Politics & Economics

Czech Government to Provide CZK 900 Million to Support Organizers of Arts and Cultural Events

Fairs, festivals, and other arts events have been hit hard by COVID-19. Now the Czech government is offering CZK 900 million in grant money to help support events that keep the Czech culture alive. The Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade has allocated CZK 900 million to support entrepreneurs involved in organizing cultural events (theaters, cinema, concerts, festivals, musical clubs, independent artists, museums, galleries, etc.). They can claim a partial (up to 50%) reimbursement of their expenses for canceled or rescheduled events. Arts and Cultural organizations can start applying for financial assistance from August 18 to September 18 through the site www.mpo.cz/kultura. The maximum amount for one-off payment is CZK 5 million. “The goal of the program is to assist cultural entrepreneurs and support them for the costs incurred between October 1, 2019 and May 17, 2020, for events that were supposed to take place from March 10 to October 31, 2020, but were canceled or postponed due to the quarantine measures adopted by the government,” the Ministry of Industry and Trade states. The Czech music industry employs roughly 130,000 people and has an annual turnover of CZK 20 billion, and is now operating at 15 percent capacity. “The music...

 by Prague Morning Aug 13, 2020

Prague Mayor to Visit Taiwan With Czech Senate President

Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib announced that he will join a delegation to be led by Miloš Vystrčil, president of the Senate of the Czech Republic, on a visit to Taiwan later this month. Hrib said in a Facebook post earlier on Tuesday evening that he appreciated cross-party cooperation when it comes to a common cause and that deepening alliances with foreign partners was a good example of such cooperation. “I am honored that the President of the Senate, Miloš Vystrčil, invited me on his foreign trip to Taiwan,” the mayor said in the Facebook post. This will be Hřib’s second visit to Taiwan in less than 18 months. He previously visited in March 2019. According to Hřib, his upcoming itinerary in Taiwan will be a little different from the rest of the delegation. “I will also meet with representatives of the partner city of Taipei,” he said in the Facebook post. Led by Hřib, a vocal supporter of Taiwan and Tibet, the Prague city government terminated its sister city agreement with Beijing in favor of Taipei last year after a dispute over the removal of Beijing’s “one China” policy clause from the agreement.     If you are looking for...

 by Prague Morning Aug 12, 2020

Czech Foreign Minister Criticizes Belarus Election

"These elections cannot be labeled as free and democratic," the Czech Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček (CSSD) said separately.

 by Prague Morning Aug 11, 2020

U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo Arrives in Prague

The U.S. Secretary Mike Pompeo arrived in Prague on Tuesday morning for a two-day official visit.

 by Prague Morning Aug 11, 2020

Germans Have the Highest Salaries in the Czech Republic

Germans, Slovaks, Russians, and Romanians have a higher average wage than employees with Czech citizenship.

 by Prague Morning Aug 10, 2020

Czech Brewing Industry Posted Loss of Almost CZK 4.7 Billion

The Czech brewing industry recorded a loss of over CZK 4.7bn (€ 179mn) from March to May due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and related government measures, as stated in a study conducted by the Center for Economic and Market Analysis (CETA), published on July 28. The most negatively affected were restaurants and bars, which were forced to close overnight. Beer sales in this segment decreased by 55% (728,000 hectoliters) between March and May. The losses of the breweries in terms of sales exceeded CZK 1.104mn. Sales of bottled beer, which was sold more in stores, increased by about CZK 794mn. “The hospitality and beer industries suffered significant losses during the coronavirus crisis. Most pubs reopened in June, but the coming weeks will decide whether they survive. The most critical situation is in Prague, Karlovy Vary, and other localities dependent on tourism,” said executive director of the Czech Association of Breweries and Malthouses Martina Ferencova, quoted by the Czech News Agency. “For the next period, it will be crucial for the government to continue to support the most affected sectors, including the hospitality industry, and at the same time not burden them with new administrative and regulatory measures,” Ferencova stressed. In connection...

 by Prague Morning Jul 30, 2020

O2 Now Offers 100 GB of Data for CZK 300 per Month (With Some Conditions)

A mobile plan tends to be one of those things we just set and forget, at least until it’s time for a new phone. It shouldn’t be though. New deals and discounts hit the market every week and savvy shoppers playing the field are getting more for less. O2 has announced a new plan where you get 100GB of data for only CZK 300 per month. The offer associated with a prepaid card is more advantageous than data packages with the current FREE + tariffs plan, which have a maximum of 60 GB of data together with unlimited calls and SMS for CZK 1,249 per month. The prepaid card offers also significantly cheaper internet connection than special data tariffs for tablets and computers (the O2 Data + Stříbrný includes 30 GB of data for CZK 649 per month). Now the bad part: Internet data does not work abroad (not even in the EU). Other services are quite expensive. SMS costs CZK 2. The offer is limited. The card can only be purchased until the end of August 2020. Only three prepaid cards can be ordered in one time The data package is activated automatically, and cannot be switched off “manually”....

 by Prague Morning Jul 29, 2020

Czech Govt Introduces ‘COVID-19 Traffic Light System’ for Czech Regions

The overall epidemiological situation in the Czech Republic is progressing well, but in some areas, it is necessary to be careful, said Health Minister Adam Vojtěch. In order to combat an uptick in coronavirus cases in the country, Vojtěch presented the Czech regional traffic light rating system, which has four levels. The worst situation is still in Prague, the Moravian-Silesian region, and the Jihlava region. “There are four levels,” Vojtěch announced at a press conference. Zero-degree areas show where the risk of infection is minimal or zero. The first level is marked in green and means a sporadic occurrence of the disease but without community transmission. “The second degree is symbolized by a yellow color. These are areas where we are already monitoring a certain community transmission of the disease,” Vojtěch further explained. The last level, the third, will be shown on the map in red color. “These are areas in which we are monitoring the growing community transmission and the risk of infection is significantly higher,” said Vojtěch.     The director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics, Ladislav Dušek, showed a picture of what the maps might look like. “The first publication of maps, which will also...

 by Prague Morning Jul 28, 2020

Czechs Drank Half Less Beer During Pandemic

The Czech brewing industry recorded a loss of over CZK 4.7 billion from March to May.

by Prague Morning Jul 28, 2020

From Saturday it is Mandatory to Wear Masks At All Indoor Events

From Saturday, July 25 at midnight, it will be mandatory to wear face masks at indoor public gatherings with over 100 people, including nightclubs.

 by Prague Morning Jul 23, 2020

Czech Government Could Strengthen Quarantine Measures

The day-to-day increase of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Czech Republic has surpassed 200 for the second straight day.

 by Prague Morning Jul 23, 2020

Babiš: “EU Recovery Fund Should Favour Countries Worst Hit by Pandemic”

Allocations from the EU’s proposed recovery fund should be based on the downturn in countries’ growth due to the coronavirus crisis and not on the basis of their past economic performance, according to Czech PM Andrej Babis. “We will see the impact of the pandemic next year and this impact will be mainly in GDP. So this should be the most, the biggest criteria,” he said on Friday on arrival for a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels to discuss a joint recovery plan. The Czech Republic “was one of the best on unemployment, one of the best-concerning debt to GDP and also we have growth – and it is not possible to penalize successful countries because they were successful,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “Money should be distributed correctly and fairly,” the PM added. “The approval of the agreement and the EU budget for the next period is positive news for the domestic economy, as the total amount of money allocated to the Czech Republic will be higher than proposed in the original plan,” said ING Bank’s chief economist Jakub Seidler. According to Deloitte’s chief economist for the Czech Republic, David Marek, the adoption of the recovery fund, albeit in a compromised...

 by Prague Morning Jul 23, 2020

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