Relaunched National Economic Council has first meeting

Members of the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV) had their first meeting since their activities were resumed in May on Wednesday. They have agreed to meet monthly from now on. The state budget and the energy crisis were the main topics at the meeting.

David Marek, a member of the board and chief economist of Deloitte, told reporters that the possibility of raising taxes was discussed at the meeting as one way of increasing the state budget. NERV also discussed the planned austerity tariff by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the issue of housing.

NERV was founded in 2009 as a body of experts tasked with seeking a solution to the effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the Czech Republic. After the fall of the government at the time, NERV's activities were suspended in August 2013. The government resumed NERV's activities in May 2022 in response to economic problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic, rising energy prices and the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the task of the council being to propose reforms of key public systems, such as the pension system.