News

The Ostrava-based company Vítkovice Steel has reported a profit of 330.8 million crowns for the year 2023, its best economic result in over fifteen years, said their spokeswoman Jana Dronská today. The steelworks, which are an iconic business in the Silesian city, made a profit after many years of losses, with its loss in 2022 amounting to 550 million crowns.

The Czech steel industry is still facing serious problems, but the acquisition of a new financial partner and an increase in production helped the company to achieve the positive result. Vítkovice Steel is a traditional European manufacturer of rolled steel products, which has over 800 employees and exports to over fifty countries.

The second of the two young men from Czechia who were injured on October 29th while riding on the roof of a Vienna metro train has now died. The death of the 18-year-old was confirmed today by the Vienna General Hospital, following the death of a boy a year younger last Saturday. The two teenagers, the older a Czech citizen and the younger a Ukrainian citizen with permanent residence in Czechia, were taking part in the online trend of 'metro-surfing' when they were killed close to Schönbrunn station. The public-transport operator Wiener Linien has expressed condolences and urged the general public not to take such risks for the sake of social-media content.

Czech candidate for European Commissioner Jozef Síkela reportedly succeeded in today’s hearing in the European Parliament, with the Development Committee (DEVE) supporting his candidacy, according to the Czech Press Agency (ČTK). Following a three-hour questioning, committee members assessed his responses, with a two-thirds majority reportedly in his favor. The committee did not publicly announce its stance, and final results will be confirmed after all 26 commissioner hearings conclude.

MEPs questioned Síkela on his plans to enhance development cooperation and ensure efficient fund allocation. Additional queries addressed his role in migration and how cooperation with third countries could prevent illegal migration. Final decisions will be made by the Conference of Presidents on November 21, with the European Parliament voting on the entire commission on November 25. If approved, the new EC could commence on December 1.

Apartment prices in Prague have risen faster than anticipated, with the average price of new apartments reaching over CZK 160,000 per square meter by the end of September—up 5.4% since January and exceeding Central bank predictions for the entire year. This trend, reported by Central Group, Trigema, and Skanska Residential, shows continued price increases, now in their fourth consecutive quarter. Demand for new housing has surged, currently about 30% higher than pre-pandemic levels, despite only modest declines in mortgage rates. Older apartment prices and rental rates have also increased, with resale prices up 12% year-on-year and average rent rising by 7%.