Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL) was surprised by the submission of the proposal. “I have to unequivocally reject it. KDU-ČSL will never raise its hand for this,” said ČTK Excellent. According to him, the current, minimalist version of the restrictions was also enforced in the past by populist politicians.
“For us, it is the minimum, we would rather be willing to consider some kind of expansion, but at the moment we have no such intention,” noted Excellent. He personally believes that the actions of the ODS deputies do not respect the coalition agreement. Even parliamentary proposals should be submitted only after consultations and after the agreement, or at least the neutral position of the coalition partners, he added.
In 2015, senators represented by the ČSSD senator and former Minister of the Interior František Bublan came up with the bill. Trade unions tried to enforce the sales ban for about ten years before. “The social impact will be positive, as people will have more free time to devote to their family and hobbies, which the European Union places increased emphasis on. Working life should not interfere negatively with family and personal life,” the senators wrote in the explanatory report at the time.
In 2016, mainly social democrats, communists, populists and some deputies of the former Úsvit movement voted for the approval of the law in the House of Representatives. On the contrary, members of ANO, ODS, TOP 09 and some unaffiliated members voted against. Tomio Okamura, the current chairman of the SPD, also voted against the adoption of the law and the chairman of his caucus, Radim Fiala.
Regarding the current proposal to repeal the law, the submitting MPs state, among other things, that keeping the law in force and effect just because it has already been adopted once would be unfortunate. According to them, interventions in business should be absolutely necessary. The law has withstood motions to reject it in the past. In 2019, the Chamber only exempted wholesale trade from the ban.
The current sales ban does not apply to shops with a sales area of up to 200 square meters, pharmacies, petrol stations, shops at airports or railway stations or shops in hospitals. On the other hand, the ban also applies to bazaars, pawnshops and waste buyouts.
Shops are closed on holidays in many European countries. However, in 2016, the Hungarian Parliament repealed a similar law after about a year of its operation. The ban on sales there did not go down well with business associations and unions, which pointed to the loss of thousands of jobs.
The current parliamentary proposal will be discussed by the government. Regardless of its opinion, the House should then deal with it.