Thanks to its membership in the European Union, the Czech Republic is approaching Western Europe, with GDP per capita in purchasing power parity terms reaching 91 percent of the European average. This is based on an analysis presented by Česká spořitelna to journalists on Wednesday. Markéta Pekarová Adamová, the speaker of the lower house, also drew attention to the results on social media.
"Thanks to the EU, the Czech Republic has overtaken countries such as Portugal and Spain in the standard of living. Our real GDP per capita has increased by 40 % since joining the EU. Populists and extremists will never say this, but it is all the more important to remind them of it." She wrote Chief Whip of the House of Commons.
The data comes from analyses of Česká spořitelna, which describes the impact of EU membership on the Czech economy and society. It showed that the standard of living of the Czechs over the last two decades has approached the level of Western Europe. Last year, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity terms was 91% of the European average, compared with 80% on accession.
"Overall, the Czech Republic is getting closer to the EU average standard of living, but some regions are moving further away. In particular, in the Karlovy Vary and Ústí nad Labem regions, the standard of living has risen more slowly since EU accession than in the other regions, even relative to the EU average. Living standards have risen the most in the South Moravian Region," said David Navrátil, chief economist at Česká spořitelna.
Real gross domestic product per capita in the Czech Republic has risen by 40 percent since EU accession, from CZK 249 000 in 2004 to CZK 675 000 in 2023. Household consumption has risen from CZK 150 000 to CZK 302 000 in that period, the analysis shows.
According to the analysis, if the Czech Republic were not part of the EU, the country would fare worse economically. GDP per capita last year would have been a fifth lower - CZK 130 000. Household consumption would have fallen by a third, i.e. by CZK 100 000.
On average, the Czech Republic receives CZK 100 to 150 billion a year from the EU budget, while contributions to the EU budget amount to CZK 50 to 70 billion. This means that every year the Czech Republic has around CZK 70 billion at its disposal thanks to the EU budget, which is more than the annual budget of most of our ministries.
"Since 2004, we have received over one trillion crowns in total from European funds. Two thirds of these funds have been used for cohesion policy purposes, i.e. for the development of individual regions. Approximately a quarter of the budget is directed to the implementation of the common agricultural policy and the rest is for centrally managed programmes, such as the Horizon programme for science and innovation," described Petr Zahradník.
ČTK, DOMINIKA MACHOVÁ, FORUM24, 2. 05. 2024
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