, Czech ambassador to Georgia Petr Mikyska told CTK without specifying what steps the Czech Republic could take as the leading EU country this half-year. Georgia did not gain the status of the EU candidate at the summit this June, unlike Ukraine and Moldova. . The Czech Interior Ministry will give out 200 million crowns to regions for running their assistance centres of aid to Ukrainian refugees that the regions have so far funded from their own budgets, the ministry has written on its website. The Czech Republic has sent military material worth 3.8 billion crowns to Ukraine over the six months of the war and it is also helping the wounded soldiers. Along with the government help, the provisioning of the Ukrainian military has also been joined by Czech firms. Helicopters, tanks, howitzers and missile launchers delivered by the Czech Republic were used in Ukraine in the past months. The Czech Republic has sent 5.9 billion crowns to war refugees from Ukraine in the form...
On Wednesday, August 23, the Czech government approved the so-called “energy tariff” program. It consists of the provision of state assistance to all private consumers with the payment of bills for electricity, gas and heating. On average, households will receive CZK 15,000. Part of the program is the abolition of the mandatory fee for the development of renewable energy (poplatek za obnovitelné zdroje elektřiny). Consumers will be exempt from this fee until the end of 2023. In total, households with low energy consumption should receive CZK 11,000, those with medium consumption around CZK 14,000 to 15,000 and those with the highest rates of consumption CZK 18,000, Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela said on Wednesday. Currently, the government is preparing a website with a special calculator, where residents can find out the amount of assistance specifically in their case. It will be launched on the website of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. The energy-saving tariff will take the form of a subsidy from the state budget intended for energy suppliers, who will then reduce payments to households by this subsidy. Assistance will be provided gradually throughout the winter season. Consumers will notice the first discounts on invoices in...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. The Czech Health Ministry has signed a contract with the Pfizer US firm for the supplies of the Paxlovid antivirotic used for the treatment of COVID-19 until the end of this year and its first supply is to arrive in Czechia in September, ministry spokesman Ondrej Jakob told CT today. . The number of illegal migrants entering Czechia across the Slovak border has increased this year. Mostl of them are Syrians coming from Turkey and heading for Germany and Austria. The Interior Ministry increased the number of places in the refugee facilities and wants to tighten the penalties for people-smugglers. Frozen wages will be raised by 10 percent as of September not only for people working in the public sector but also for civil servants, trade union leaders and government party heads agreed today. This pay rise will cost the Czech state 1.1 billion crowns by the end of the year. The Czech Republic has sent 5.9 billion crowns to war refugees from Ukraine in the form of humanitarian benefits in the six...
Czechia would like to be a leader in the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, and the key task is to secure European finances for this purpose, Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Sikela said on Monday. According to Czech News Agency, Sikela, while talking to a meeting of Czech ambassadors in Prague, said the Ukrainian side presented a document defining their needs related to the renewal of critical infrastructure in the wake of the Russian invasion. Sikela added that his Ministry has established “Business Club Ukraine” as a platform to connect the information about Ukraine’s demand with Czech companies’ offers. “We are also cooperating with the Foreign Ministry on a joint document concerning the reconstruction,” he said. Other countries have started to help as well. In early August, the reconstruction of Ukrainian schools and kindergartens began during a visit by Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu to Kyiv. The Albanian capital of Tirana will also assist in rebuilding schools and providing expertise gained following the 2019 earthquake which destroyed hundreds of educational institutions. Moreover, last week President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed an agreement deal that will provide for the participation of the Turkish side in the reconstruction process of...
If you live in a city, you’ve probably had the experience of waking up at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. to the sound of a garbage truck rumbling outside your apartment, pumping diesel exhaust through your window. If you live in Brno, however, that experience may soon change: the city now has the country’s first electric garbage truck, which runs on a nearly silent motor, and plans to slowly phase electric vehicles into its full fleet. The technological Volvo FE Electric truck battery is charged in 2 hours. A full charge is enough for 200 km, and at -10°C – for 70 km. But even this reserve of power will suffice for a standard eight-hour shift. The electric truck can transport up to 13 tons of garbage per day. At the moment, it is in operation in the areas of Židenice, Slatina and Černovice. Mayor’s Office plans is to buy several more trucks (one unit costs CZK 12 million). “A typical garbage truck drives about 2,000 kilometers a month and burns 450 litres of diesel fuel. The electric garbage truck does not produce emissions at all, which means it does not cause discomfort for passers-by or its crew,” said Deputy Mayor...
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix. The minister of industry and trade, Jozef Síkela, told an annual gathering of diplomats in Prague on Monday that Czechia aimed to be a leader in the post-war renewal of Ukraine. The minister said that Ukraine had prepared a document outlining the repair of critical infrastructure that will be required. . German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is due to make a one-day visit to Prague next Monday, August 29. It will be his first trip to the Czech capital since becoming Germany’s leader in December. This year, the State Agricultural and Food Inspection Authority (SZPI) has revealed exceptionally high proportions of substandard ice cream and ice in drinks. In interim checks carried out until mid-August, 56 percent of ice cream samples and 75 percent of ice samples failed. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala starts his regular round of visits to the ministries to assess their work on Tuesday, beginning with the Transport Ministry headed by ODS deputy chairman Martin Kupka. A visit to the Education Ministry headed by Vladimr Balas will follow. The...
“It is not permissible for the elderly to spend 100 percent of their time in spaces at 20°C and below,” states Daniela Lusková, vice-president of the Association of Social Service Providers. The proposed regulation of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade, according to which schools, hospitals, and households will have to reduce their temperature by up to six degrees Celsius due to the energy crisis, is causing outrage. The operators of homes for the elderly criticized the draft legislation because, according to them, the proposed temperatures are too low for older people. The proposed regulation includes a temperature reduction in the bathrooms and rooms of these facilities from 24 to 20 degrees. The ministry defends itself by saying the proposers consulted with health professionals. “It is not permissible for the elderly to spend 100 percent of their time in spaces at 20°C and below. It is life-threatening to bathe frail seniors in a room heated to only 20 °C when they get cold quickly,” said Daniela Lusková, vice-president of the Association of Social Service Providers. The Ministry of Industry and Trade responded to the daily Právo’s question regarding how the temperatures in the draft regulation were set, referring the editors to the...
Don’t have an account? Register
[swpm_registration_form level=”6″]
Already have an account? Log In
How Would You Like to Promote Your Business? PR ArticleDisplay bannersVideo productionNewsletter adsJob ListingsInfluencer Marketing
Your Email
We will come back to you within 24 hours with our proporsal
