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The Ministry of Finance has downgraded its growth forecast for this year, predicting that GDP will increase by 1.1 percent. In April, the ministry predicted a growth of 1.4 percent. According to Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, the deterioration in the outlook is due to a revision of GDP data from previous years, carried out by the Czech Statistics Office.

The ministry expects the Czech economy to see a stronger recovery next year, with GDP growing by 2.7 percent. Growth will be driven mainly by household consumption, which will grow by 3.9 percent, according to the forecast.

The Senate has criticized the newly-digitized system of construction permits arguing that it has fundamental flaws and the issue needs to be addressed before it causes irreparable damage. The upper chamber on Wednesday passed a resolution saying that the Ministry of Regional Development, which is responsible for the bungled system, should get a crisis manager and establish a working group with representatives of building authorities and the Chamber of Architects so as to resolve the persistent problems. In the course of the three-hour debate, senators warned of dire economic consequences, including a mass exodus of civil servants from the sector and possible lawsuits against the state for delays in construction due to the inability to process construction permits. The head of the Czech Chamber of Architects, Jan Kasl, said that he welcomed the Senate's stand.

The Senate has passed a government-proposed bill opening the way for postal voting for Czechs living abroad. The bill was supported by 56 out of 68 senators present. The amendment means that expats living abroad will no longer have to travel long distances to cast their ballot. It will now go to the president for final approval and should come into force next year in time for the 2025 general elections. Its passage through Parliament was hindered by the opposition parties who argued that it could be easily abused. Czechs living abroad have long lobbied for this possibility.

Czech companies will be actively involved in the post-war reconstruction of the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine, Czech Ambassador to Ukraine Radek Pech said in an interview for the ctk news agency. The ambassador said Czechia had offered its know-how in the energy sector, transport infrastructure, healthcare, water management and engineering, Czech companies are in contact with the representatives of the cities of Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih and the entire region regarding involvement in post-war reconstruction. In order to ensure effective cooperation and coordination of projects, an office will be established in the Dnipropetrovsk region and the Czech Republic plans to open a consulate general there in the future, Ambassador Pech said.