The National Sports Agency will receive CZK 850 million from the state to help sports organisations whose property was destroyed or damaged by the September floods. The release of the money from the government's budget reserve was approved by the government of Petro Fiala at a meeting on Wednesday, 20 November 2024. It also approved further expansion of assistance to Czech exporters trading with Ukraine, provided in the form of export credit risk insurance by the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation, and approved the launch of the National Development Bank's loan programme for businesses affected by the floods.
This time, the Government met in the Chamber of Deputies for the ongoing session of the lower house of Parliament and returned to the issue of repairing damage after the devastating September floods. The specific aid approved by the government this time concerned sports organisations in the form of increase in the budget of the National Sports Agency and SMEs.
"The government is releasing CZK 850 million for the reconstruction of sports infrastructure after the floods. There are a number of sports grounds and stadiums that have been damaged by the floods and they need to be repaired as quickly as possible so that people can take part in sports and other physical activities to repair what this natural disaster has destroyed," said the Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
Most of this amount, CZK 600 million, will be given to the National Sports Agency for subsidies for reconstruction or new construction of damaged properties, while the remaining CZK 250 million will be given to sports organisations to repair damage to movable property. "What is important is that, based on the government's decision, the National Sports Agency will start issuing appeals by 10 December and will then administer the applications and disburse the requested amounts. This is a continuation of the steps taken by the government in the removal of flood damage and the restoration of destroyed property," the Prime Minister noted.
The government also wants to help small and medium-sized companies whose businesses were damaged by the flood. It has approved a proposal to launch a new Ministry of Industry and Trade Loans - Flood Restart 2024. The loan programme, prepared in cooperation with the National Development Bank, will have CZK 1.5 billion at its disposal, and entrepreneurs will be able to obtain discounted loans of up to CZK 100 million from the NRB for the acquisition of new machinery or technological equipment, or buildings and structures, if they can prove in an affidavit that they were damaged by the September floods. The loans will have a maturity of up to 15 years and a grace period of up to three years and will include a subsidy component in the form of forgiveness of repayments of up to 25 % of the loan principal. The programme will replace the previously used Expansion - Flood Loans call from the Technology and Competitiveness Operational Programme, which was funded from European sources and whose conditions were so stringent that two-thirds of applicants were unable to meet them.
The cabinet also decided to extend assistance to companies that continue to trade with Ukraine even in the current difficult times. It agreed to further continuing to provide export credit risk insurance for the territory of Ukraine through the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation, and at the same time decided to increase the money in the Ukraine Fund earmarked for these purposes from the current 339 million to 639 million crowns.
"This is a decision that will allow the Export Guarantee and Insurance Corporation to extend the maturity of loans provided to companies trading with Ukraine for up to one and a half years, as well as increase the financial capacity of the Ukraine Fund by CZK 300 million," said Prime Minister Petr Fiala. "It's important. Entrepreneurs have called for it because they are taking advantage of the opportunity we have created for them in Ukraine and the good name the Czech Republic has there, but of course they need to have appropriate conditions, including export insurance. And that is what we are expanding with this step," stated the Prime Minister.
The government also dealt with the intention of the Ministry of Defence to supplement the armament of the heavy 7th Mechanised Brigade of the Army of the Czech Republic with other German Leopard 2A4 tanks. Their purchase at a bargain price is part of the offer of the German government, which has already donated 28 tanks of the same type to the Czech Republic, and two Büffel 3 Leopards will replace the older Soviet-made T-72s in the Czech army, which no longer meet the requirements of today's requirements and use ammunition that is not compatible within NATO. On the contrary, Leopard tanks are one of the most widely used and combat-proven tanks in NATO armies. The complete order, including additional equipment and ammunition supply, will cost CZK 3.98 billion and the contract will be signed by 15 December 2024. More in press release of the Ministry of Defence.
The Cabinet has issued a new Regulation, which, on the basis of a request from the Ministry of Defence, defined the areas for which the relaxed rules for the construction of small solar power plants up to 50 kW will not apply. It is now no longer necessary to obtain a standard building permit for these constructions, but the law does allow the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior to define by government decree areas where the procedure for issuing a building permit will still be necessary for security reasons. Both ministries, as parties to the proceedings, will issue binding opinions on whether a small solar power plant can be permitted in these cases.
The government also approved draft amendment to the Act on non-medical health professions. The main objective of the amendment is to apply to Czech law the amendment to the European Directive on the recognition of professional qualifications of nurses responsible for general care who have completed their training in Romania, which the Czech Republic must approve by 4 March 2025. However, beyond transposition, the amendment also includes the Ministry of Health's intention to shorten the time required for the recognition of a nurse practitioner's qualification needed to take up employment in a hospital. General nurse students will be able to start work after completing four semesters at university or two years at a higher vocational school instead of the current six semesters and three years respectively. The same option will now be available to students of paediatric nursing or diploma in paediatric nursing. Students of paramedics should be able to start working in a hospital as a practical nurse after completing five semesters of a bachelor's degree or 2.5 years of study at a higher education institution. The changes are intended to help hospitals eliminate problems with shortages of medical staff. More in press release of the Ministry of Health.
Government of the Czech Republic/ gnews - RoZ
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