Czech Republic

The Czech government presented its 2027 state budget draft with deficit of CZK 389 billion while highlighting a figure of 2.8% of GDP and comparing it favorably with deficits elsewhere in the EU. Yet, these figures describe different concepts.

The Czech pension system faces significant demographic pressure in the coming decades. The number of people of retirement age will rise, whilst the number of those funding the system will fall. Even following recent reforms, long-term projections therefore do not foresee the pension system achieving a balanced budget.

t the end of 2025, Czech public debt stood at 44.25 % GDP, whilst as a ratio to GNI it reached 46.37 % and, relative to gross national disposable income (GNDI), as high as 46.63 %. The difference is not large enough to fundamentally alter the assessment of Czech public finances, but it does show that the debt-to-GDP ratio alone may not capture all the relevant characteristics of the economy.

Some Members of Parliament in Czechia seem to want to copy an infamous Russian law aimed against NGOs. Jindřich Rajchl, elected on the ballot of the far-right SPDparty, proudly stands behind this initiative.

The idea of capping interest rates on non-bank consumer loans has returned to the Czech political agenda. The intention is unimpeachable: protect financially vulnerable people from predatory lenders and prevent debt spirals. Nobody serious disputes that goal. However, will the rate cap actually solve the problem it claims to address?

Platform workers in the Czech Republic are not, by and large, a captive workforce in need of rescue. They are people who have made a rational choice to work flexibly, on their own schedule, for income that suits their circumstances. Good regulation should make that choice safer and more transparent. It should not make it impossible.

Priorities. Practically every ministry, every coalition, even every group sitting at a table in a pub has a whole list of them. But so as not to sound too self-deprecating, this is not just a problem in the Czech Republic. For three and a half years, we have been hearing that defense is our European priority. I would very much like to agree with that.

Argentinian President Javier Milei filed lawsuits this month for defamation against three journalists, reports the Buenos Aires Herald. \"The journalists targeted are columnists Ari Lijalad and Carlos Pagni, as well as TV host Viviana Canosa. Canosa was a staunch Milei supporter until two years ago,\" says the newspaper reports.

Czechia ranked 26th out of 30 countries in this year’s Nanny State Index, maintaining its reputation of lifestyle freedom, but continuing to fall in the rankings. The higher a country ranks, the more regulated its lifestyle is. Our country’s approach to regulating food, beverages, alcohol, and electronic cigarettes remains largely liberal. However, in 2017, Czechia was the most liberal country in the ranking.

One of the quickest and easiest ways to bring health services closer to consumers is to extend the ability to sell selected over-the-counter (OTC) medications in retail outlets while expanding the competencies of pharmacies. In terms of the openness of OTC medication sales, there are no uniform rules across Europe. About half of European countries allow OTC medicines to be sold outside pharmacies under various conditions.