Appointment of the current security Jan Čuřín, director of the Government Office, to head the NBU was discussed by the parliamentary security committee a week ago, which is a legal requirement. Čuřín will replace Jiří Lang, who has led the NBU for about seven years and resigned on March 11. Čuřín should take office on May 1. The main task of the NBU is the screening of persons who come into contact with classified information and the screening of companies that participate in strategic contracts.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) told deputies last week that Čuřín is a highly qualified expert who has been working in the field of classified information for 14 years. Jurečka added today that the next head of the NBU has extensive experience with the security agenda. “He is a person who meets all the requirements for this position. He holds a Top Secret clearance and a NATO Secret certificate.” he added.
Today, the government also approved an amendment to the law on the presidential lamppost. It is supposed to provide the president-elect with the background from the election to taking office.
An increase in the minimum wage
The minimum wage should rise to 47 percent of the average wage by 2029, Jurečka said at the press conference. From next year, guaranteed wages according to expertise, responsibility and demanding work should only apply to the public sector, not to companies. The amendment to the Labor Code, which was approved by the government today, takes this into account.
Adequate minimum wages are regulated by the EU directive from the year before last, which member countries have to put into practice by mid-November. The regulation recommends a minimum income of 60 percent of the median gross wage or 50 percent of the average gross wage. The minimum wage has increased by 1,600 crowns to 18,900 crowns since January and, according to the Ministry of Labor, corresponds to 41.1 percent of the average gross earnings that were predicted for this year.
In addition to the amendment to the Labor Code, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs also presented a draft law on integration social enterprise or regulation, which provides for an increase in the allowance for employment of people with disabilities from 14,200 crowns to 15,700 crowns. According to the documents, about 1.4 billion crowns more would be needed for expenses this year. The Ministry of Finance has reservations and recommends that the support amount to 70 to 80 percent of the minimum wage. It would not change the amount for this year.
Changes in energy legislation
Today, for the second time, the government postponed the decision on the new distribution of revenues from emission allowances, said Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN). The government has already interrupted negotiations on allowances once this year, due to ongoing disagreements between several ministries about the redistribution of money between them. According to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), the departments will negotiate for the next four weeks, in case of disagreement, a meeting of the coalition leaders is expected.
Emission allowances, the expected revenue of which will be around 40 billion crowns this year, are purchased by power plants and other industrial enterprises that release greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere. One permit entitles a company to release one ton of carbon dioxide, or an equivalent amount of another gas, into the atmosphere.
The draft of the revised amendment responds to the modified EU directive, which requires that all revenue from allowances be used for climate protection. The state will probably have to report it to the union. Until now, half of these revenues had to be used in this way, in the case of the remaining money, it was only a recommendation.
According to Síkela, the government, on the other hand, approved a draft amendment to the Energy Act, which introduces rules for the storage and aggregation of electricity into the legislation. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO), the amendment should improve the management of the power balance in the system, for example it should enable consumers to regulate consumption according to current energy prices. Until now, the regulation of these conditions was lacking in the Czech legislation, which complicated its development.
The development of accumulation, i.e. the time-delayed delivery of produced electricity to the system, is, according to the Ministry of the Environment, necessary in particular to increase the resistance of the system during fluctuations in operation, the integration of renewable sources into the system or investment.
“The amendment responds to the update of the rules of the electricity market, and therefore it involves fundamental changes in electricity storage, flexibility and aggregation, which is very important so that consumers can adjust their consumption according to energy prices in the market in the future. This means that they can consume at times when prices are not the highest, so that they can better respond to consumption peaks, which of course are associated with higher energy prices,” said Síkela on Tuesday to CTK.
According to him, the accumulation and aggregation of electricity will also make it possible to reduce the cost of system balance services, which could make the regulated part of energy cheaper in the future. “It will make it possible to reduce the volume of purchases for these services, which should ultimately be reflected in energy prices as well,” said Síkela.
Other amendments also focus on consumer protection. For example, it will be possible to withdraw from fixed contracts if the supplier’s purchasing policy is against the rules. According to Síkela, this will prevent cases like the end of Bohemia Energy.
Today, the government also approved the draft law on public cultural institutions (VKI), which should enable their multi-year planning and financing from multiple sources. Culture Minister Martin Baxa (ODS) said this at a press conference after the cabinet meeting. According to him, the law meets the long-term needs of cultural institutions. The proposal envisages the validity of the law from January 1, 2025.
According to Baxa, the concept has lived in the Czech cultural environment for about 20 years, but it has never reached the stage of functional paragraph wording. According to him, the draft law is inspired by models of operation in Austria, it will enable multi-year financing or co-founding of a cultural institution by, for example, two municipalities, said the Minister of Culture. It will also enable the director’s position to be remote from the founder, the director will be appointed by the board of directors.