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02/15/2024
The European Commission has downgraded its Czech growth forecast for 2024, predicting that GDP will grow by 1.1 percent instead of the previously expected 1.4 percent.
According to the EC prediction, growth should be supported by the high saving rate of households over the past three years, the projected easing of inflation and rising real wages, as well as by further relaxation of financing conditions.
It also points out that recent consumer and business confidence indicators are still below the historical average, indicating an only gradual return to a higher growth rate in private demand.
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02/14/2024
Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament paid a working visit to Prague on Wednesday for talks with the country's top officials. In the course of the day the Maltese politician met with President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the heads of both houses of parliament to discuss security issues, the EU’s migration pact, agricultural policy and the European Media Freedom Act, among others.
Speaking at a press briefing in Prague, Ms. Metsola urged Czechs to go to the polls in the upcoming elections to the European Parliament and use their influence in molding European affairs.
Ms. Metsola also paid tribute to the victims of a mass shooting at Prague’s Charles University in December and took part in a debate with students at Prague’s University of Economics and Business.
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02/14/2024
The Prague Municipal Court has once again acquitted ANO party leader and former prime minister Andrej Babiš of fraud charges in a case involving a CZK 50 million subsidy for a congress centre near Prague. It was the court’s second ruling on the case after an appeals court overturned a not-guilty verdict in January of 2023. Babiš’ assistant Jana Nagyova was also acquitted.
Andrej Babiš was suspected of having wrongfully acquired a 50 million crown EU grant for the center intended for small and medium sized businesses by temporarily transferring ownership to his wife and children. The center was part of the prime minister’s multi-billion crown conglomerate Agrofert and was later brought back to the fold.
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02/14/2024
Thursday should be cloudy to overcast with scattered rain showers and day temperatures between 7 and 12 degrees Celsius.
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02/14/2024
The Czech government has moved to place sweets containing the psychoactive substance HHC on the list of banned addictive substances. According to Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný the measure is temporary and will have to be approved by the European Commission which may take between two to three weeks. It should be enforced in March. Since last summer, around 170 children and young people have ended up in hospital after overdosing on these products. The European Union is expected to address the problem on a European scale.
At its session on Wednesday the cabinet also discussed Czechia’s progress in meeting the Maastricht criteria, but it did not set a target date for euro adoption.
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02/14/2024
The number of guns registered in Czechia exceeded one million last year, an increase of almost three percent, the Czech Press Agency reported citing police statistics. Gun license holders also increased by three percent to almost 317,000. It is not clear how people possess weapons without a license, but in 2023 the police registered 380 cases classified as “illegal arming”.
In the wake of December’s tragic shooting at the Prague Faculty of Arts, in which a lone gunman killed 14 people and injured 25, the Czech lower house moved to tighten the country’s gun law. The amendment, which is not yet in force, will introduce an online register of both guns and their owners and gun shops will be required to report purchases that they deem suspicious.
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02/14/2024
Vendors of sweets containing the psychoactive substance HHC are scrambling to empty their warehouses ahead of an expected ban on the sale of these products, the news site Novinky.cz warned on Wednesday. Many retailers voluntarily removed HHC edibles from their vending machines after close to a hundred young people ended up in hospital after overdosing on them last month, but many e-shops are now offering large discounts so as to sell the goods. Health officials fear this may lead young people to stock up on them.
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02/14/2024
The ruling parties have refused to top-up missing funds for schools which lack money for non-teaching staff, teachers unions reported after a meeting with members of the cabinet on Tuesday. Due to the government’s austerity measures, there is a shortfall of roughly CZK 800 million to cover the salaries of roughly 2, 000 non-teaching employees in schools around the country. Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura said there would be no extra funds for the time being, but promised that the cabinet would discuss a possible budget increase in mid-2024. Many schools say the funds are essential for their operation and have threatened strike action.
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02/14/2024
Czechia could be involved in a humanitarian aid operation for civilians from Gaza, Defence Minister Jana Černochová told journalists after a meeting with President Petr Pavel at Prague Castle on Tuesday. The minister said that if the mission is approved by Parliament, a medical team could be sent out in a matter of weeks. The field hospital would most likely operate aboard a ship. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant reportedly asked Czechia to join the humanitarian operation during Minister Černochova’s visit to Israel last week. The minister said she had already discussed the matter with the Chief of the General Staff Karel Řehka.
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02/14/2024
The Czech minister of defence, Jana Černochová, says she would like to confirm an agreement on possible future cooperation between Germany and Czechia on the acquisition of Leopard 2A8 tanks by the end of this year. She made the comment after a meeting with President Petr Pavel at Prague Castle on Tuesday.
Germany has donated 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks to Czechia in return for its support of Ukraine, with the value previously put at CZK 3.85 billion. Czechia is also negotiating with Germany on purchasing at least 77 of the tanks and is hoping to secure a significant price reduction and other advantages.
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