News

25. 11. 201915:46

The government approved the Report on the Implementation of the National Reform Programme of the Czech Republic 2019

Today the government approved its Report on the Implementation of the National Reform Programme of the Czech Republic 2019, including the realization of the 2019 Council recommendations. The report presents an overview of the ongoing measures and the state of their realization so far. The provisions laid out in the NPR 2019 are meant to stimulate long-term economic growth and maintain stable employment.

The annual Report describes the implementation of introduced measures targeting a variety of policy areas that the government had prioritized in its National Reform Program 2019 published in April. Reflecting on the priorities set out in the government manifesto, the focus of the NPR 2019 is predominantly aimed at investments. The government is investing considerable resources from the national budget into education, R&D, digitalization and other important policy areas. Furthermore the government introduced action plans pertaining to the Czech Innovation Strategy 2019-2030 (The Czech Republic: The Country For The Future). It also presented a strategic document called The main targets of Czech education policy until 2030+. Another important success is the recent Council decision authorizing the Czech Republic to apply the generalized reverse charge mechanism derogating from Article 193 of the EU VAT directive.

The Report was drafted by the Section for European Affairs of the Government Office of the Czech Republic in close cooperation with ministries and other state institutions. Just like in the previous years there was continuous discourse with representatives of trade unions and business associations who had the opportunity to consult and review the draft version of the Report. The inclusive nature of the European Semester in the Czech Republic is appraised by social and economic partners and by the European Commission alike

The Report will now be passed onto the European Commission as the government´s contribution to the bilateral dialogue between the European Commission and the Czech Republic on economic and social policy within the so-called European Semester process. The Commission shall then use the content to prepare its own documents which it periodically produces as part of the European Semester such as the country reports (the Country Report on the Czech Republic) or the ensuing Country Specific Recommendations.