Politics & Economics

President Zeman Calls for Solidarity in Easter Address

"Our plan should continue what is being done here successfully because we already know that the epidemic is receding," Zeman said.

by Prague Morning Apr 12, 2020

“Shops to Open Within April, Borders Gradually. Summer Festivals Won’t Happen,” Said Vojtěch

After a month of tightening lockdowns across Europe to combat coronavirus, the Czech Republic will in the coming weeks become one the first European countries to loosen restrictions on daily life and business. Shops According to Vojtěch, the plan is for some non-essential shops and DIY shops to reopen withing the end of April. They would then be followed by shopping malls and hairdressers, where there is a high concentration of people and thus a greater risk of coronavirus transmission. Czech’s health ministry says the rate of new infections has fallen significantly, and he wants to ‘gradually and cautiously return to normality after Easter’ as long as ‘we all remain disciplined during Easter week’. ‘The aim is to open first smaller shops up to 200 square metres, under strict security conditions of course,’ Minister of Industry Karel Havlicek (ANO) said at a press conference. Customers will be required to wear masks when shops re-open. Borders “The Czech borders will not open completely in the coming months,” said the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (ANO) on Czech Television. “It is certainly not a matter of weeks, maybe not even months.” From Tuesday, 14 April, the current ban on traveling out of...

by Prague Morning Apr 11, 2020

Czech Health Minister: “We’ll Probably Stop Wearing Face Masks in June”

In an interview for Lidove Noviny, Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech said that "Czechs will be able to stop wearing face masks in June."

by Prague Morning Apr 11, 2020

Self-Employed Can Now Apply for “Compensation Bonus”

A lump-sum payment of CZK 25,000 to self-employed workers was one of a number of economic measures announced by the government on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. This provision affects about half a million people in the country. You can apply following this link and download the form, fill in your personal information, check the box on the left „Plná částka“ and sign it. Then, you need to email the form to your local tax office and write in the subject field „Žádost o kompenzační bonus pro OSVČ”. You can also submit the form via your “datová schránka” if you have one or in person at the registry (“podatelna”) of your local tax office. The request should be filed to the Tax Office with the relevant territorial responsibility up to June 30, 2020. There should be a statutory declaration attached to the request stating that the self-employed met the conditions for this bonus. The Tax Office should be disbursing this bonus without a delay and that solely by a cashless payment to the account of the self-employed; the bonus is not to be a subject of possible distraint. Who is eligible The self-employed under the Act on pension insurance, i.e., simply all who are...

by Prague Morning Apr 10, 2020

Britain’s New De Facto Prime Minister Has… Czech Roots

The United Kingdom has, at least temporarily, a new acting prime minister with Czech roots. Boris Johnson has been in the intensive care unit of St. Thomas Hospital since Sunday evening due to his coronavirus infection, where he has received oxygen treatment and remains in stable condition. Johnson asked Foreign Minister Dominic Raab to deputize for the prime minister where necessary. In the past, Dominic Raab also served as Minister for Brexit. He is a son of a Czech Jew who fled with his family from Nazi persecution. In the past, he himself said that he feels to be “half Czech“. Dominic Raab’s Czech roots Dominic Raab was born on February 25, 1974, in Buckinghamshire. He grew up in Gerrards Cross and studied law at Oxford, and later at Cambridge University. In the late 1990s, he worked for the main Palestinian negotiator involved with concluding peace agreements between Israel and the Palestinians in Oslo. After 2000, Raab was head of a team at the British Embassy in The Hague, trying to bring war criminals to justice. After returning to London, he worked as an advisor for the Israeli-Arab conflict, for the European Union and for Gibraltar. According to The Times, many...

by Prague Morning Apr 09, 2020

Tuesday Recap: Coronavirus Updates in the Czech Republic

On Tuesday, the health ministry reported 237 new cases of coronavirus. Health workers carried out 6,233 tests in total on Monday, meaning the official infection rate for that day stood at 3.8 percent. This is well below the epidemic’s daily average of 5.3 percent in the Czech Republic, based on a total of 4,828 confirmed infections from 91,247 tests Eight people died from COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the death toll in the country to 80. On Tuesday, the Chamber of Deputies voted to extend the state of emergency until April 30. It had been scheduled to expire on April 12. Babiš and Hamáček had been pushing for a 30-day extension. Before said that the conditions under which the government imposed tough measures in March still exist, cautioning that there’s still a high risk of “losing control of the epidemic.” Self-employed people will be able to receive up to CZK 25,000 from the state. Entrepreneurs will be able to apply from 15 April and will do so at their tax office and ideally electronically via the tax portal. Overall, they will only be able to apply until the end of June. However, the condition is that applicants must not...

by Prague Morning Apr 07, 2020

Official: Czech Government Extended State of Emergency to April 30

Czech lawmakers on Tuesday approved extending a state of emergency until April 30, a shorter period than what the government had wanted for using the extraordinary legal framework to further tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s government had sought a one-month extension to May 11 for the state of emergency, which allows the cabinet to curb some rights of citizens, including freedom of movement or enterprise, and gives it more flexibility in areas such as public procurement. The news was announced at a press conference following a meeting of the Czech Government this afternoon. During the debate, the government faced criticism from the opposition as well as demands for a clear plan of return to normal life in the Czech Republic. The state of emergency allows the government to adopt measures to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, such as limitations on free movement inside the country and across borders, shop and restaurant closures, and streamlined procurement of medical supplies. On March 30, the Czech government extended the quarantine regulations that include a limitation on free movement and mandatory closure of most shops and restaurants until April 11. From March 31, a mandatory 14-day quarantine is now...

by Prague Morning Apr 07, 2020

Czech Government Tax Liberation Package – Q&A

Here are the answers to your questions about how the measures of the Government of the Czech Republic mentioned in the Liberation Package will affect you. Connect Economic Group s.r.o. Tax Advisor Tomáš Navrátil and owner of CEG and Tax Specialist Šárka Pelikánová have answered your questions. Why did the government introduce a liberalization package? The government justifies the introduction of these measures to ensure the health and administrative security. The government official statement is: On the possibility of later payment of income tax, the Ministry of Finance states that “the purpose of remission of late payment interest is to limit the number of people at the tax offices, and to respond to staff shortages on the part of legal persons as a result of virus spread” Other measures include an increase in the tolerance of the least serious misconduct on the part of taxpayers, in circumstances where the spread of the virus reduces their ability to perform their duties, etc. Therefore, it is better not to perceive the measures introduced by this package primarily as economic support from the Czech Government towards taxpayers, i.e. entrepreneurs. It will be better for you to understand all the measures and adapt yourself...

by Prague Morning Apr 07, 2020

Czech Government Relaxes Lockdown as Coronavirus Infections Slow

From tomorrow, Tuesday, April 6th, people will be able to do individual sports outdoor. Running or cycling in the parks and woods will be possible without a face mask, as long as they maintain a distance of two meters from others, and stay in groups with a maximum of two people. “We are allowing movement of joggers and cyclists without face masks, but only on the understanding that they maintain the psychological distance of two meters from each other. Simply put, if someone is riding their bike in a forest, they do not need a mask. If someone is running in the forest, they do not need a mask. If someone is moving within an urban area where there are more people and where contact could be less than two metres, they should have a mask.” Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček (ANO) informed about relaxing lockdown measures after Monday’s government meeting. Waste collection and composting facilities will open from Wednesday. From Thursday the following stores can reopen: hardware stores, bicycle repair shops, stores selling work clothes, shoes, textiles, prams and baby seats, stationery, hobby markets, and shoe repair shops. “However, people will have to follow stricter rules,” Havlíček added. “All...

by Prague Morning Apr 06, 2020

“From China’s Perspective, It’s Business,” Said Prague Mayor Regarding Coronavirus Medical Aid

That’s the message the mayor of Prague has for Chinese officials desperate to rebrand Beijing as a global superpower by selling supplies and offering aid to countries around the world struggling to fight coronavirus. “This isn’t a humanitarian gift or aid,” Zdenek Hřib told Bloomberg News on Friday. “From China’s perspective, it’s business.” That “business” has had some serious growing pains in the last few weeks. Up to 80 percent of the 150,000 rapid coronavirus test kits China delivered to the Czech Republic in March was faulty and less accurate than other tests, forcing the Czech Republic to continue to rely on conventional laboratory tests. Hřib believes that despite the extraordinary circumstances facing the world right now, it is important to keep the pressure on China and challenge the country on its history of human rights abuses. His comments directly contradict Milos Zeman, the Czech Republic’s China-friendly leader, who has accepted Beijing’s help and publicly praised President Xi Jinping a number of times. More recently, while parts of Europe were going into lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19, Hrib flew the Tibetan flag over city hall on March 10 to commemorate the anniversary of the region’s failed 1959 revolt over the Communist Party. xosotin chelseathông tin chuyển nhượngcâu lạc bộ bóng...

by Prague Morning Apr 06, 2020

Czech Politicians Call EU Ruling on Migrant Quotas “Irrelevant”

"We lost the dispute, but that is not important. What is important is that we do not have to pay something. Usually, the court claims some compensation for the proceedings," said Babiš.

by Prague Morning Apr 03, 2020

Czech Ministers Donate to Charity After Being Photographed Not Wearing Face Masks

Jan Hamáček, Interior Minister and head of the country’s Central Crisis Staff and Jana Maláčová, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, were photographed at a meeting in the Central Crisis Headquarters, not wearing protective face masks. After the photographs were shared widely on social networks, the two ministers decided to make a charitable donation. “I won’t justify myself; the rules are the same for everyone. It was a mistake. I already sent 10,000 CZK to Motol hospital,” said Hamáček. Under the new emergency rules – people standing in a public without a mask face a fine of up to 10,000 CZK. If the police decide to pass a case to the Municipality for Administrative Proceedings, the fine can rise to 20,000 CZK. A third person in the photo, also not wearing a face mask is Jana Maláčová’s husband, Aleš Chmelař, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for European Affairs. “Together with my husband, we repent and both of us sent 10,000 CZK to the account of the Život 90 charitable organization,” said Maláčová. Na twitteru se dnes objevila fotografie z videokonference, kde nemám roušku. Nebudu se vymlouvat, byla to chyba, pravidla platí pro každého. Odeslal jsem 10 tisíc korun jako dar...

by Prague Morning Apr 03, 2020

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