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08/20/2026
The Finance Ministry today downgraded its forecast for the country’s economic growth this year to 1.9% in its new economic outlook. In its previous forecast in April, it expected GDP to grow by 2.1% this year. The downgrade is due to the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. For next year, the ministry maintained its forecast of 2.4% economic growth.
The ministry expects average inflation to reach 2.2% this year, which is 0.3 percentage points lower than its April forecast. According to the ministry, slower growth in consumer prices is being driven by the transfer of renewable energy payments to the state budget, lower food prices, and a stronger Czech koruna. Next year, the ministry expects inflation to accelerate to 2.7%.
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08/20/2026
The Czech Republic should spend slightly more than 2% of its GDP on defense next year. Otherwise, given the commitments made at the Hague summit, a shortfall in defense spending would emerge in subsequent years leading up to 2035. President Petr Pavel told journalists this today during a visit to companies in Nové Město na Moravě.
Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna (nominated by SPD) said after Wednesday’s meeting with Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) that the Defense Ministry plans to allocate 2% of GDP to defense spending next year. He said this would fulfill the Czech Republic’s NATO commitment.
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08/20/2026
Cloudy to partly cloudy, with occasional rain or showers. Highs will range from 22°C to 26°C, reaching up to 28°C in Moravia.
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08/20/2026
Education Minister Robert Plaga (nominated by ANO) wants teachers’ salaries to return to 130% of the average wage. In the coming years, he would like teachers’ salaries to increase by 6-7% annually. A key priority for him will be ensuring that the government’s policy program is fulfilled by 2029, promising a starting teacher salary of CZK 50,000 and an average salary of CZK 75,000.
Plaga told journalists ahead of today’s meeting with Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO). Plaga also said he wants to resolve several issues concerning regional and higher education with Schillerová. Next year, for example, he wants to increase funding for universities in response to larger numbers of students from bigger age groups entering higher education. He is also seeking additional funding to support mental health in schools, school psychologists and special education teachers, as well as support for schools with particular needs.
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08/20/2026
Critics among senators say the controversial coalition amendment to the Building Act favors developers at the expense of other rights and interests. They argue that its concentration of decision-making on construction permits makes it prone to corruption, poorly conceived, and a step backward that could actually prolong the building approval process. Senators made these comments today following a speech by Regional Development Minister Zuzana Mrázová (ANO), who presented the amendment as a way to speed up the approval of construction projects.
The Senate began discussing the controversial amendment to the Building Act this morning. A lengthy debate is expected, after which the upper chamber will likely reject the amendment, in line with recommendations from three Senate committees.
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08/20/2026
Czech agriculture is expected to lose around CZK 20 billion in revenue this year, said Jan Doležal, president of the Czech Agrarian Chamber, at the opening of the Země živitelka agricultural trade fair. In crop production, the decline will be caused mainly by this year’s lower harvest, considered to be the worst in the past 15 years.
The state is prepared to help farmers deal with the impacts of climate change, Agriculture Minister Martin Šebestyán said at the opening of the fair. According to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, shops full of food cannot be taken for granted in the future as they are today. He also thanked farmers for their work.
The 52nd edition of the fair, running from August 20 until August 25, will focus on connecting modern technologies with agricultural practice.
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08/20/2026
An exhibition dedicated to samizdat literature illicitly produced in communist Czechoslovakia has been launched in Germany’s Frankfurt, where Czechia will be guest of honour at the city’s prestigious Book Fair in October.
Martin Krafl, director of the Czech Literary Centre, said the exhibition took into account the fact that visitors will include people from the former West Germany, where people would be less familiar with the concept of samizdat than in ex-East Germany.
The exhibition is running at Frankfurt’s Museum of Communication.
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08/20/2026
The Czech minister of defence, Jaromír Zůna, says that the country will meet its NATO commitment to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence next year. He said the Ministry of Defence should have a budget of CZK 191 billion in 2027. Mr. Zůna made these comments after talks with the minister of finance, Alena Schillerová, who is currently holding a series of budget consultations with cabinet colleagues.
This year the Czech Republic will not reach the 2 percent defence spending target, a situation that has prompted criticism from the president and the US ambassador.
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08/19/2026
The Czech Senate has rejected the coalition government’s proposal to abolish the president’s power to appoint and dismiss heads of permanent missions to international organisations. During a session on Wednesday, members of the upper house described such a measure as an unconstitutional change to the powers of the head of state.
If the government succeeds in passing the proposal in the Chamber of Deputies despite a Senate veto, its opponents will ask the Constitutional Court to repeal the amendment; it is part of legislation related to a controversial civil service law, which the Senate also rejected.
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08/19/2026
A new hospital will be built on the grounds of Prague’s Vinohrady University Hospital, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Health Minister Adam Vojtěch told journalists on Wednesday. The two were speaking at the launch of construction work on a new A&E building at another healthcare facility in the capital, Thomayer University Hospital.
Last month the government tasked the ministers of health and defence with preparing, by the end of August, the transfer of the site in Vinohrady to the Ministry of Defence. Building a new Prague hospital as a military hospital could make it possible to include the costs incurred in NATO-required defence spending.
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