Czech PM Andrej Babiš removed his red “Strong Czechia” hat inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” cap from his social media accounts on Thursday after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. Babiš had professed support for Trump and told him on a 2019 White House visit he had “a similar plan to make the Czech Republic great again”. But Babiš, like Trump a businessman-turned-politician, has joined a chorus of European leaders expressing shock after Trump supporters stormed the building housing the U.S. Congress on Wednesday in a stunning bid to overturn his election defeat. Early on Thursday Babiš changed his longtime Twitter profile photo from an image showing him wearing his red cap to one with him wearing a respirator mask with the Czech flag on it, in an allusion to efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The Czech PM said in a statement, sent via a spokesman, that the red cap had been inspired by Trump and had been his ANO party’s symbol going into 2019 European Parliament elections. “After the unprecedented attack on democracy in the United States, which I have unequivocally condemned, I deemed it fit to express my stance also by changing...
Protesters will gather once again in central Prague on Sunday, January 10, to challenge restrictions adopted to combat the Covid-19 spread. “At the demonstration, we will announce the re-opening of the Czech Republic. We will not respect government measures that do not work, but on the contrary have caused a far more deadly pandemic of poverty, unemployment, and collapsing companies,” the co-founder of Chcipl PES David Biksadsky said. The organizers call on the participants to come with face masks and respect the peaceful nature of the demonstration. “We are not talking only about the gastronomic sector, but also hotels, artists, taxi drivers, fitness centers, suppliers, and many other groups of citizens who have suffered from quarantine measures. We want to give the government a clear signal that we are fed up with all of this,” said Janeček, who is a member of the Chcípl PES initiative. The Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček (ANO) invited the organizers to an online meeting, which will take place on January 13 and should also be attended by members of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Prague last Sunday, January 3rd, with...
The Czech Republic has the most e-shops per capita in the whole of Europe with 45,000 e-shops in operation by the end of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted both the operation and development of retail real estate markets worldwide, as well as in the CEE-17 countries. The Government restrictions imposed on the operation of shops, service outlets, gastronomy, entertainment, and leisure, have led to the dynamic growth of e-commerce sales and to changes in consumer behavior. These have also contributed to a 20-45% (depending on the country) decline in footfall figures in shopping centres, when we compared data from the middle of 2020. After the Czech Republic as a whole came through the first wave of COVID-19 with flying colours, retailers were looking forward to catching up in the autumn and Christmas seasons. However, as the second wave hit hard in October, the government reinstated the state of emergency and adopted the strategy of minimizing social contact. Therefore, only the most essential stores were permitted to be open for a limited number of days per week and must ensure a certain person per square meter ratio, on top of the now common hygienic measures. Non-essential retail was largely shut...
According to a survey conducted by Broker Consulting, almost every second Czech agrees with the statement that the economic crisis is in full swing and will cause a sharp increase in unemployment. However, about 30 percent of the Czech population does not perceive the situation to be so critical. Last year, 38 percent of respondents did not know whether they expected the economic crisis to come. This year, only five percent remained undecided. “The results show that the topic of the economic crisis associated with the coronavirus pandemic is resonating with Czech society and few have remained immune to it. The facts are that inflation reached 2.7 percent in November and unemployment climbed to 3.8 percent, the highest value since 2016. Thus, the data shows a deteriorating economic situation,” Michal Cibulka, from Broker Consulting’s financial planning methodologies, commented on the results. For 2021, a pessimistic view slightly prevails, with 28 percent of the Czech population expecting their situation to deteriorate more or less. In contrast, 24 percent hope for at least a slight improvement. “The good news is that 40 percent of Czechs do not expect their situation to change any more next year. But the reality will depend on how...
Establishments forced to close due to anti-coronavirus measures should receive compensation from the state of 400 CZK per employee or a cooperating self-employed person per day. The Covid – Gastro program was approved by the government on Monday, said Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček (Social Democrats). In addition to restaurants, also retailers, hairdressers, and casinos will be eligible for support. Restaurateurs will also be able to ask for state support, for example, for the wife, who works in the business. It will be possible to combine this state support with other support programs (Antivirus + Covid Rent II). The state will provide support to entrepreneurs whose activities were limited or suspended between October 14 and January 10, and its amount will be recalculated according to the number of days when they had to close their facilities due to government restrictions. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) will not compensate for public holidays or those days when the restrictions have been temporarily relaxed. The Ministry has not yet published the date from which it will be possible to request compensation or details regarding the submission of applications. Subsidy program called Covid – Gastro is intended to help the...
The Czech Telecommunications Office (ČTÚ) will launch a price and quality index for mobile services in February. The index will compare calls, SMS, and data services. For fixed location services (ie fixed lines), the consumer will be able to to compare the prices for calling, internet, and television services. At the same time, the ČTÚ is also preparing a decree, the aim of which is to determine the scope, form and manner of transmitting information from operators for the purposes of operating this tool. In recent years, domestic prices of telecommunications services, especially mobile data, have been criticized by some government officials as being higher than elsewhere in Europe. According to a 2018 EU Commission analysis, the average EU customer spends around 33 Euro on 20 GB of data, while Czechs would have to pay almost 55 Euro for the same amount. A 2017 study by the organization telefonujici.cz found that mobile tariffs in the Czech Republic were on average 79% higher than the EU average. The arrival of a fourth nationwide operator was supposed to contribute to their reduction. In the end, the three Czech mobile operators (Vodafone, T-Mobile, and O2 Czech Republic) won frequencies in an auction linked...
Blažek, famous Czech brand for menswear, has filed for insolvency. The company registers more than 150 creditors for a total debt of almost 87 million CZK. As iHNED.cz reports, the company’s founder is considering the entry of a new investor. The company became insolvent from the forced closure of stores during the first and second waves of the epidemic. Like many retailers, Blažek was already struggling with the shift to online shopping even before the pandemic struck this spring. The company benefited from an extraordinary moratorium, which partially stabilized its situation, but even then it was unable to meet its financial obligations. Blažek Prague reported a net turnover of 455 million CZK last year and currently employs 132 people. According to the official website, Blažek has 21 stores in the Czech Republic and 8 in Slovakia. Twice a year, they launch new collections, which are offered exclusively in its own network of branded stores. Blažek offers clothing for work, social occasions, and leisure time. In addition to suits, shirts, ties, coats, and jackets, the brand offers also pullovers, shirts, jeans, underwear and other accessories. About the brand Blažek was founded in 1992 by Ladislav Blažek who has fulfilled his dream...
European Union governments approved on Tuesday a trade deal regulating relations between the 27-nation bloc and Britain, paving the way for its provisional application from January 1, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček told the news agency ČTK. The deal, which preserves Britain’s zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU’s single market of 450 million consumers, was reached on December 24, 4-1/2 years after Britons voted by a slim margin in a referendum to leave the bloc. The approval is a formality after a deal between London and the EU last week. It is needed for the provisional application of the trade agreement from next year before it is ratified by the European Parliament by the end of February. The provisional trade deal is to be signed by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the chairman of EU leaders Charles Michel on Wednesday. Up to 100,000 Czech citizens are living in Britain according to unofficial data and more than 30,000 had applied for the settled status. U.K. nationals and their family members who resided in the Czech Republic before the end of 2020 can remain living in the country under the same rights and benefits provided for in EU legislation...
Zeman will be vaccinated as he considers the vaccine to be a way out of the crisis. According to Zeman, the vaccine is probably the only way out of the coronavirus crisis. He intends to get vaccinated, although not in front of television cameras. He thanked the government for its progress in the fight against the disease, although, he had dozens of reservations about the confusion caused by the representatives. “The vaccine is most likely the light at the end of the tunnel. And if the vaccine starts working over next year, we will be out of the worst,” the president said. During his vaccination, he will not do “any clown show with TV cameras”. “When people find out that the president has been vaccinated, this information is important,” Zeman said. In addition, Zeman called for a sensible marketing campaign to promote vaccination. He believes that the main reason for the Czech Republic’s delay in preparing for the vaccination of people is the frequent replacement of health ministers, when Adam Vojtěch, Roman Prymula, and Jan Blatný took turns in this position in a short time. “The slip can be caught up. There is no problem with the vaccine, the problem...
The government will take a final decision on the transition to the fifth level within the anti-epidemic PES system on Wednesday. “If the numbers will grow, the Czech Republic will enter the 5th level of the PES anti-epidemic system on December 25th,” said the Minister of Health Jan Blatný (ANO) after Monday’s government meeting. According to Novinky.cz, there would be no exceptions: all shops and services will close except those that sell basic goods. The fifth level introduces a stricter night curfew, which should apply from 9 pm. In the last few days, the situation in the Czech Republic has been deteriorating. “The growth of newly infected people continues. It is also due to the number of tests, but we cannot underestimate it,” the minister explained. The index remains at 76 points out of 100, the lower limit of the fifth level. The situation in hospitals is still stable so far, the facilities in the Moravian-Silesian region are the most burdened. Level 4 On December 18, the Czech Republic switched back to level four of the anti-epidemic PES system. Restaurants, hotels, and gyms are closed. Shops, services, and ski resorts are open. It is not permitted to consume alcohol in public, and...
A report on threats to the security of the Czech Republic was published by the Czech Security Information Service (BIS) at the end of November 2020. It was underlined that the activity of Chinese intelligence in the Czech Republic is becoming increasingly visible and that it is conducted in numerous different fields. As outlined in the report, the intensity and impact of the activity of the Chinese intelligence is not inferior to that of Russia, which has been considered the main threat of this kind to the country to date. However, there is an important difference between them – while Russia is trying to destabilize and defeat its rivals, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) wants to build a global, sinocentric community, so that other countries will recognize the validity of Beijing’s interests and “respect” PRC’s activities on the international stage. Moreover, according to the report, the Czech Republic has been a target of cyber activities conducted by groups related to China, such as APT15. It was also highlighted that in September 2019, the BIS was informed that most probably the Chinese cyberspy group penetrated the high-level infrastructure of the Czech company Avast, which deals with Internet security. Chinese intelligence...
As a result of a media-driven panic campaign, the former president says society suffers from “covidism”, says former president Václav Klaus to CNN Prima News. Klaus, who served as the Czech president from 2003 to 2013 and who is known for his Euroskeptic and sometimes contrarian views, said he believes that Czech society is currently in a series of two crises. On the one hand, according to him, we are facing a crisis of “moderate influenza-type illness”, which is Covid-19. On the other hand, we are also finding ourselves in a social crisis, which Klaus known as “covidism”, as most people, in his view, react to the current situation irrationally. The ex-president, however, emphasized that he did not want to downplay the seriousness of the disease, but emphasized that the media, which act as “panic boosters”, has created an atmosphere of fear that has driven poor policy decisions. “They managed to scare people,” he said, adding that he has grown used to seeing repeated shots of paramedics in “spacesuits”, patients in the ICU, and field hospitals being constructed on television screens. In addition, the entire pharmaceutical industry is benefiting from the current epidemic. “The pharmaceutical business lives on the joy of...
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