• Prague City Hall promises sensitive reconstruction of Vyton railway bridge
    03/24/2023

    Prague City Hall has agreed to preserve the original look of the heritage-protected Vyton railway bridge on the Vltava, which is due to undergo a major reconstruction. The decision came in the wake of a wave of criticism to plans unveiled by the Czech Railways Administration according to which the bridge was to have been torn down and replaced by a new one. Prague City Hall has said that while the reconstruction will respect the original design and character of the bridge, a third track will have to be added.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Labour minister under fire for offering Labour Office head bonus to quit
    03/24/2023

    Czech Labour Minister Marian Jurečka has dismissed calls for him to resign over a recording in which he offered the head of the Labour Office, Viktor Najmon, a hefty bonus if he resigned from his post rather than having to be dismissed. The recording was leaked by the daily Mlada fronta Dnes and caused outrage among opposition MPs. Jurečka said in his defense that he had not in any way violated the civil service act. Prime Minister Fiala is standing by the labour minister. The matter is to be investigated by the police's National Centre against Organised Crime.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Warm weather breaks temperature records around Czechia
    03/24/2023

    A spell of warm weather has broken records around Czechia. Record temperatures for March 23 were seen at 24 out of 161 stations keeping records for 30 years or more.

    The highest temperature, 22.5 degrees Celsius, was registered in Brod nad Dyjí in South Moravia.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Heat consumption in Czechia lowest in six years
    03/24/2023

    Heat consumption from central heating plants in Czechia fell by 12 percent year-on-year in 2022, according to data released by the Energy Regulatory Office on Friday. A total of 74 PJs of heat was consumed, which is the lowest figure in six years.

    Consumption fell across all sectors, with industry and households traditionally accounting for the largest share. In addition to heat, the use of other energies also fell last year. Electricity consumption dropped by almost four per cent to 73.66 TWh.

    Gas consumption was the lowest in eight years, with Czechs consuming a total of 7.544 billion cubic metres, down by a fifth year-on-year.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Weather forecast
    03/23/2023

    Friday will be mostly overcast with occasional rain and day temperatures ranging between 15 and 19 degrees Celsius.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • PM Fiala: draft Euro 7 standards needs revision
    03/23/2023

    The Euro 7 emission standards proposed by the European Commission to reduce air pollution from new motor vehicles sold in the EU needs to be significantly changed so that it doesn’t limit the production of small personal vehicles, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Thursday ahead of his departure for the European summit in Brussels.

    EU lawmakers and member states in October agreed that from 2035 all newly registered cars and light commercial vehicles must no longer emit CO2, which effectively means a ban for combustion engine cars.

    Czechia, along with Germany, previously said they would not support the EU emission standards unless the use of synthetic fuels remains possible after the deadline.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czechs will soon be able to use e-prescriptions in other countries
    03/23/2023

    Within a few weeks, Czech citizens will be able to use digital prescriptions issued by their doctor when visiting a pharmacy in another EU country, such as Croatia, Poland or Spain, the head of the State Institute for Drug Control, Irena Storová, said at a press conference on Thursday.

    Similarly, foreigners from these countries will be able to retrieve electronically prescribed medicine in Czechia. Currently, they are only allowed to pick up medicines in the EU with a printed prescription.

    The State Institute for Drug Control will publish a list of facilities in Czechia and foreign countries which will allow the option to use a foreign e-prescription.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Rocket launcher Přemysl to be delivered to Ukraine in few weeks
    03/23/2023

    An RM-70 missile launcher, named Přemysl, purchased with funds from Czech donors, will be handed over to Ukraine in just a few weeks’ time.

    The initiative called Gift for Putin, which organizes the collection, has already raised CZK 30 million, it announced on Thursday.

    The Czech civic association previously collected money for a tank called Tomáš, which has already been deployed in combat in Ukraine.

  • Czech Post to abolish 2,269 positions
    03/23/2023

    Czechia’s postal service will abolish 2,269 positions from July, some of which are currently vacant, the company’s spokesman Matyáš Vitík announced on Thursday. Czech Post has not yet identified the specific workers affected by the planned lay-offs.

    The move is related to the planned closure of about 300 of the company’s 3,200 branches. According to the daily Mladá fronta Dnes, which refers to a document Czech Post sent to the labour office, the lay-offs will mainly concern counter staff, deliverymen and lower management.

    The state-owned company currently employs about 25,000 people.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

  • Czechia’s foreign debt fell to CZK 4,454 trillion in 2022
    03/23/2023

    The Czech Republic’s foreign debt fell year-on-year by CZK 65 billion to CZK 4,454 trillion in 2022, according to preliminary data released by the Czech National Bank on Thursday.

    The sum represented 65.7 percent of Czechia's GDP. During the last quarter of 2021 alone, the country’s foreign debt rose by CZK 47.9 billion.

    The most indebted sector of the Czech economy is the banking sector, which makes up 39.6 percent of the country’s total foreign debt, followed by the government sector with 14.6 percent.
    Author: Ruth Fraňková

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