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05/11/2023
The Czech government unveiled an overhaul of the state old-age pension system on Thursday. Under the new approach laid out by the minister of labour and social affairs, Marian Jurečka, the pension age should be examined annually, according to the life expectancy of Czechia’s 50-year-olds. The guaranteed pension should correspond to 20 percent of the average wage and the new pensions should be slightly lower than pensions at present, under the reforms presented by Mr. Jurečka.
Expenditure on pensions is rising sharply and now amounts to 30 percent of the state’s outlay, the Czech News Agency reported.
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05/11/2023
The Czech government has revealed its plans to reduce the state budget deficit by CZK 94 billion this year. At Thursday’s event timed to start at 11:55 – signifying the lateness of the move – Prime Minister Petr Fiala said if measures were not taken now, the budget deficit would be CZK 148 billion higher in two years’ time.
Reducing non-investment subsidies is intended to save the state CZK 46 billion, while reducing operating costs and wages should save over CZK 20 billion, Mr. Fiala said.
The government is also proposing that there should be two VAT rates, rather than the current three, and wants to raise levies on alcohol and tobacco.
By contrast it plans to make food, housing and medicines cheaper.
Mr. Fiala said some taxes would be raised but the impact on citizens would be minimized. Twenty-two tax exemptions will be abolished while the tax system should be streamlined.
The government also introduced changes to the old-age pension system. The prime minister said the pension reform consisted of adjustments to calculating retirement age, changes in pension levels and adjustments to early retirement.
Property tax is to be increased, the minister of finance, Zbyněk Stanjura, said on Thursday. The higher rate should bring an extra CZK 9.3 billion into the state coffers, he said.
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05/11/2023
Former prime minister Petr Nečas has lost an appeal against a verdict under which he was found guilty of committing perjury to aid his wife. A Prague appeals court confirmed a previous one-year suspended sentence and a CZK 100,000 fine.
Thursday’s verdict means that Mr. Nečas is the first former Czech prime minister to be definitively convicted in a criminal case.
Mr. Nečas gave false testimony in a case of misuse of the Military Intelligence by his wife, who was then his head of office. The matter contributed to the fall of his government in 2013.
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05/11/2023
It should be mainly overcast in Czechia on Friday, with an average high temperature of 16 degrees Celsius. Similar weather is expected at the weekend.
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05/11/2023
The Czech ice hockey player David Pastrňák, who plays for Boston Bruins, is among the candidates for the Ted Lindsay Award. It is given to “the most outstanding player in the NHL” as voted by fellow members of the NHL Players’ Association.
The 26-year-old winger is up against Connor McDavid of Edmonton and Erik Karlsson of San Jose for the prize.
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05/11/2023
The German state of Saxony has requested the temporary introduction of border controls with the Czech Republic and Poland. German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed at a meeting with regional government leaders on Wednesday that Germany could introduce border controls with its neighbours depending on the migration situation. The Saxon Minister for Federal Affairs told the DPA agency on Thursday morning that he expects the negotiations with the German Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for the policing and security of the country's borders, to be quick.
Germany temporarily reintroduced checks on its border with Austria in 2015, which it has extended at regular intervals since then. Some migrants therefore choose to come to Germany via Czechia and Poland to avoid checks at the German-Austrian border.
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05/11/2023
Prague is planning to introduce a charge for non-residents travelling by car in the historic city centre and to limit visitor parking there, the Czech News Agency reports. The aim is to discourage unnecessary journeys through the centre in order to decrease traffic. The deputy mayor for transport, Zdeněk Hřib, and the mayor of Prague 1, Terezie Radoměřská, said at a debate on transport on Wednesday evening that the measure could come into effect at the beginning of next year.
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05/10/2023
Wednesday is expected to be overcast, although no rain is predicted. Daytime temperatures should range between 13 and 18 degrees Celsius.
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05/10/2023
The government has exceeded its aim of saving at least CZK 70 billion from the state budget, environment minister Petr Hladík said after Wednesday's cabinet meeting. He refused to give further details, saying that the government will announce what specific measures are being taken on Thursday at noon. He said that the basic issues had been resolved and he does not expect that fundamental negotiations on the topic will continue.
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05/10/2023
President Pavel wants to award the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk to Zdena Mašínová, daughter of the executed anti-Nazi resistance fighter Josef Mašín, at a state awards ceremony on October 28, Czech news server Aktuálně.cz reported on Wednesday. This state honour is awarded by the president to people who have contributed to the development of democracy and human rights.
Mašínová is still debating whether to accept the award, saying that her family fought against totalitarian regimes because they saw it as a duty, not because they wanted to receive awards.
According to Aktuálně.cz, the 89-year-old Mašínová was surprised by a visit from President Petr Pavel last week, during which he told her that he wanted to present her with the award.
Last year, former president Miloš Zeman posthumously awarded Zdena's father, Josef Mašín, who was a member of the resistance group Tři Králové during World War II, with a state honour, but Mašínová refused to accept the award from him, so defence minister Černochová represented her at the ceremony. However, she told Aktuálně.cz that she would accept the award from Mr Pavel.
Mašínová is also the sister of Ctirad and Josef Mašín, the brothers who put up armed resistance against the communist regime. While they escaped to West Berlin in the 1950s and never returned to the Czech Republic, Zdena stayed in the country and was persecuted by the regime until the revolution.
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