The Government of the Czech Republic has approved an amendment to the Criminal Code to strengthen the punishment of human trafficking and the protection of its victims. The cabinet also decided on changes to support for forest management, adjustments to the rules for payments to farmers, staff changes in the Council for the Use of Proceeds from the Auctioning of Allowances and the abolition of the National Economic Council of the Government (NERV).
Minister for Finance Alena Schillerová after the meeting, she said that NERV was created primarily for the needs of the previous government Peter Fiala. NERV provided the then cabinet with recommendations on structural economic measures, such as pension reform or changes in public finances.
Schillerová stressed that the current government does not rule out the possible creation of a new similar advisory group. However, she said that it is first necessary to assess whether and in what form such a body would be beneficial. At the same time, she assured that the government was not preparing to abolish the National Budget Council. She also added that the cabinet is now using its own experts who act as advisors to the prime minister or individual ministers.
Former Prime Minister Fiala criticized the cabinet's decision. On the social network X, he said that experts from NERV had made a number of proposals that, in his opinion, helped maintain healthy public finances and strengthen the competitiveness of the Czech economy. According to Fiala, the question arises whether the government cancelled NERV so that the experts would not contradict it on reform changes and the growing state debt.
The Government also approved an amendment to the Criminal Code, which primarily transposes into Czech law changes resulting from a new European directive aimed at preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting victims. For example, the new directive includes the abuse of surrogacy, forced marriages and illegal adoption among the forms of exploitation. It also criminalises the forcing of victims to work under extremely exploitative conditions.
Beyond the European changes, the amendment also responds to the recommendations of the Council of Europe Expert Group on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings. It also addresses the issue of liability for damages caused by persons performing community service, which was not previously covered by standard labour law rules.
The Cabinet also approved a new regulation governing the provision of financial contributions for forest management and selected hunting activities. The new rules had to be adopted following an amendment to the Forestry Act, which came into force on 1 January 2026. The regulation modifies the scope of the existing support and newly extends financial assistance aimed at the association of forest owners throughout the Czech Republic.
The changes will also affect farmers. The government has amended the rules on cross-compliance of payments to simplify controls on soil erosion protection. According to the cabinet, the current system was administratively demanding for both farmers and control authorities. The amendment consolidates and expands the possibilities of soil protection measures so that farmers have more flexibility while maintaining sufficient protection of agricultural land against erosion.
The government also decided on changes to the Council for the use of proceeds from the auctioning of emission allowances. Ministers and representatives of the former government coalition were removed from membership. Newly appointed to the Council were Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček, Minister of Finance Alena Schillerová and MPs of the current government coalition Filip Turek and Radim Fiala. The Council is mainly involved in assessing and approving proposals to use the proceeds from the auctioning of allowances, and its members do not receive remuneration for this activity.
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