The Council of the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic (AKCR) held talks with the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, at Prague Castle. It was the first joint meeting of the regional governors with the President of the Republic after last year's regional elections.
One of the key points of the meeting was the financing of non-teaching staff in schools and educational establishments. The governors informed President Petr Pavel of their strong opposition to the government's proposal to transfer this responsibility to regions and municipalities and appealed for a comprehensive solution to the financing of education. "This is a fundamental change that must be discussed in advance with all the parties concerned and supported by clear calculations. The current procedure is unsystematic and unacceptable in this form from 1 September this year. The President and I have clearly agreed on this," said the Chairman of the ACCR Council and the Governor of the Zlín Region Radim Holiš.
The governors also found support for another topic, which was the financing of reconstruction and repair of regional roads of the second and third classes and bridges. The governors pointed out the lack of funds in the budget of the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFTI) for 2025. "The approval of this year's state budget deprived the regions of four billion crowns for repairs of regional roads. The government promised to compensate for this loss by changing the budget allocation of taxes, but this has not yet happened and its fate is unclear. The regions are therefore facing a significant funding shortfall that could negatively affect the condition of lower class roads," pointed out the Vice-Chairman of the ACCR and the Governor of the Ústí nad Labem Region Richard Brabec.
In other discussions, fair funding for the regions as well as the creation of residency positions for doctors in the regions also came up.
President Petr Pavel also expressed his interest in addressing regional issues systematically and meeting with the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic on a regular basis.
The outcomes of the meeting will be further discussed at the ACCR Council meeting and in follow-up meetings with ministers.
Speech by the President of the Republic at the opening of the meeting with the Association of Regions
Ladies and gentlemen, hello,
Thank you for accepting the invitation and coming to today's meeting with the commitment of your lives in this weather, some of you from far away. I am very happy that we can meet some of you for the first time in a long time, some of you for the first time. I would like to congratulate all of you on your successful formation of county governments and may you have functional counties again. At the same time, I would like to say that I see not only the Association of Regions, but all the regional governors as partners in negotiations to push forward what is needed in the regions in cooperation with the government, not against it. I have stressed throughout my time in office that I will be interested in what problems the regions are solving, what problems the municipalities are solving, that I want to understand them better so that in debates with the Prime Minister, with ministers, I can use absolutely concrete arguments, concrete questions, which will then make it easier for you to function in the regions. For this, of course, not only is it necessary to travel around the regions, but also to have an open discussion. That is what I have always tried to do and will continue to do, so that even in this format, in which I assume that we will meet regularly, we can hear your suggestions, because from your position as governors you may not always succeed in pushing through what you consider important. Sometimes you have to use other ways, and I have quite a few opportunities to meet with ministers. I have regular meetings with the Prime Minister. So if we use all the levers that are available to us together, those chances of getting through what you think is important, and who else should know better than you and the mayors what is really needed, I think there is a better chance of getting the desired result.
We have a number of topics for today's meeting, some of which have come from you, some of which have come from our side or overlap to some extent. And I would be very happy if we had a very open debate today, because that is the only way we can possibly make some changes to the legislation that is already under discussion, or to the legislation that is in the pipeline, and avoid dealing with changes at the last minute. We have topics such as the budgetary determination of taxes, both in relation to non-teaching staff and in relation to the maintenance of second- and third-class roads. We have topics that relate to regional health stations, topics that relate, for example, to cooperation with your regional commanders and the territorial defence reserve units, which are now going to be strengthened, and many others. And I would be very happy if you would use the time we have today to give me as many concrete suggestions as possible, which we will then work with. So thank you again for the time you have given to this meeting today, and I look forward to having an open and frank discussion. Thank you.
Petr Pavel, President of the Republic, Prague Castle, 13 February 2025
AKCR/ castle.cz/ gnews.cz - RoZ
PHOTO - Tomas Fongus
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