The Government Council for Sustainable Development of the Czech Republic
The Government Council for Sustainable Development of the Czech Republic, chaired by the Prime Minister, is an advisory body to the Government responsible for inter-sectoral coordination of the sustainable development policy among central administrative authorities. It consists of the representatives of all ministries, both chambers of the Parliament, municipalities, NGOs, trade unions, academia, industry, agriculture and research. Other relevant stakeholders are represented in its nine thematic Committees and working groups.
In order to foster partnership and inform all stakeholders about the latest developments in the field of sustainable development, the Office of the Government revived the tradition of the national Sustainable Development Forum, which is held annually since 2014. The Forum in 2015 was one of the first opportunities to discuss the implementation of the SDGs on the national level after their adoption.
Brief history
The Government Council for Sustainable Development (the "Council") was established by Government Resolution No. 778 of July 30, 2003 as a standing advisory, initiative and coordinating body of the Government of the Czech Republic in the domains of sustainable development and strategic management. The first Statute of the Council was adopted by Government Resolution No 836 of August 6, 2003. In 2006 the Council and its secretariat was moved to the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. The Council and its horizontal, inter-sectoral importance was fully re-established and the Council was moved back to the Government’s Office (Department of Sustainable Development of the Office of the Government) by Government Resolution No. 434 of June 9, 2014. The Council newly integrated also the agenda of the former National Economic Council. The proposal to re-establish the Council originated from the need to create a body that would deal with the issue of sustainable development on a systematic and long-term basis, serve as an umbrella for the present efforts promoting sustainable development, and efficiently coordinate all related activities. The activities of the Council are specified in the Statute and Rules of Procedure.
The Statute
The present Statute was adopted by the Czech Government Resolution No. 622 of July 29, 2015 and sets the responsibilities and tasks of the Council, the Chairman, Council’s members, the Steering Committee, the Committees, the Working groups, Council’s Secretary and the Secretariat and external co-workers.
- the Council meets at least 3 times per year;
- the Prime Minister holds the office of the Chairman of the Council.
Main Responsibilities
- Development of the Sustainable Development Strategy and its reviews;
- Bi-annual reporting on the implementation of the sustainable development strategy in the Czech Republic and monitoring of indicators;
- Methodological coordination of conceptual documents.
Members
Chairman
- Andrej Babiš
Prime Minister
Members of the Steering Committee
Council's Secretary, members of the Steering Committee and Chairmans of Council's Committees
The Steering Committee has been set up in November 2015. It serves as a flexible steering body for coordination of Council's work in between Council's meetings. The Steering Committee is chaired by Council’s Secretary. The Steering Committee includes 7 members of the Council (4 representatives of ministries and 3 of social partners and NGOs) and Chairmen of Council's Committees.
- Ing. Jan Žůrek
Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development - JUDr. Olga Letáčková
Ministry of Regional Development - Ing. Jiří Dlouhý
Society for Sustainable Living - Ing. Jaroslav Šulc, CSc.
Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions - Mgr. Richard Brabec
Ministry of the Environment - Position not occupied
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs - Position not occupied
Ministry of Industry and Trade
Members
- Position not occupied
Ministry of Finance; Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy - Mgr. František Lukl, MPA
Union of Towns and Municipalities of the Czech Republic - Tomáš Vrbík
Czech Chamber of Commerce - Ing. Josef Praks
Ministry of Culture - JUDr. Rostislav Dvořák
Union of Czech and Moravian Production Co-operatives - Ing. Milan Taraba
Council of Seniors of the Czech Republic - Ing. Radomír Jahoda
Ministry of Defense - Ing. Miroslav Zábranský
Ministry of Justice - Mgr. Martina Štěpánková
Government Office - JUDr. PhDr. Petr Mlsna, Ph.D.
Ministry of the Interior - Position not occupied
Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic - PhDr. Vladimír Špidla
ad personam - prof. MUDr. Roman Prymula, CSc., Ph.D.
Ministry of Health - Position not occupied
Czech Statistical Office - Mgr. Václav Pícl
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports - Ing. Martin Tlapa
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Ing. Tomáš Čoček, Ph.D.
Ministry of Transport - Mgr. Radko Martínek
Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic - Jarmila Uvírová
Association of Regions of the Czech Republic - Ing. Petr Švec
Healthy Cities of the Czech Republic - MUDr. Radim Šrám, DrSc.
Academy of Science of the Czech Republic - doc. Ing. Jakub Fischer, Ph.D.
Higher Education Council of the Czech Republic - prof. Bedřich Moldan, CSc.
Czech Rectors Conference - Ing. Bohuslav Čížek, Ph.D.
Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic - JUDr. Jaroslav Staněk
Association of Independent Trade Unions - Ing. Václav Hlaváček, CSs.
Czech Agrarian Chamber - Hana Stelzerová
Czech Women’s Lobby - Ing. Ondřej Šejtka
Czech Council of Children and Youth - Mgr. Jiří Koželouh
Green Circle - Association of 28 most important ecological NGO’s of the Czech Republic - RNDr. Libor Ambrozek
Czech Union for Nature Conservation
Committees
- Socio-economic Development Committee
- Strategic Management, Analyses Committee
- Landscape, Water and Biodiversity Committee
- Sustainable Energy Committee
- Sustainable Municipalities Committee
- Sustainable Transport Committee
- Education for SD Committee
- International Affairs Committee
- Committee on Sustainable Development Indicators
