The Czech Government has allowed midnight mass on Christmas Day, but churches can only be partially filled. The Cabinet will also allow shops to remain open on Christmas Eve morning. On the contrary, there will be no relaxation of control measures on New Year’s Eve. After Thursday’s government meeting, Ministers of Health Jan Blatný (ANO) and Karel Havlíček (ANO) informed that “midnight masses will be allowed for all believers. But I ask everyone who goes to Mass to observe anti-epidemic measures, ” said Blatný. Churches can use only a fifth of the total seats. The Minister of Industry Havlíček added that the government will allow shops to remain open in the morning on December 25h. The night curfew will be in place on New Year’s Eve. According to Blatný, “New Year’s Eve can be celebrated even if the restrictions are respected.” The Czech government is set to ask the Chamber of Deputies to extend the current state of emergency past December 23, for another 30 days in view of the coronavirus situation. The Czech Republic’s total death toll from the coronavirus has surpassed 10,000, the Health Ministry reported on Thursday. The ministry reported 154 new deaths, including 48 on Wednesday and revisions...
Prague is not only one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, but it is also quickly becoming one of the most expensive ones, at least as far as property prices are concerned. The price of new buildings in Prague has risen by 81% in the past six years alone. Not even the current coronavirus crisis has shifted the real estate market and analysts expect the trend of ongoing price growth to perpetuate in the future. The people’s uncertainty regarding the evolution of the current situation alongside the government’s restrictions is conversely contributing to their quest to search for apartments to invest in, while the record-breaking mortgage sales seem to be encouraging them further. According to data provided by Deloitte, the price of new buildings in Prague grew by 81% in the last six years and analysts strongly believe that the lengthy legislative process of construction plays a big role in this. “We, unfortunately, have extremely bad construction regulations, building new apartments takes very long, and this leads to inadequate response from the supply side of the real estate market. This insufficiency then led to the price lunge,” says Senior Economist of BH Securities, Štěpán Křeček. Along with numerous...
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects the Czech economic recovery to be slow and to reach pre-crisis levels by the end of 2022, stated the Secretary-General Ángel Gurría during a regular presentation evaluating the Czech economy. In early December, the OECD said that the Czech economy would fall by 6.8 percent this year due to the spread of coronavirus. Next year, gross domestic product (GDP) should increase by 1.5 percent, and in 2022 its growth should accelerate to 3.3 percent. In the September forecast, the Czech Ministry of Finance expected economic growth of 3.9 percent next year. In the November forecast, the Czech National Bank expects the economy to decline by 7.2 percent this year and to grow by 1.7 percent next year. According to the National Bank, the performance of the Czech economy will not reach the pre-crisis level even at the end of 2022. The OECD expects both unemployment and the number of failing companies to rise gradually. The government should thus continue to support the economy until its full recovery. “The crisis has interrupted the period of strong economic growth in the Czech Republic and approaching the average level of OECD countries. After effectively...
The Ministry of Finance and the Czech National Bank will recommend to the government not to set a date for the adoption of the euro. The decision is based on information contained in this year’s “Assessment of the Fulfilment of the Maastricht Convergence Criteria and the Degree of Economic Alignment of the Czech Republic with the Euro Area”. It is the same advice the two institutions gave the government in the past years. The government of PM Andrej Babis (ANO) had indicated that it was not planning to adopt the euro currency during the current mandate. This year’s document states that the Czech Republic will this year most probably fulfill only one of the Maastricht convergence criteria – the criterion on long-term interest rates – in the unprecedented conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related global economic downturn. The Czech Republic will not meet the criterion of sustainability of public finances due to the public finance deficit. It should exceed six percent of GDP. The reason is the effects of the pandemic and the related increase in this year’s budget deficit to 500 billion CZK. Moreover, the country report one of the highest inflation rates in the EU and...
On Monday, 7 December 2020, the mayor of Prague Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) will take part in POLITICO 28, an annual ranking of the people with the greatest impact on politics and policy-making in Europe. Among the winners in three different categories, there are also the Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán, the French President Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the writer J. K. Rowling. The winners of each category will be announced at noon today (Monday, December 7th), as well as the general winner, the most influential European of 2020. “The POLITICO 28 is our guide to the most influential people in Europe to watch in 2021,” said Stephan Faris, enterprise editor at POLITICO, who led the project. “The only criteria is relevance – but that doesn’t mean the list doesn’t contain any surprises. Power in Europe is scattered among a large number of offices and institutions. It’s also constantly in flux, as new players flex their muscles, strike up unlikely alliances or stumble and fall.” The ranking is divided into three categories: Doers: The leaders whose train of energy and affect — or inaction — will drive...
Data published by the Czech Statistical Office in the Statistical Yearbook 2020 show that last year, the Czech Republic had the lowest unemployment rate in the EU for the fourth year in a row. The unemployment rate reached only two percent. Germany ranked second with a 3.2 percent unemployment rate, while Greece remained on the other end of the statistics with 17.3 percent. The EU average unemployment rate was 6.3 percent, while in the eurozone, it was 7.5 percent. The statistics also revealed that in that period, the Czech economy grew faster than the EU and the eurozone average of 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Last year, it grew by 2.6 percent. With 5.5 percent, Ireland’s gross domestic product (GDP) reported the fastest growth. Furthermore, according to published statistics, the standard of living in the Czech Republic last year approached the average level of EU countries. Gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity increased to 92 percent of the EU average from the previous 91 percent. This measure was lowest in Bulgaria, where it reached only 53 percent of the EU average. Despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment in the Czech Republic remains low. According...
Revised GDP data from the Czech Republic suggests that the third-quarter was slightly better than the first estimate. The economy grew by 6.9%, but the second wave of the pandemic will push the last quarter into contractionary territory again but the overall outlook for 2021 should improve as vaccines become available. Better figures than expected The Czech statistical office revised third-quarter GDP, and so the domestic economy grew by 6.9% quarter on quarter after plummeting by 8.5% in 2Q, and the year-on-year decline eased to -5.0% (after -10.7% in 2Q). Compared to previously published values, this is a slight improvement. As expected, the breakdown confirmed a significant increase in household consumption and foreign demand. However, growth was significantly affected by the low base effect from the previous quarter due to the lockdown. Many sub-components recorded strong quarter-on-quarter growth, but they remained in decline year-on-year. Third-quarter growth was particularly driven by exports adding 26% QoQ, after a 21% decline in the previous quarter. As such, net export contributed 8.8 percentage points to 3Q quarterly growth. Also, household consumption increased by 5% QoQ (2.4 pp contribution), while investments fell further by 5% QoQ (-1.2 ppt), with their year-on-year decline intensifying to -11%. Industry increased by 15% QoQ (-5.5% YoY)...
Minister of Health Jan Blatný (ANO) announced on Sunday during an interview with CNN Prima News that during Christmas time the Czech government could apply the PES (Protiepidemický Systém) level 3. PES assesses the epidemiological risk, taking into account the number of tests carried in relation to the number of positive tests returned, the R0 number, the number of infected per 100,000 people over the last 14 days, and the number of the elderly infected over the last 14 days. The level of measures corresponds to the risk score, which has now dropped from 70 points to 62. At level number three, the restaurants will have to be closed from 22:00 to 06:00 and a maximum of four guests will be allowed to sit at one table. The night curfew will end, while in shops there will be a limit of 1 person per 15 m2 However, some restrictions will continue to apply. For example on Sundays and holidays, restaurants should be open only until 10 pm. Besides that, the two-meter spacing between customers should be maintained in shopping centres, while dining and children’s corners will continue to be closed. “We should reach the level 3 at the turn of...
Czech car production rose 2.8% year-on-year in October, the first monthly increase since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, although the second wave of infections poses new risks for the industry. Data from the Automotive Industry Association (AutoSAP) on Friday showed the country’s car factories produced 128,754 vehicles in October, up from 125,211 a year earlier and the first monthly increase since February. The car industry accounts for almost a quarter of industrial production in the central European country, which is one of the world’s largest per capita automotive producers. The sector has been rebounding from sharp falls earlier in the year when factories were idled after the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in March, but parts of Europe are now facing a stronger second wave of the pandemic. Factory gates have stayed open this time, although new lockdown measures are adding pressure to carmakers and parts suppliers, which often face worker shortages because of quarantines or parents staying home because schools are shut. “Companies are getting into a complicated situation,” AutoSAP director Zdenek Petzl said. Overall, Czech automotive production, including buses and motorcycles, was down 21.4% year-on-year at 941,486 in January-October. Car production was 937,033 in that period and AutoSAP said...
The epidemiological situation in the Czech Republic is improving. All shops and service establishments, including pubs, restaurants, and hotels, could reopen on November 30.
Czech President Miloš Zeman said Thursday that President Trump should acknowledge losing the presidential race to Joe Biden and end his legal challenges. “I personally believe that it would be much more reasonable to give up, not to be embarrassing, and allow the new president to take office,” Zeman told Parlamentni Listy. Zeman was one of the few European leaders who spoke favorably of Trump before his election victory back in 2016. The Czech president also supported the US leader on a number of occasions, including Washington’s decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem. Trump has refused to accept the victory of Democrat challenger Joe Biden, saying the November 3 election was rigged. Despite the roadblocks, Biden has begun selecting his team of future White House officials and fielded a series of phone calls with foreign leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Zeman earlier this month sent a lengthy letter of congratulations to Biden through his spokesperson Jiří Ovčáček on Facebook. However, President Zeman added that one would need to wait at least half a year or a full year to be able to judge whether Biden’s presidency would improve...
Health Minister Jan Blatný has encouraged citizens to be 'euphoric' as he announced that current Covid restrictions could be lifted by the beginning of December.
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