Politics & Economics

Czechia and Other 6 EU States Urge Faster EU Accession for Western Balkan Nations

The Czech Republic and six other EU countries have called for a faster process of EU enlargement into the Western Balkans. The declaration was adopted at the foreign ministers’ meeting in Austria on Friday, according to the APA Austrian news agency. The statement was jointly signed by Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky, and the foreign ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, and Italy. Schallenberg referred to the initiative as ‘Friends of the Western Balkans’. In a call for action directed towards the other member states of the EU27 and the European Commission, the signatories of the Gottweig Declaration are advocating for “gradual and accelerated integration with concrete steps for 2024 and beyond”. “We feel that the EU enlargement process has sometimes been too slow, complex, and bureaucratic,” said the group. The ministers assert that the process has yielded few tangible results so far, particularly for the people of these countries, especially the youth, leading to “disillusionment and alienation towards the EU”. The ministers also cautioned that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine poses a threat to both the EU and the Western Balkan countries. Furthermore, the recent violent events in northern Kosovo have demonstrated that unresolved tensions...

by Prague Morning Jun 26, 2023

Czech Agriculture Minister Set to be Ousted as Food Prices Remain High

The long-criticized Czech Agriculture Minister Zdeněk Nekula is set to be dismissed from his post later on Wednesday after a less than satisfactory performance in recent months, which was not helped by rising food prices. Government officials called an extraordinary press conference in the Chamber of Deputies for 2:30 p.m. where they are expected to announce that Nekula will be replaced by former KDU-ČSL party chairman, Marek Výborný. The move has been in the pipeline for several weeks, according to sources cited by the Echo 24 news outlet. Nekula has faced public criticism, and members of his own party have expressed concern over what they consider to be insufficient efforts by the agriculture minister in lowering food prices. Nekula sought to assert his position in a press conference on Tuesday in which he explained that food prices were 14.5 percent higher year-over-year in May, compared to almost 25 percent back in January. He did concede, however, that this doesn’t tell the whole story, revealing that staple food items continue to rise at considerable speed. “Some foods have even become more expensive compared to April,” he told the press, citing meat, dairy products, and vegetables as examples. Other critics took issue...

by Prague Morning Jun 15, 2023

High Inflation Sees Purchasing Power of Czech Workers Decrease by 7% in a Year

Wages across the Czech Republic have decreased by 6.7 percent in real terms over the past 12 months, according to data published on Monday by the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ). Despite the average gross salary increasing by 8.6 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2023, spiraling inflation in recent times has resulted in a decline in purchasing power for Czech citizens. Inflation has slowed more than expected over the past two months. The country recorded an annual inflation rate of 12.7 percent in April, down from 15 percent in March, while analysts had forecast a rate of 13.3 percent for April. However, food prices are still increasing at an annual rate of 17.3 percent, restaurant and hotel prices are 17.5 percent higher than last year, and housing and utility costs are up 17.6 percent; meanwhile, clothing and footwear prices are up 13.1 percent, while the cost of recreational activities has seen a jump of 12.9 percent. Real wage growth depends on consumer price growth. In the first quarter of this year, this reached 16.4 percent, the second-highest value this century in Czechia. The median wage rose in the first quarter compared to the same period of last year by...

by Prague Morning Jun 11, 2023

Number of Czech Tenants Defaulting on Their Rent Triples in a Year

The number of people in Czechia who cannot pay their rent is increasing, with cases tripling year-over-year in some areas of the country. A worsening economic situation and inefficient processes in relation to the rental market have led to a concerning rise in non-payments. Tenants often find it difficult to find alternative housing, resulting in an accumulation of debt, while landlords often experienced legal difficulties in evicting non-paying tenants, costing them significant time and financial resources. According to data from the Ideal Tenants service, the number of defaulters rose by 11 percent year-over-year in the last quarter of 2022 before rising by 34 percent year-on-year in January. “In the statistics we present, we consider a tenant as a defaulter when he owes more than one month and at least 500 crowns, in order to filter out possible small arrears that could have arisen through oversight,” spokesman Tomáš Skolek told Echo24. Both landlords and experts at the Ministry of Labor believe that legislative reform is required to enable the market to work more effectively. They claim that by reducing the default period required before a landlord can evict a non-paying tenant, landlords would be more inclined to offer longer-term contracts to tenants,...

by Prague Morning Jun 09, 2023

Czech Senate Backs Setting NATO Spending Target of 2% of GDP as Law

The Czech parliament’s upper house approved a bill on Wednesday that will set the state’s minimum defence spending at 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) from next year, matching its commitment to the NATO military alliance. European countries have ramped up their defence expenditure since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which had turned up pressure on member states that had not been meeting spending commitments. Czech defence spending is planned at 1.52% of GDP in 2023 but should rise to above 2% next year once the president signs the bill into law, expected in the coming weeks. Last week Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s centre-right government approved a plan to buy 246 infantry fighting vehicles CV90 for the Czech army for 59.7 billion crowns ($2.81 billion), or an amount equal to 0.7% of GDP forecast for 2024. Prague is also in talks with the United States on the possible purchase of F-35 fighter jets, while the defence ministry plans to buy around 70 Leopard 2A8 tanks from Germany. xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng đá arsenalbóng đá atalantabundesligacầu thủ haalandUEFAevertonfutebol ao vivofutemaxmulticanaisonbetbóng đá world cupbóng đá inter milantin juventusbenzemala ligaclb leicester cityMUman citymessi lionelsalahnapolineymarpsgronaldoserie atottenhamvalenciaAS ROMALeverkusenac milanmbappenapolinewcastleaston villaliverpoolfa cupreal madridpremier leagueAjaxbao bong da247EPLbarcelonabournemouthaff cupasean...

by Prague Morning May 31, 2023

Czech Senate Adopts Resolution Supporting Ukraine’s Fast-Track Accession to NATO

The Senate of the Czech Republic has adopted a resolution on supporting Ukraine’s accession to NATO under the fast-track procedure. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk announced this on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. “Yesterday (June 1 – ed.) the Senate of the Czech Republic adopted an important resolution on Ukraine’s accelerated accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization,” he wrote. Stefanchuk wrote that the adopted resolution, in particular, notes Ukraine’s demonstration of determination and readiness to defend Euro-Atlantic values. According to him, the document says that Ukraine’s victory in the war with the Russian Federation and Ukraine’s accession to NATO are in the interests of the Czech Republic’s security. The Verkhovna Rada chairman also noted that the resolution emphasizes that the Czech Republic supports the training of the Ukrainian military, the provision of weapons and other military equipment to Ukraine in coordination with its allies. In addition, Stefanchuk added that the Senate of the Czech Republic emphasizes in the resolution that the NATO summit in Vilnius should confirm a strong political commitment to Ukraine, because Ukraine’s accession to NATO will significantly strengthen the military potential of the Alliance and preserve the international order based on UN rules and regulations. The...

by Prague Morning May 31, 2023

Czechs Want to Stay in the EU, New Poll Shows

If the Czech Republic held a referendum on leaving the EU today, 63% of Czechs would vote to remain, a fresh survey conducted in one of the EU’s most eurosceptic countries found. The survey was conducted by the Europeum Institute and analytical agency STEM even though no such referendum is currently on the political agenda. Indeed, Czechs are generally optimistic about the EU, with 56% of respondents expressing this opinion. Still, they remain sceptical about introducing the common euro currency, as less than one in five said they favoured adoption, the Czech News Agency reported. Besides examining Czechs’ attitudes towards the EU, the survey also found that most Czechs still support welcoming Ukrainian refugees. According to Interior Ministry figures, there are currently some 325,000 in the country. Still, Jaromír Mazák, director of the STEM research agency, believes that while support for accepting Ukrainian refugees has been stable over time, it is quite fragile. “More than half of the public is concerned about the negative impact of migration from Ukraine on the quality of public services and the economy as a whole,” said Mazák, as quoted by the Czech News Agency. The survey found that 44% of Czechs are willing to help even at...

by Prague Morning May 24, 2023

Czech Government Cancel Soviet-Era Decrees Giving Russian Embassy Free Land

The Czech government on Wednesday cancelled Soviet-era decrees that granted the Russian embassy free use of land in Prague and other cities, a further step in a more than two-year diplomatic spat with Moscow worsened by the war in Ukraine. Prague had in 2021 accused Russian intelligence agents of being behind explosions at an arms depot in the Czech Republic in 2014, leading it to drastically reduce staff at the Russian embassy, then one of central Europe’s biggest missions and which continues to operate at a greatly reduced capacity. On Wednesday, the centre-right government rescinded orders granting Russia the use of dozens of plots of lands in the 1970s and 1980s by the country’s then Communist rulers. The Russian embassy in Prague did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Russia will now have to pay leases to use of the land, the foreign ministry said. “We overturned government decisions taken under the barrels of Russian tanks after the occupation of our country,” European Affairs Minister Martin Dvorak said on Twitter, referring the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion that tightened Communist rule in the country. “Unauthorised profits from the use of these land plots cannot be allowed to support the...

by Prague Morning May 17, 2023

Czech President Gives Ukraine’s Offensive High Chance of Success

Ukraine’s planned counteroffensive to win back territory occupied by Russia has a good chance of success but may bring high casualties if Russia uses its prepared defences well, Czech President and former NATO general Petr Pavel said on Friday. Pavel, 61, said in an interview that Ukraine needs support for NATO and European Union entry but joining either will be a lengthy process, though talks on the EU accession could start this year. Pavel, who was Czech army chief and also the principal military adviser to the NATO secretary-general in 2015-2018, said Ukraine would eventually get Western fighter jets it has been calling for but it was impossible to deliver them in time for the upcoming offensive, and there were higher priorities such as ammunition. “There is certainly high hope that the Ukrainian counteroffensive will be successful, because Ukraine is motivated, well prepared, its troops are experienced and certainly do not succumb to such deficiencies as the Russian army,” Pavel said at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency. The Russian army had severe problems in logistics and morale, but a collapse of defences should not be expected, he said. “Russia has had time to prepare a relatively high-quality...

by Prague Morning May 14, 2023

Czech Inflation at Its Lowest Since March 2022

Czech inflation slowed further in April to a headline rate of 12.7%, its lowest since March 2022, data showed on Thursday, possibly taking pressure off a central bank that has been weighing another interest rate hike. On a month-on-month basis, overall consumer prices fell 0.2%. The figures come after the Czech National Bank last week nearly renewed an interest rate hiking cycle that has been on hold since the middle of 2022. It voted 4-3 for stability, while those backing tighter policy had concerns over wage developments and loose fiscal policy. With the state budget deficit rising at a record pace so far in 2023, the government is set to detail a budget consolidation plan to cut the 2024 deficit by around 70 billion crowns ($3.30 billion) later on Thursday. Markets are pricing in little chance the central bank will raise interest rates again, after its 2021-22 tightening cycle lifted the base rate by 675 basis points to 7.00%. Analysts said April inflation data backed a view of no more rate hikes. “Inflation could fall even faster as cost conditions are improving,” Banka Creditas economist Petr Dufek said, citing easing gas prices and weakened demand as examples. Food prices rose...

by Prague Morning May 11, 2023

Czech Jobless Rate Falls to 3.6% as Expected

The Czech Republic’s unemployment rate dropped slightly in April, in line with expectations, figures from the labor office showed Wednesday. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in April, down from 3.7 percent in March. In the same month last year, the jobless rate was 3.3 percent. There were 261,700 unemployed people in April, compared to 273,500 a month ago. The labor office reported that by the end of April, job offices had registered a total of 284,530 vacancies. According to the latest Eurostat data, the Czech Republic still has the lowest unemployment rate in the entire European Union. Youth unemployment In March 2023, 2.763 million young persons (under 25) were unemployed in the EU, of whom 2.264 million were in the euro area. In March 2023, the youth unemployment rate was 14.3% both in the EU and in the euro area, down from respectively 14.5% and 14.4% in the previous month. Compared with February 2023, youth unemployment decreased by 33 thousand in the EU and by 14 thousand in the euro area. Compared with March 2022, youth unemployment increased by 105 thousand in the EU and by 91 thousand in the euro area. Unemployment by sex In March 2023, the unemployment rate...

by Prague Morning May 10, 2023

Czech President Supports Creation of War Crimes Tribunal for Russia

Czech President Petr Pavel has said he supports the creation of an international war crimes tribunal to hold Russia accountable for its atrocities in Ukraine, he said in a video address posted on Twitter on May 9. “It is important to investigate these crimes, which is why I unequivocally support the creation of the tribunal,” Pavel said. “It is a key step on the road to both peace and justice,” he went on to say. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke at an online summit of the Core Group international coalition of May 9 dedicated to the issue of establishing a special tribunal to investigate numerous Russian war crimes committed in Ukraine. All 37 participants of the summit “confirmed their resolve to hold Russia’s top leadership accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote later on Twitter. The European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe have also voted to support the creation of a special international tribunal. On Monday, May 8, Mr. Pavel and other leading state representatives honoured the victims of the Second World War at Prague’s Vítkov memorial on the occasion of the anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. In his speech, the president compared the conflict to...

by Prague Morning May 10, 2023

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