Photo: Archive of the Presidium of the Government of the Czech Republic
On Wednesday, 20 December 2023, the government of Petro Fiala met for its last regular session of the year. It approved, among other things, a proposal for a legislative guarantee of decent pensions for persons who were victims of communist persecution, adopted a new concept for the construction of the Czech Army until 2035, and approved a proposal to amend the Criminal Code in the area of the crime of rape. It also planned its legislative tasks for the coming year and approved a long-term plan for education and the development of the Czech Republic's education system up to 2027, a key strategic document for Czech education.
Long-term plan of education and development of the education system of the Czech Republic until 2027 is based on the Strategy for Education Policy of the Czech Republic until 2030+. It provides a timetable for the implementation of specific measures and suggestions for regional and school plans to ensure quality and accessible pre-school education, modern primary education for the 21st century, general and vocational education for further studies and practice, and equal access and effective support for all pupils without distinction.
"This is an important document that changes our education system in the right direction. The long-term plan has three priorities. One is children and young people, their personal development, motivation for lifelong learning. The second priority is schools and educators so that we have well-educated, prepared and motivated educators. And the third priority is an effective education system. We need a system that is a truly effective system and based on accountability for results." Prime Minister Petr Fiala summarised the objectives of the new concept.
According to Prime Minister Fiala, the planned fundamental transformation of secondary education is important and positive for parents and children in the future. "We need to change the structure of secondary education in line with how society is developing, what our young people need. We need to strengthen the general branch of secondary education and give pupils and students a choice of subjects that will really prepare them for a career, for further studies," noted the Prime Minister.
"Without quality education, we could not be a successful society and we could not sustain and improve our prosperity in the years to come. That is why I am pleased that we have been able to pass this important document in Government today." added Prime Minister Fiala. For details, see press release of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
The government discussed the proposal Amendments to the Act on Participants in Resistance and Resistance against Communism and the Pension Insurance Act, which aims to fulfil a promise made by members of the government to people who were persecuted under communism for their political views and attitudes and who today receive unfairly low pensions because of this. The proposal establishes a new mechanism for calculating pensions for these people, which, among other things, removes the condition of having completed the necessary period of insurance to qualify for a pension and gives holders of a certificate of participation in the resistance and resistance against communism a guaranteed old-age pension equivalent to the average old-age pension. The changes will be made automatically without the need to apply for them. More in press release of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
The cabinet also approved a new the concept of the construction of the Army of the Czech Republic until 2035. The revised concept, which was originally supposed to be valid until 2030, takes into account the significant changes in the security environment that occurred, among other things, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the tasks of the army within the national defence system and the requirements of NATO and EU defence planning, reflects the current state of the Czech army and the advent of technologies changing the nature of warfare. It also takes into account the increase in defence spending to two per cent of GDP, already approved by the government. The concept sets out six strategic objectives for the development of the army, which relate to investment in human capital development, strengthening the readiness, deployability and sustainability of the army, digitisation of the command and control system, effective operations in all operational domains, deepening international cooperation and the development of interoperability and innovation, and the introduction of new modern technologies. Details include press release of the Ministry of Defence.
The government also agreed on a proposal for a change in the Criminal Codewhich redefines the crime of rape. Instead of forcibly coerced sexual intercourse, any non-consensual sexual intercourse is to be redefined as a crime under the principle of No means No. By enshrining an explicit definition of defencelessness, the amendment also treats cases where the victim of rape is unable to exercise her own free will and singles out less serious offences for a separate new offence of sexual assault. More in press release of the Ministry of Justice.
The Cabinet also discussed and approved its legislative work plan for next year. It includes a total of 92 legislative tasks, including 13 proposals for new laws and 48 proposals for amendments to existing legislation. Some of these changes are related to the necessary harmonisation of Czech law with European regulations, but the government also wants to fulfil other promises contained in its programme declaration, such as an amendment to the Public Procurement Act, a draft law on the management and control of public finances, and two separate amendments to the Nature Protection Act, which are intended to designate the Křivoklát National Park and the Soutok na Dyji Protected Area.
The Government has also decided, in line with the requirements of the Childcare Provision Act, to increase in the maximum amount of the parents' contribution to the operation of the children's group in cases where the funding of this service is provided using the contribution to the operation of the children's group, from the current CZK 4,720 to CZK 5,059.84. According to the law, the government must increase the amount whenever there is an increase of at least 5 per cent in the aggregate consumer price index for the household as determined by the Czech Statistical Office during the relevant period. According to CSO data, consumer prices rose by 7.2 percent in the period in question.
The government also approved new Regulation on the eligible costs of housing and accommodation for the purpose of determining entitlement to humanitarian aid and its amount, which applies to so-called vulnerable foreigners granted temporary protection. The new regulation, which increases the amount of the countable housing costs under the humanitarian benefit for vulnerable foreigners (e.g. children, students, pregnant women or the elderly) by CZK 3 000 per person for flats registered with the MLSA and by CZK 2 400 per person for other premises, is intended to motivate these persons to find suitable accommodation instead of the emergency accommodation provided so far. For more information on the MoLSA's proposals, see press release of the Ministry.
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