The richest Czech remains the owner of PPF investment group, Petr Kellner, with an estimated property worth 350 billion crowns.
Tesla's service centre in Prague’s Vysočany officially opened as part of the Advantage Cars complex.
MPs have rejected legislation that would have allowed cyclists on minor roads or cycle paths or people canoeing on the country’s rivers to have a small amount of alcohol in their blood.
The number of office schemes built in Prague this year is the highest in the last five years: a total of 17 new buildings providing office space will have opened by the end of the year. The last time the market reached such a high figure was in 2014 – at the time, it was 18 schemes. In the meantime, the number was one-third lower, about 11 buildings on average. Out of the total 17 schemes to be commissioned this year (both completed and slated for completion by the end of the year), six are refurbishment projects and 11 are completely new builds. Again, this is the highest figure in recent years, and again, the last year when there were more new buildings completed was 2014, with 12 schemes. Karlín and Smíchov remain firm favourites The highest number of office schemes – three each – are currently being completed in Prague 5 (ČSOB HQ. II in Radlice, SmichOFF and Green Point near Anděl), Prague 7 (Centrum Stromovka in Letná, Argentinská Office Building and Riveroff Office House in Holešovice) and Prague 8 (DOCK IN THREE in Libeň, Rustonka R3 and Praga Studios in Karlín). With the exception of one project, these are...
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis will attend in New York this week the United Nations General Assembly. The Czech prime minister said he had a meeting scheduled with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the UN sidelines to discuss bilateral relations. The annual event opens on Tuesday. The Czech government said Babis would address the gathering on Wednesday as a stand-in for President Milos Zeman. The assembly will also be attended by Japan’s new foreign minister, Toshimitsu Motegi, who will be in New York from September 22-28. He said a meeting with his South Korean counterpart was not planned. Ties between the two neighbors soured this year over wartime forced labor. Trade wars, migration, energy supplies, climate change and the eradication of poverty underpin the basic themes of the 193-member General Assembly agenda. The White House said U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday will host a meeting on the Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom and is not scheduled to attend the climate summit. Trump has announced that the United States was ending participation in the Paris Agreement. However, many U.S. states, municipalities, and businesses are continuing to abide by the Paris accord. On Tuesday, Guterres and the president of the 74th session...
This year, the Czech Republic has taken 24th place in the 2019 Social Progress Index. The country climbed two places compared to last year, even though it received fewer points than in 2018. The index is annually prepared by the Social Progress Imperative NGO and Deloitte based on data about the level of social and economic development and the state of the environment. Of the 149 countries which were included in the comparison, Norway came on top while the Central African Republic was last. The Czech Republic achieved the best results in economic indicators and basic human needs, specifically nutrition and basic medical care, water and sanitation, shelter, and personal safety. In contrast, tolerance and inclusion has taken a downward turn in the Czech Republic, ranking it among countries the likes of Botswana. A high score was also achieved by the Czech Republic in respect of access to basic knowledge. “Even the richest countries have weaknesses they have to address. We should be concerned that personal rights indicators are falling. Even in the US”, said Deloitte President Josef Kotrba. “If we compare the four Visegrad countries in the area of personal rights, the Czech Republic is far ahead of Slovakia,...
What are the Czechs like 30 years after the Velvet Revolution and how has the Czech Republic changed over the years? Academics in analysis for Czech Radio tried to answer this. The aim of Czech Radio’s research was to find out what is the structure of Czech society, and what social classes can be found in it. Results show that Czechs divide themes like migration or pro-Western direction. Research highlights that the theme of a divided society was fully opened by the first direct presidential election, underlined by the (social) change triggered by the economic crisis, and accelerated the migration process. Discussion of pro-Western direction Since the ’90s, topics of an economic nature have dominated the Czech public debate and political divisions; an economic nature that has shaped the perception of the left and right. However, emphasis on economic issues has diminished due to the establishment of the market and skepticism caused by the crisis. “This opened the door for new cultural themes such as migration or globalization, but it also, partly, returned the debate to the question of the country’s pro-western direction. These topics have become a significant part of the political struggle,” said the analysis. According to research,...
The Czech government coalition today agreed to raise all monthly base pays in the public sector by 1500 crowns next year and to cancel the lowest base pay level concerning the least paid professions such as cooks. The pay decision, which covers about 290,000 state employees, will allow the government to complete its draft budget for next year. “The last question of the 2020 budget is solved,” said Finance Minister Alena Schillerova on Twitter. Prime Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) told journalists that teachers will be the only group with a percentage increase, while all the others will get a fixed sum. The non-teaching staff of schools will have their salaries raised by more than 7 percent since the lowest base level will be cancelled, Babis said. The government planned a pay rise of 10 percent for teachers and 7 percent for the non-teaching professions. The Finance Ministry expects economic growth to slow to 2.2% in 2020 from 2.4% this year and it sees downside risks to the outlook. The Czech economy, like others in central Europe, has held up amid a global slowdown thanks to strong domestic demand fuelled by low unemployment and rising wages.
Prague prosecutors have decided to drop charges against Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who was charged with fraud with EU subsidies. Prosecutors announced their decision on Friday after evaluating a police recommendation to charge Babiš. Their decision may be reversed by the Prosecutor General. The case concerns a farm that received EU subsidies after its property was transferred from the Agrofert conglomerate, which belonged to Babis, to 250 companies owned by members of the Czech prime minister’s family. Subsidies were intended for medium and small enterprises, and Agrofert would not have been entitled to them. Later, Agrofert again became the owner of the farm. “The evidence gathering led to the conclusion that the Stork’s Nest Farm met the definition of a small and medium-sized business,” attorney Martin Erazim said in a statement. The EU’s anti-fraud body OLAF had found multiple breaches of national and EU legislation in the project. Babiš denies any allegations.
The percentage of employed persons aged 15 to 64 in the European Union (EU) who usually work from home stood at 5.0% in 2018. This figure was highest in the Netherlands (14%), followed by Finland (13.3%) and Luxembourg (11%), and lowest in Bulgaria (0.3%) and Romania (0.4%). Working from home was slightly more common in the euro area (5.7% of employed persons) than in the EU as a whole. In the Czech Republic, there are about 206,000 home office workers. “Working from home or at a distance is increasingly common among Czechs. Ten years ago, there were less than 85,000”, said Jan Krupicka from Europe in Data. According to Deloitte, home office is more frequent among experienced people in managerial positions (69 percent) than among middle-aged (40 percent) and lower-level workers (36 percent), said Pavel Šimák, Strategy and Operations manager. The percentage of employed persons in the EU who sometimes work from home has increased steadily over the years, from 7.7% in 2008 to 9.6% in 2017, although the figure in 2017 was down slightly from 2016 (9.8%). In the EU, more self-employed persons usually worked from home (18.1%) than employees (2.8%). This was true in all Member States. ...
Czech President Milos Zeman dislikes Kosovo, a former Serbian province whose declaration of independence Serbia does not recognize. As he landed in the Serbian capital of Belgrade on Tuesday, greeted by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Zeman said in English: “I like Serbia and Serbian people.” He then added in a lower voice: “And I dislike Kosovo”, reported AP. Vucic responded with “Thank you.” The Czech Republic is among 23 European Union nations that have recognized the independence of the former Serbian province of Kosovo after it split from Serbia in 2008 following a bloody war in 1998-99 that ended with NATO airstrikes. The U.S. also backs Kosovo’s statehood, while Russia and China have sided with Serbia and refused to recognize it. The 74-year-old Czech president is known for his offensive statements and diplomatic gaffes.
In the latest in a string of moves reportedly aimed at embarrassing the Taiwan-friendly mayor of Prague, China announced that it had canceled a scheduled performance by a musical trio from Prague. Ivan Klansky, a classical pianist and a member of the Guarneri Trio Prague, said he already had a feeling that the group would encounter the same problem as the Prague Philharmonia, which also faced cancellation of their performance in China this month. According to Czech media reports in April, such actions by China are aimed at humiliating Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib, who visited Taiwan in March and has been a vocal critic of China’s human rights record. Hrib, who took office last November, said a few months later that in a twin-sister agreement between Prague and Beijing, he wanted to remove the clause that stated “Taiwan is a part of China” because of concerns that it would be unfair to Taiwan. During his visit to Taiwan in March, Hrib praised Taipei’s metro system and said he hoped to cooperate with Taipei in the area of building smart cities. Subsequently, news surfaced in August that China canceled a scheduled performance by the Prazak Quartet and another by the Prague...
Don’t have an account? Register
[swpm_registration_form level=”6″]
Already have an account? Log In
How Would You Like to Promote Your Business? PR ArticleDisplay bannersVideo productionNewsletter adsJob ListingsInfluencer Marketing
Your Email
We will come back to you within 24 hours with our proporsal
