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The Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) movement will support the government in the vote of confidence, SPD leader and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Tomio Okamura told journalists. Lawmakers from the movement had wanted to decide on their stance toward confidence in the government only after Tuesday’s appearance by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO), who addressed the SPD caucus regarding the ammunition initiative. SPD parliamentary leader Radim Fiala welcomed Babiš’s attendance at the meeting, but said that SPD lawmakers have not yet voted internally on a final position.

From 2030, only electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles are likely to be allowed to operate as taxis in Prague. From August next year, taxi vehicles will also be required to meet the Euro 6d emissions standard, a stricter version of EU limits on harmful exhaust emissions.

The measures were approved by the city council. The ordinance will still need to be approved by Prague’s assembly.

City officials cited a sharp increase in the number of taxi vehicles in recent years, their high average age of around ten years, and planned stricter air-quality protection standards as the reasons for the changes.

The Chamber of Deputies will open debate on a vote of confidence in the three-party government of Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on Tuesday. The ruling coalition made up of the prime minister’s ANO party, SPD and the Motorists has a comfortable 108 seat majority in the lower chamber and is expected to win the confidence motion. The debate, which will be preceded by addresses from the prime minister and all cabinet members, should take up the better part of two days with the vote itself expected in the late afternoon on Wednesday.

The tripartite council of government representatives, employers and trade unions will cooperate on Czech activities in the European Union aimed at halting the ETS 2 emissions trading system, Labour and Social Affairs Minister Aleš Juchelka (ANO) said at a press conference after Monday’s meeting. Representatives of industry and employees are expected to prepare detailed sector-by-sector analyses of the system’s impacts for the government by the end of January, said Jan Rafaj, president of the Confederation of Industry and Transport. The government wants to use the materials to strengthen its arguments in negotiations at EU level, Juchelka said.

In addition to ETS 2, the tripartite council also discussed the situation surrounding the draft state budget and the policy statement of the new government. No agreement was reached between the government and trade unions on wage growth. Unions are calling for a nine-percent increase in pay scales from January for lower-paid professions and a six-percent rise for other employees. Talks are to continue on January 26.