Small and medium-sized companies can now receive free professional support to help them recover from the effects of the COVID crisis DoToho! is a new Czech platform aimed at providing small and medium-sized businesses in Prague with support from experienced mentors and experts. The program is free of charge and its ultimate goal is to help restart the Czech economy after COVID. According to a press release by the City of Prague, Mayor Zdeněk Hřib voiced his support for the program: “When I walk through the city centre, I am offered a sad view of closed places without customers. The loss of income also had a significant effect on the construction sector. I believe that selfless professional help for entrepreneurs within the DoToho initiative! will help them to cope with the situation and start their business again.” How does it work? Small and medium-sized businesses have been identified as those which have a turnover of 3-300 million CZK and at least 3 employees. These preferably Prague-based companies are now given the chance to sign up to the DoToho! program to receive professional advice, support, and training. Each company will be assigned a mentor who will provide them with the help they need two hours a week for two months. The mentors...
As of March 18, 2021, Prague councilors approved stricter rules regarding buses’ entry into the city center, whilst trucks over 3.5 tonnes are prohibited. Moreover, the new rules are to drive out irregular sightseeing tours for tourists, often operated by decade-old buses. Tourist buses will need to have a clear route and timetable. From 1st of July next year, they will also have to meet at least the Euro 6 emission standard. For a diesel vehicle to be Euro 6 compliant, it can’t emit more than 80mg/km of NOx (nitrogen oxides) gases, while a petrol vehicle can emit no more than 60mg/km. According to the city management, before the pandemic, the intensity of commercial bus traffic was such that the center was jam-packed and saturated. Councilors were also guided by efforts to improve the atmosphere, “When people from all over the world start to discover the beauties of Prague again, tourist bus operators will no longer do what they want in the streets of Prague,” says Scheinherr. The regulation of bus transport in the center of Prague took place in the 1990s. In 1999, a zone was established for the prohibition of entry of trucks over 3.5 t and buses. Operators may, however,...
The Czech Republic is known for its solid infrastructure, a highly educated and skilled workforce, and relatively low living costs and wages. Its location means it acts as a ‘gateway’ to other hubs like Berlin and Vienna, there is a strong presence of innovation hubs, incubators, and accelerators (think Startup Yard). Whatsmore, a whole host of big corporates have set up shop here, such as Microsoft, eBay, and Skype. Below you can find a list of companies working on innovative solutions and showing positive signs like closing recent funding rounds, that we will be watching in 2021. Resistant AI – This startup protects the machine learning system from adversarial manipulation and advanced fraud. Deployed on top of existing systems, Resistant AI provides a typical security layer for financial services, such as protecting payments and detecting fraud or money laundering — and also detects forged documents or spots sophisticated attackers attempting to copy the underlying ML model. Last year, the firm raised $2.75 million in a round co-led by Index Ventures and Credo Ventures. Smartmockups – This startup began as a side project in 2016 when two guys were both looking for a tool to present their website and app designs to clients in a professional...
The Czech government has agreed to extend restrictions on movement among districts beyond March 21 until further notice as the coronavirus pandemic ebbs slowly, Health Minister Jan Blatny said on Thursday. The restrictions, introduced at the beginning of March on top of the closure of schools, shops, and most services and compulsory wearing of FFP2 masks, ban people from moving beyond district boundaries except for work commute and other serious reasons. However, the government decided on Thursday to partially relax the pandemic measures. It will be possible to do sports anywhere in one’s district, not just in one’s municipality as at present. People who have already been vaccinated can also now visit the hospital without undergoing a test. The current restrictions have been in place since the beginning of March, when the government said they would be valid for three weeks. The number of newly infected is slightly declining. The health ministry recorded 10,576 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday, 6% below the level reported a week earlier. On Monday afternoon, the government approved mandatory antigen testing in companies with 10 to 49 employees. As for larger companies, the testing is mandatory once per week, with exemptions for employees who have...
The United Kingdom officially left the EU on 1 January 2021. The exit was drawn-out and chaotic. It was also uncertain for a long time whether the UK would manage to strike a deal with the EU or not. Therefore, it is no wonder that many British nationals living in Czechia or planning on living in Czechia still aren’t sure what the rules and obligations are. The COVID-19 crisis has complicated matters even more. Are you a British citizen living in Czechia? The following article aims to help you find some sense in the chaos. Visas and Residency Were you a legal resident of the Czech Republic prior to 1 January 2021? According to the Ministry of the Interior website, if you had the right to free movement before Brexit, there is not much that changes for you post-Brexit. You get to keep your existing residence rights on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement. However, you need to obtain a residence document by reporting your residence to your local office of the Ministry of the Interior by 31 December 2021. To report, you’ll need a residence permit. This means either a certificate of temporary residence (for citizens staying longer than...
This year’s biggest open-air music event Metronome Prague Festival is postponed to 2022. This decision has been reached after a thorough and careful evaluation of the current circumstances related to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Although the situation is slowly improving, the lack of time until the originally planned June deadline makes it impossible to finalize work on such a large project. We believe the next Metronome Prague Festival will take place in all its glory June 23 – 26 next year. All the purchased tickets will remain valid,” said the organizers. A lot of large and important world events have officially been cancelled, and other events await this unpopular decision. There are several reasons for that, and they cross geographical boundaries and it is not certain how large the gathering capacities will be in each country or the hygienic requirements. “Under these circumstances, it would be irresponsible to consider holding the festival, which in five years of its existence has managed to gain a great reputation among music fans and artists. Just three months before the originally planned “start shot” it is not possible to compile a program due to these reasons.” The organizers of the Metronome festival commit to doing...
Germany has extended border control with the Czech Republic and Austria’s Tyrol region, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Wednesday, citing the current number of new coronavirus infections and more virus variant cases. “We decided today to extend border controls in mutation areas in the Czech Republic and Austria,” Seehofer said. The control was reinstated on February 14, following the introduction of a stricter lockdown in the Czech Republic. At the same time, the German state of Saxony has eased entry conditions for commuters from the Czech Republic, allowing workers who are essential to the operation of their employer to cross the border without having to quarantine. All commuters who are systemically indispensable for their employer can now enter Saxony. In this case, the employer fills in a form, which they have confirmed with the relevant provincial authority. However, the condition for entry is daily testing as well as an ongoing obligation to register.’ Latest statistics The health ministry recorded 11,928 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, 18% below the level reported a week ago. The official death toll has reached 24,117, a rise of 215 from Wednesday; the increase also includes revisions to previous days, according to ministry data. In...
The EU has presented plans to issue ‘digital green certificates’ allowing its 450million people to travel freely across the bloc this summer. The scheme, which will be discussed next week during a summit of EU leaders, will facilitate travel across Europe for people who have been vaccinated as well as others who have recently been tested or recovered from Covid-19. ‘We all want the tourist season to start. We can’t afford to lose another season,’ European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova told Czech public radio. ‘Tourism, and also culture and other sectors that are dependent on tourism terribly suffer. We’re talking about tens of millions of jobs.’ The commission proposed that its Digital Green Certificates, which should be free of charge, would be delivered to EU residents who can prove they have been vaccinated, but also to those who tested negative for the virus or have proof they recovered from it. The process for obtaining a certificate has not been confirmed, as the plan stated they will be issued by national health authorities. ‘Being vaccinated will not be a precondition to travel,’ the commission said. ‘All EU citizens have a fundamental right to free movement in the EU and this...
The European Commission said on Tuesday it allocated a EUR 1 billion (CZK 26 billion) loan to Czechia under the Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency (SURE) instrument to help the country in its job preservation efforts. The financing will help the country cover unexpected costs to preserve employment, such as rob retention programs that the country has introduced as a response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Commission said in a statement. The loan to Czechia is part of a financial package worth 9 billion euro that also includes loans to six other EU member states – Croatia, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovakia. This financial support is specifically targeted to assist member states to address sudden increases in public expenditure in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. This was designed to preserve employment, including self-employment and other related measures. It is a 15-year Loan. Specifically, the SURE instrument acts as a second line of defense, supporting short-time work schemes and similar measures, to help the Member States protect jobs and thus employees and self-employed against the risk of unemployment and loss of income. Loans are underpinned by a system of voluntary guarantees from Member States. Each Member State’s...
The future of the workspace is being molded as the global pandemic continues to force most working sectors of the world to adapt to the new norms of the pandemic. Over the past year, work had to become more flexible to adapt to new restrictions. A study by Deloitte explains that: more than 100 million employees in Europe have switched to remote working, with nearly 45 million making this change for the first time. During the pandemic, many employees experienced not only working remotely but a radical shift towards a more independent way of working. The new norms and alternatives to the classic work offices might encourage professionals who are not authorized to work in the office, with uncomfortable situations at home, to choose open spaces co-working structures. Some companies have adapted a new working model that allows employees to work remotely from wherever at least partially or fully in some cases. On that note, Coworking spaces become valuable for professionals seeking space to work without distraction, with a good internet connection and the possibility to be linked with different industry employees, so as to innovate. Shared offices are aligned with the new hybrid of work. Prague has around 21...
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’ governing party ANO has faced its first defeat in opinion polls since the last general elections held in 2017. According to a Kantar survey published by Czech Television, the Czech Pirate Party (Greens/EFA) took the lead with 22%, while ANO got 20.5%, with Pirates outcome set to be even higher, at 34%, when paired with their ally, the Movement of Mayors and Independents (EPP). The newly formed centre-right alliance reached 17.5%. The survey was conducted between the end of February and the start of March, when Babiš’ government imposed tighter COVID-19 restrictions, including the complete closure of schools and a ban on movement between Czech districts. The popularity of the Czech PM and his party has been dwindling since the beginning of the outbreak in March 2020. Speaking to Deník N, Kantar analyst Pavel Ranocha said the ANO party is losing voters to the Movement of Mayors and Independents, formed by municipalities’ leaders, who already had success in the October 2019 general elections.
Growing conflicts over government restrictions and measures are rising. This week, around 20 people in Smichov were busted for hiding in a bar on Saturday night of March 13. Recently, another confrontation made headlines, when a small business owner prohibited a woman to enter his shop with her child, even when the woman was wearing a mask. This happened at a pet store in Bruntál (Moravian-Silesian Region). The woman was banned from entering his shop because she refused to leave her child to wait for her outside shop. The woman filmed the conflict and posted the video on social media. According to government regulation, only one customer per 15 m² of sales area may be in stores, but for the small stores that do not even take up 15 m² square of space, this does not apply to children under 15 years of age, and for others to children under six years of age. The shop owner has been criticized and reprimanded for his actions, especially since the video of the confrontation between him and the woman surfaced online, but he persists and stands his ground. Reportedly, he has had a tragic experience in his family caused by the Covid-19...
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