Politics & Economics

Eurostat: Unemployment in the Czech Republic in January 2020 was 2%

Unemployment in the Czech Republic in January 2020 was 2 percent, up from 1.9 percent in January 2019

by Prague Morning Staff Mar 05, 2020

Czech Economy Slows, and Expected to Slow Down Further

The growth of the Czech economy posted the weakest figures since 2016, down to 2.4% year-on-year in 2019 from 2.8% in 2018, driven by the domestic demand, according to the Czech Statistics Office (CSO). In 4Q19, GDP increased by 0.3% quarter-on-quarter and by 1.8% y/y. The dynamics of the economic growth was gradually decreasing during 2019. “The annual growth of the Czech economy in 4Q19 was 0.1 percentage point [pp] below the CNB’s forecast. The only slightly lower-than-expected GDP growth overall is a result of contrary deviations of the individual expenditure components from the forecast,” noted Czech National Bank Monetary Department Executive Director Petr Kral. “Given the rising uncertainty amid Covid-19 outbreak, we expect growth to dip below 2% this year but the market pricing of almost four rate cuts are a bit too aggressive and premature in our view,” ING Chief Economist Jakub Seidler said. “The y/y growth of GDP (1.8%) was contributed to by final consumption expenditure of households (1.3pp), investment expenditure (0.7pp), and the general government expenditure (0.4pp). On the contrary, external demand (−1.9pp) had a markedly negative influence,” commented CSO Director of the National Accounts Department Vladimir Kermiet. According to Seidler, domestic demand came in above...

by Prague Morning Mar 04, 2020

Thousands Rally in Protest Against Czech PM Babis

Several thousand people protested in Prague on Sunday against the Czech Republic’s billionaire PM Andrej Babis

by Prague Morning Mar 02, 2020

Million Moments Protest to Start Today at 4pm

The organization Million Moments will hold a protest in defense of democratic institutions on Sunday, March 1st, in Prague. The event starts today at 4 p.m. with a march from Hradčanska to the Old Town Square, which will be followed by a demonstration. The demonstration is in response to the election of Stanislav Krecek to the Public Defender of Rights. Křeček defeated the Senate’s candidate, Vít Alexander Schorm, who serves as the Czech Government’s representative before the European Court of Human Rights. Attorney Jan Matys was also proposed by the Senate and lost during the first round. “The Prague event will not be primarily a protest against Stanislav Krecek. The election of S. Krecek by the is ‘just’ blatant example of how government and major institutions are systematically and intentionally torn down and politically privatized step by step. KSČM and the Castle, with the assistance of a part of the CSSD, are gradually and systematically tearing down prestigious democratic institutions that are supposed to control the rules and serve all citizens, not just select politicians,” said Million Moments. The movement is concerned that the Czech Republic is headed in the same direction as Poland and Hungary, where the consolidation of media...

by Prague Morning Mar 01, 2020

Slovak Opposition Party Wins Parliamentary Election

Center-right Ordinary People party captures 25% of vote and 53 of 150 seats in parliament, ending the reign of country’s long-dominant but scandal-tainted leftist party. The center-right populist opposition claimed victory in the parliamentary election in Slovakia, ending the reign of the country’s long-dominant but scandal-tainted leftist party that governed on an anti-immigration platform. According to nearly complete results released by the Statistics Office early Sunday, the Ordinary People group captured 25% of the vote and 53 seats in the 150-seat parliament in a move that steered the country to the right and could make a local ally of France’s far-right National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen a part of the governing coalition. The election campaign was dominated by public anger over the 2018 murder of an investigative journalist, Jan Kuciak, and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova. Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini has admitted defeat. “We will try to form the best government Slovakia’s ever had,” Ordinary People chairman Igor Matovic told a cheering crowd of 2,000 supporters in a sports hall in his hometown of Trnava, located northeast of the capital. During election night, Matovič said that he would like to start the initial talks with his potential coalition...

by Prague Morning Mar 01, 2020

Angela Merkel to Meet With V4 Leaders in Prague

In the first half of this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is about to visit Prague, with the visit planned to take place during the Czech presidency of the Visegrad Four.

by Prague Morning Feb 27, 2020

Brexit: Measures and Precautions You Need to Take

On 31 January 2020, the formal departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union took effect. Subsequently, on 1 February began a transition period to reach an agreement on trade, aviation rules and other issues related to Brexit which will go on until the end of 2020. During the withdrawal agreement, the rights of British citizens living in the Czech Republic are guaranteed. After the end of the transition period, all British citizens who have been residing and will continue to reside in the Czech Republic after 31 December 2020, will keep their existing rights, however, it will be necessary to prove a legal stay in the Czech Republic. Throughout this article, we will compile some measures and precautions that you need to take to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Residency In case you live in the Czech Republic and after 31 December 2020 you intend to stay for more than three months, you should apply for a Certificate of Temporary Residence. And if you have been living in the country for more than five years, you should apply for a Permanent Residence Permit. Besides that, you must register your stay with the Czech Foreign Police first, because you will need this confirmation of your registration when you apply for Czech residency status. If...

by Prague Morning Feb 22, 2020

Czechs Still Don’t Understand How the EU Works

Most Czechs see the European Union subsidies as economically beneficial, but they know almost nothing about the way they are distributed, according to a poll conducted by the STEM polling institute. “Czechs have a very vague idea of the ratio of payments and revenues of the Czech Republic to and from the EU budget. Almost half of the citizens (45 percent) simply do not know, nor dare to estimate, how much money the Czech Republic receives from the EU. Thirteen percent of Czechs even think we contribute more than we receive. Eighteen percent think we contribute as much as we receive,” says the poll. Since 2004, the Czech Republic received over 1.4 trillion korunas (€56 billion) through EU funds, while contributions to the EU budget amounted to almost 617 billion korunas (€24.7 billion). This means that by the end of 2019, the Czech Republic received over 809 billion korunas (€32.4 billion) in net profit. However, Czechs do not even know that the Czech Republic will be also a net beneficiary after the currently discussed EU budget is approved. Only 7 percent of respondents think that the Czech Republic will receive more than it contributes. Although Czechs do not know much...

by Prague Morning Feb 20, 2020

Czechia? What a Stupid Idea!

The prime minister Andrej Babiš was halfway through an interview last March when he was told somebody had officially changed the name of his country to Czechia. “Who changed it? You changed it?”, Babiš said to his aides, swinging around in his chair. One of the aides stepped forward and quietly explained that the U.N. had acceded to a proposal to recognize the Czech Republic under the new name. “I didn’t know this. I don’t like it at all,” he said, in the interview with The Wall Street Journal. “It’s because then you will confuse Czechia, Chechnya, I don’t know. I don’t like this. We are Czech Republic. We are Czechs. And I don’t know who came with such a stupid idea. Crazy.” President Zeman prefers Czechia, a centuries-old name that he said sounds nicer, and more evocative. “I am strongly against,” said Mr. Babiš, the prime minister, whose stationery retains the name Czech Republic. Mr. Babiš heads the government and constitutionally holds more power than President Zeman. “The prime minister has a different opinion than the president. This is freedom and democracy. That is all,” said the president’s spokesman Jiří Ovčáček. The United Nations officially calls the country Czechia, as does...

by Prague Morning Feb 14, 2020

Million Moments Calls for Another Demonstration in the Center of Prague

The organization Million Moments will hold a protest in defense of democratic institutions on Sunday, March 1st, in Prague.

by Cara McErlean Feb 14, 2020

Hotel Transaction Volume Reached Record Heights in 2019

The year 2019 was a record one for the Prague hospitality sector in terms of transactions: the amount of investments in hospitality properties exceeded EUR 500 million. This is the highest figure in history and twice the average for the last five years. This is also the first time that the Czech Republic has made it to the Top 10 in the European hospitality investment chart – to number nine. In 2020, the volume of hospitality transactions could become twice as high – one billion Euros. Hotels as a good investment The reasons for the growth are on both the supply and demand sides. The interest among investors in hotels as investment properties is generally increasing since travel and tourism represent a sector that shows long-term growth. In addition, the hospitality segment is an attractive alternative to traditional commercial investments such as office buildings and shopping centres. Frédéric Le Fichoux, Partner & Head of Hotel Transactions for Continental Europe, Cushman & Wakefield, says: “One of the main reasons is that hotels offer attractive combinations of return and risk for various types of investors – from variable and risky income with a relatively high return rate to stable and less risky...

by Prague Morning Feb 13, 2020

Czech Republic to Sue European Commission

The Czech government will fill a lawsuit against the European Commission over the suspension of subsidy payments granted to Agrofert holding, an agrochemical company of Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš that is currently managed by trust funds. The EU executive has decided to freeze the payments from the Rural Development Programme worth €247.000 due to Babiš’s alleged conflict of interest, which he rejects. The last-minute legal action against the Commission was proposed by Agricultural Minister Miroslav Toman (S&D) on Monday (3 February) and was approved by the entire government. The deadline to file the lawsuit expires next Monday (10 February). The government’s decision to bring the case to the European Court of Justice is surprising, given the fact that a few days ago, the State Agricultural Intervention Fund said the Commission had changed its mind and allowed the payment of the subsidies to Agrofert holding, except for one project worth €64.000. “This is a matter of principle. Even if the European Commission said it would pay them except for one project, we want to sue because of the general decision not to pay the subsidies. We do not agree with some technical details,” Denik N quoted the Agriculture Ministry spokesperson...

by Prague Morning Feb 06, 2020