After meeting with Prime Minister Fiala, the President of the European Commission announced the approval of the updated National Recovery Plan

The European Commission has approved an updated version of the Czech National Recovery Plan. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the announcement after a meeting with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the Straka Academy on Tuesday 26 September 2023. At the working meeting, the Prime Minister and the head of the European Commission also discussed the notification of the completion of the Dukovany nuclear power plant, the situation around migration, as well as support for the Czechs in the EU institutions and the proposal for a new EURO 7 emission standard.

The National Recovery Plan brings EUR 2.2 billion (roughly CZK 53.6 billion) to support the clean economy and industrial transformation. The entire National Recovery Plan has a volume of EUR 9.2 billion (about CZK 224.2 billion). After meeting with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, the European Commission President said that the plan includes EUR 736 million (roughly CZK 17.8 billion) for investments in renewable energy, clean transport and the distribution network.

“Thanks to this, we will be able to use up to almost CZK 50 billion extra. We will be able to use the funds to modernise our economy and state administration, for affordable housing and for cybersecurity projects,” said Petr Fiala.

The Prime Minister and the President of the Commission also discussed the current migration situation in the EU. “Better protection of the EU’s external border and a reduction in the number of incoming economic refugees is absolutely crucial for the Czech Republic. We are ready to participate in the protection of the external border, but our goal must be above all to ensure that these people are not deported to Europe at all and do not support smugglers and traffickers in human misery,” the Prime Minister reiterated the Czech Republic's position and stressed that the Czech Republic rejects any form of mandatory redistribution of irregular migrants within the EU. “It is a system that is both inhumane and dysfunctional,” added the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister also reiterated to the EC President that nuclear energy is a traditional sector in the Czech Republic, where there is a sufficient number of experts and a background in universities and research. “That is why it is extremely important for us that nuclear energy remains the preferred clean energy source in the Czech Republic. We are doing and will do absolutely everything within the framework of our European policy. I also informed Ursula von der Leyen about the current state of the tender for the completion of Dukovany. At the moment we are waiting for the bids to be received and also for the European Commission to notify the funding. The President also confirmed that the choice of the energy mix remains in the hands of individual states,” said the Prime Minister.

The meeting also focused on the current proposal for a new EURO 7 emission standard, which was approved by EU Ministers responsible for competitiveness on Monday. “Since the beginning of the negotiations on the EURO 7 proposal, the Czech Republic has had careful consideration of its impact on the Czech and European industry, which is why we have advocated for a reasonable form of this standard that will be realistic and will not endanger the competitiveness of the industry. Thanks to our active approach and long-term effective cooperation, many of our fundamental demands for a more realistic form of the proposal have been taken into account,” reminded Petr Fiala.

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Ursula von der Leyen discussed the support of Czechs in the EU institutions. “ I am very pleased that the President's team is working with my team to develop a special Action Plan and I hope it will soon bear fruit,” concluded the Prime Minister.