Illustrative photo – Press conference after the government meeting, August 17, 2022, Prague.
Prague – The government will approve the update of the program statement on Wednesday. Cabinet spokesman Václav Smolka confirmed the intention to ČTK. The changes in the plan, originally prepared for four years, are explained by the five-member coalition Together with Starosts and Pirates as the effects of the war in Ukraine, which began a year ago and brought new challenges to the Czech Republic as well. The cabinet has already announced some changes in the program, for example shortening the deadline for increasing defense spending in line with alliance commitments to two percent of GDP. He originally planned to do so only for the 2025 budget, but now he would like to reach the goal a year earlier. Due to the energy crisis, for example, the path to greater use of alternative sources has also picked up speed. The government has already fulfilled part of its obligations, for example it canceled the electronic record of sales.
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According to an earlier statement by Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS), the program statement, austerity measures and pension reform are the three major areas on which the cabinet is now working. The first is the revision of the program, during which the realism of all goals, their schedule and what has been achieved so far will be evaluated. In April, according to the Prime Minister, it should be clear where the cabinet will look for savings in the state budget, but the basic parameters of the planned pension reform should also be known to the public after discussion in the government coalition of five. The prime minister discussed the implementation of the program with individual ministers during so-called balance visits to departments, and other goals were also set at the meetings.
In the program statement published on January 7, 2022, the government promised to stabilize public finances and anchor foreign policy in the EU and NATO, pension reform. Support was announced by photovoltaics, the construction of a new nuclear unit in Dukovany. It also stated that it plans to move away from coal by 2033. It promised to expand the highway network by up to 200 kilometers. The cabinet planned to implement fundamental changes in public finances in the middle of the mandate, so that they would be effective from 2024. They see the way to stability in the reform of state spending, not in increasing the tax burden. He planned to set a ceiling on the tax burden, tighten budgetary rules and meet the conditions for adopting the euro. He also promised to cancel the electronic registration of sales and increase the limit for mandatory VAT registration, which has already happened.
