Government says it will unveil National Economic Strategy in autumn

The Czech government, in cooperation with its advisory team from the National Economic Council (NERV) will devise a National Economic Strategy, which is set to be finished by autumn of this year. The plan will then be presented to the government and Chamber of Deputies. It will be centred around making use of the CZK 182 billion allocated to the country through the EU’s coronavirus recovery fund and focus on investments into areas such as transport and energy, Transport, Trade and Industry Minister Karel Havlíček said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Around 70 percent of the strategy is already worked out, Havlíček said, and will draw on the findings of the already complete National Investment Plan.

According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, the state will need to prepare for the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the automobile industry, which makes up around 11 percent of the Czech GDP and more than 20 percent of its exports.

The EU funds should be used mainly on energy efficiency, digitisation, education, child and health care, the prime minister said.