French President Emmanuel Macron will come to the Czech Republic on October 27th following his visit to Slovakia. The French head of state will meet with Czech President Miloš Zeman and Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. The day before, Macron will be in Bratislava meeting with their Slovakian counterparts Andrej Kiska and Peter Pellegrini. Macron will arrive in Prague on the same weekend as the conclusion of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia. On Saturday, October 27th, the historic National museum will officially be reopened and the Slovak-Czech exhibition will be launched. Babiš has invited a number of statesmen, but a list of confirmed names has not yet been published by the Czech government. The Czech Army have previously stated that on Sunday, October 28th, there will be a gala parade attended by US Secretary of Defence James Mattis at Vítkov Kiska. The AFP notes that the Czech Republic and Slovakia together with Poland and Hungary are creating the so-called “Visegrad Four” (V4), which is against the EU’s stance on receiving refugees. The French President has not yet visited Poland and Hungary. Author: Holly Webb
Jan Čižinský of Praha sobě, received the most preferential votes in the city of Prague. In talks to form the government in Prague are three groups: the citizen’s movement Praha sobě, the Pirates and the Spojené síly alliance (TOP 09, STAN and others). The parties are in negotiations and looking at how to align their agendas. The City hall is split, with the ODS having 14 seats, ANO who was last, having 12, and the rest having 13 each. Now the main point of contention is the post of mayor: Jan Čižinský of Praha sobě, should be the leader due to the largest share of preferential votes he received. Although ANO scored in 11 big cities, its loss in the Czech capital has soured the party’s victory. Meanwhile, both the Social Democrats and the Communists – for the first time since 1990 – failed to win a seat to the assembly. In an interview with Czech Radio, political scientist Jiří Pehe said: “I think that Andrej Babiš is deeply unhappy with the results because he spent CZK 130m, which is almost four times more than some other parties did. And he spent CZK 50m only in Prague, which is CZK 5m more than the Civic...
The Czech prime minister’s ANO emerged the strongest party in nationwide municipal elections on Saturday, winning in all regional capitals except two including Prague. It was the first popular test for the minority government formed in July. The quadrennial municipal vote may carry more weight this time as local budgets have helped to keep the overall Czech fiscal balance in surplus in the past two years. “When we look at the regional big cities, in 2014, we had nine victories and now we may have 11. As for the districts, in 2014 we had 13 wins and now we have 17,” Babiš told the news server Seznam. “I think our citizens see that the Ano movement is moving our country forward. To the top of Europe.” With 60 percent of the votes counted, the ANO of Andrej Babis came in third with 15.9 percent in Prague, where it won four years ago. ANO’s coalition partner in the minority government, the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), looked on course to have no member on the Prague city assembly for the first time ever as the oldest Czech party fared poorly across the country. Author: red
The rent of an average apartment in the capital city could cost you more than the average monthly salary. Problems with high rental prices are experienced not only by students but also young families with children, who are additionally hindered by landlord’s unwillingness to rent property to young families. In addition, landlords take advantage of the high demand associated with the beginning of the university semesters. Young people coming to study in the capital desperately need a place to live, and are then subject to extremely high rental prices, often exceeding 12,000 CZK for a room. Students often prefer to share an apartment as it saves money. Likewise, a student of barely twenty-years of age hardly earns enough to pay rent in the city. Demand exceeds supply here, and people are often so desperate that they don’t even take into consideration the price. And if you want to live for less, you’re out of luck. On a social networking site, one twenty-year-old girl who was looking for a home with her partner stated that she did not want the monthly rent to exceed 11,000 CZK. Scroll down, and in response, many had commented on how “ridiculous” this request was, and...
Prague’s retailers can look forward to significantly higher sales to Chinese shoppers as the National Day of the People’s Republic of China on October 1 kicks-off the Golden Week of holidays. Some 705 million Chinese are expected to travel during this time, with 6 million going abroad. Fashion Arena Prague Outlet, the most well-known outlet center in the country, expects a 75% increase in the number of Chinese customers during the Golden Week compared to the norm. Last year, Chinese citizens spent CZK 1.9 trillion on travel during the Golden Week. Every Other Chinese Citizen Plans a Trip Currently, China has a population of 1.4 billion and remains the most populous country in the world. If there are several national holidays strung together in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), hundreds of millions of people take the opportunity to travel, the effects of which are felt far beyond the country’s borders. The Golden Week is a popular time for vacations outside China and according to a China National Tourism Administration report, 705 million Chinese took a longer trip at this time. “The higher-earning classes of Chinese that visit Europe enjoy our culture and fashion. Fashion Arena Prague Outlet has recorded...
The French embassy in Prague and France’s government agency in support of employment have launched a campaign offering French people to seek jobs in the Czech Republic where hundreds of French firms operate. The campaign has been recently highlighted by the Le Parisien daily. The seminar is been organized on the outskirts of Paris and its main goal is convincing French unemployed to move to the Czech Republic. The joint campaign underlines growing desperation at President Macron’s failure to bring about a significant reduction in unemployment, which stands at 9.1 percent. Potential applicants can find information about the life and work in the Czech Republic on the websites of the embassy and the Work in Czechia campaign, which describe the beauties of the country and say that over 4,200 French have settled there so far. According to data released by Eurostat, the Czech Republic has the highest job vacancy rate in the EU (5.4% in the second quarter of 2018), the lowest unemployment rate in Europe (3.1% in August), and Prague had an unemployment rate of 1.7% in 2017. Author: red
Now is the time to book an Airbnb in Prague because a new law could regulate this online marketplace and hospitality unit. Airbnb is reducing the amount of available housing for Prague residents and is creating unfair competition for hotels. Many find that Airbnb changes the character and charm of neighborhoods with tourists flocking to the areas built for long-term living. Last year, guests booked 1.79 million overnight passes through Airbnb in Prague, so one of the main complaints with Airbnb is the increase in population in the city. They plan to regulate Airbnb through a decree where each municipality would set the rules according to their needs. This document would limit the number of days a year a home could be rented out to guests and even prohibiting reservations in certain areas. They could even set a maximum number of occupants in a property. The city finds the shared accommodation feature that Airbnb revolves around as a security threat. Prague leaders want to make sure local fees are properly paid, so they want the information of participating offices and houses to be turned in to them. Prague Officials are also in favor of the Local Fees Act, which...
The Czech economic growth had decelerated in the second quarter on a sequential basis. Both domestic and foreign demand continues to still drive the economic growth. The most significant contributors continued to be household consumption, which added 1.6 percentage points because of the solid labor market and fixed investment expenditures, impacted by economic recovery in the Eurozone and a lack of new available employees in the Czech economy, which is compelling companies to invest more into robotization and increased automation of plants. Meanwhile, the contribution of net exports was a bit negative in the second quarter, as high demand for Czech exports was outweighed by imports for consumption and investment purposes. GDP is expected to come in at 3.5 percent in 2018, according to an Erste Group Research in a report. “In 2019 and 2020, we expect GDP growth to arrive at 3.0% and 2.9%, respectively. Although the economic development of solid domestic as well as foreign demand should continue, GDP growth will gradually slow down” stated Erste Group Research. Tighter monetary conditions might be important factors behind this development. Nevertheless, this development is unlikely to be a negative factor.“In fact, the Czech economy has been slightly overheated in 2018,...
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has resolutely stated that Europe must fight for its culture and values amidst the destructive EU migration policy. Pointing out the recent riots in Germany are due to uncontrolled migration, leading to explosive situations. “Chemnitz is just right around the corner!” he said Sunday, describing the disorder that inundated the eastern German city after standoffs between pro and anti-migrant rallies there last week. “I’ve been thoroughly explaining that this is a fight to preserve our European civilization and culture. We don’t want to live in Africa or the Middle East here. We must fight for our values.” “Have you seen the pictures of migrant ships heading for tourist beaches? Europeans are shocked and frightened. The same thing happened in Chemnitz. There was not only a murder committed but also the murders of teenage girls and sexual assaults,” Babiš explained. Babiš stressed on Czech TV channel Prima that the events in Chemnitz exhibit the result of the influx of migrants clashing with native-born citizens. These cases are very dangerous for Europe as tensions in Germany can also affect neighboring countries, he said. Reiterating his long-standing opposition to the European Commission’s efforts of forced migration, he lambasted the current...
Many money transfers from one bank to another often aren’t accomplished on the same day, and Czech banking law allows them to happen on the following business day. But banks have been starting to change that. Some Czech banks have been voluntarily starting to speed up the process to allow transfers posted in the morning to be completed in the afternoon, without the client having to pay a priority or premium fee. And in the near future, some banks will be experimenting with interbank transfers in real time, with no delay even on weekends. Read the full article here (via Prague.TV)
Private companies own almost half the total area of Prague, while the city only owns 30%. Deputy Mayor, Petra Kolinska, says that private companies own too much of the city, and this is inhibiting progressive development. “Prague should buy, not sell,” said Kolinska about its land usage issue. Privately owned companies are a critical aspect to development, providing business opportunities and funding for public projects. The more money in circulation, the more money there is available for development. However, this is a simple and limited view on public development. While private ownership promotes development, this approach ultimately leads to private entities owning a significant portion of Prague. Significant private ownership limits the city’s ability to develop. “Land ownership gives the city the possibility to actively develop these areas – the possibility of placing specific public buildings, reserving areas for schools, hospitals, parks or afforestation. Land owned by the city is one of the important prerequisites for the development and construction of the necessary public infrastructure,” according to a press release by the city of Prague. While being pro-business generates money, minimal funding goes towards public goods, such as schools and hospitals. If the city does not own the land, it’s severely...
Many expats can participate in the municipal elections, scheduled for Oct. 5–6. The local elections are not only in Prague but across the country and the same rules apply. European Union citizens with residence permits can vote, and they can also run for some local offices including City Council, but not the mayor. In practice, though, running for office is a bit complicated as a signed petition is needed to get on the ballot. The system is also geared toward parties and registered movements or associations, and not individual candidates. The voting rights come from an EU treaty and European Council directive. Read the full article here (via Prague.TV)
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