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10/20/2022
Seven people have been charged with subsidy fraud following Tuesday’s police raid at the Brno City Hall, the ctk news agency reported. The individuals in question are suspected of involvement in large-scale fraud related to city housing projects. Deputy Mayor Petr Hladík, who was slated to take up the post of environment minister, is not among those charged but his office was also raided by the police and his Christian Democratic Party is now expected to put forward a different candidate for the post. The party leadership is to meet on Thursday to discuss the matter.
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10/20/2022
Czech ambassador to Moscow, Vítězslav Pivoňka, attended a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry to discuss the escalation of tensions over the Czech House dispute. The Russian authorities recently ordered the removal of part of the fence surrounding the property which the Czech side considers to be a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the step would not go unanswered. The Russian Foreign Ministry claims the problematic fence is a long-standing issue and has nothing to do with the present political situation.
The Czech House, the largest property owned by the country abroad, has been operating in maintenance mode for several months now, with three Czech and four Russian employees overseeing its operation. The Foreign Ministry decided to close it down shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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10/19/2022
Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura has refuted an earlier claim that the windfall tax the Czech government wants to levy on companies in the energy and banking sectors would be retroactive for 2022. Following Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, Mr. Stanjura said the tax on companies in the energy, banking, petroleum and fossil fuel industries would apply from January 2023 to the end of 2025 as planned. The ministry is planning a tax rate of 60 percent on the excess profits of these companies. The special tax is expected to generate CZK 85 billion for the budget in 2023. Another CZK 15 billion is expected to be raised next year by European price caps for energy producers, as proposed by the European Commission.
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10/19/2022
Thursday should be bright and sunny with daytime highs between 11 and 15 degrees Celsius.
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10/19/2022
At a gala ceremony at Černín Palace, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský presented eight laureates with the Gratias Agit award for promoting the country‘s good name abroad. Among this year’s recipients are: Cecilia Rokusek, head of the Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, the head of the Association for Home Care Tamara Adasan from Moldova, Hazbun Samir Yousef Salim, Czech Honorary Consul in Bethlehem, Antoine Marès, Professor of History of Central and Eastern Europe at the Sorbonne in Paris, and the Czech School in Rome.
The tradition of Gratias Agit awards was established in 1997 in appreciation of the work of prominent personalities and organizations developing activities that promote Czechia’s good name around the world.
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10/19/2022
Up to a fifth of Czech companies are considering laying off staff to make up for rising energy costs. The rise in energy prices has affected enterprises with a high consumption, such as glass making companies, ceramics manufacturers, steel producers and food producers particularly badly. The layoffs should concern mainly administrative staff, but also manual workers and people in IT positions. Companies in the Karlovy Vary and Zlin regions are reported to be facing the biggest problems.
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10/19/2022
The EU energy package being debated still lacks an explicit proposal to cap the price of gas for electricity production, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said at a meeting of the European Affairs Committee in the lower house where he presented Czechia’s position for the European Council meeting in Brussels, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. Key elements, according to Fiala, are joint gas purchases, the creation of an alternative benchmark for calculating gas prices, a price correction mechanism for cases of extreme market fluctuations and strengthening solidarity between member states in the event of a supply shortfall.
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10/19/2022
The windfall tax that the Czech government wants to levy on companies in the energy and banking sectors will be retroactive for 2022, Deputy Prime Minister Marian Jurečka told reporters on Wednesday citing an agreement reached by the governing parties. The tax on companies in the energy, banking, petroleum and fossil fuel industries was originally meant to apply from January 2023 to the end of 2025. The ministry is planning a tax rate of 60 percent on the excess profits of these companies. The special tax is expected to generate CZK 85 billion for the budget in 2023. Another CZK 15 billion is expected to be raised next year by European price caps for energy producers, as proposed by the European Commission.
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10/19/2022
MPs have voted to cut the budget of the Office of the President by CZK 30 million. The money pertains to forestry management. Backers of the move said it was in response to the conviction of Miloš Bálak, who was head of forestry administration at the presidential retreat at Lány near Prague, on large-scale corruption charges. He was later pardoned by President Miloš Zeman.
The money has been redirected to anti-drug policies and support for youth groups.
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10/19/2022
The Czech lower house has voted to increase the state budget deficit for this year to CZK 375 billion. The approved deficit was due to be CZK 280 billion until the government proposed raising it to CZK 330 billion – before again increasing the amount.
This follows the earmarking of CZK 38 billion to help households and companies deal with high energy prices; the remaining difference is to cover social benefits.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the increase in the deficit was justified as the 2022 budget had been drawn up before the consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine were known.
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