Politics & Economics

Babiš: “Merkel’s Comment on Virus Can Cause Panic”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says up to 70 percent of the population could eventually become infected by coronavirus.

by Prague Morning Mar 11, 2020

European Parliament Leaders Slam ‘Unacceptable’ Babiš Comments

European Parliament President David Sassoli said Thursday he will complain to Commission and Council leaders about “unacceptable” comments by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. Babiš on Friday branded as “traitors” two Czech lawmakers who took part in a Parliament fact-finding mission to Prague to look into the potential mismanagement of EU funds. The mission from the Parliament’s budgetary control committee was the result of growing concerns about possible irregularities and conflicts of interest. Babiš has come under scrutiny for his links to an agricultural conglomerate he founded, Agrofert, which has received millions in EU funds. The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. One of the two Czech MEPs, Tomáš Zdechovský from the European People’s Party (EPP), said that he and his family had received death threats following Babiš’ comments. He said his family now needed police protection. Green MEP Mikuláš Peksa, the second Czech lawmaker, said he had contacted the police because of a growing number of death threats. A spokesperson for Sassoli said the issue had been discussed at Thursday’s meeting of Parliament leaders. “The general agreement was that the attitude toward the delegation was unacceptable,” the spokesperson said, adding that Sassoli “takes this question very seriously and will raise the point with the President of...

by Prague Morning Mar 06, 2020

V4 Countries Vow to Protect EU borders and Fight Coronavirus

The prime ministers of Poland, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia vowed to aid Greece to combat the growing migrant crisis at its border and use all measures to fight coronavirus during a Visegrad Four summit in Prague yesterday. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said that the situation in Greece was serious and that all four Visegrad countries, which are known for their tough stance on migration and opposition to migrant quotas in Europe, are ready to help. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said, “Even if Greece’s attempt to hold back migrants is successful, we shouldn’t forget about the 130,000 people who are already north of the Greek border and who want to get into Europe.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen even called Greece the “shield” of Europe over its efforts to combat illegal immigration, which is a big departure for her harsh words for Orbán during the 2015 migration crisis, when she criticized his efforts to halt the migrant wave Europe was facing at the time. Europe has now pledged €700 million in funds to Greece to help combat the crisis. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stressed that given the current situation on the EU’s southern border, Greece has begun to speak...

by Prague Morning Mar 05, 2020

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

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