Country Profile
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Basic INFORMATION
Full Country Name:�The
Country Profile:
Population: 10.3m
People: Czech (81.2%); Moravian (13.2%); Slovak (3.1%); Polish (0.6%); German (0.5%); Roma (0.3%), Others (1.1%)
Languages: Czech
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 39.2%; Protestant 4.6%; Orthodox 3%; non-religious 39.8%, other 13.4%.
Currency: Czech Crown (CZK)
Major political parties: Czech Social Democrat Party (CSSD); Civic Democratic Party (ODS); Freedom Union (US-DEU); Christian Democratic Union/Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU/CSL), Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM).
Government: Parliamentary Democracy led by a coalition of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), the Christian Democrats and the Green Party.
Head of State: Vaclav Klaus (since 2003)
Prime Minister: Mirek Topolanek (since January 2007)
Foreign Minister: Karel Schwarzenberg (since January 2007)
Membership of international groupings/ organisations: Member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO); European Union (EU); International Monetary Fund (IMF); Interpol; Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE); Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); United Nations (UN); United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); Western European Union (WEU) (associate)
GEOGRAPHY
A landlocked country, the Czech Republic borders Austria, Germany, Poland and Slovakia.
HISTORY
Recent History
The first
Longer Historical Perspective
The development of the Czech nation is rooted in the 9th century when the
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
Mirek Topolanek’s conservative Civic Democrats (ODS) narrowly won the June 2006 election but an exact draw between left and right wing blocs in parliament meant that he was unable to form a majority coalition government. After one failed attempt and abortive talks on a power-sharing deal with the Social Democrats, Topolanek eventually proposed a three party coalition between the ODS, the centre-right Christian Democrats and the centrist/environmentalist Greens.
Seven months of political wrangling (under three successive interim governments) finally ended when this coalition was confirmed by the Czech parliament on 19 January 2007. But even then, it was only thanks to two rebel Social Democrat MP’s who left the party and became independents. Though they are unlikely to return to the Social Democrat fold, neither have they pledged to support the whole of Topolanek’s policy programme. This means that some of his reform plans, especially in the areas of fiscal and tax policy, pensions, healthcare and welfare, may have to be shelved and others watered down. The government plans to start presenting detailed reform proposals around June 2007.
President Vaclav Havel’s 13 years as President came to an end on 2 February 2003. Vaclav Klaus, a former Prime Minister, was elected President by parliament on 28 February 2003. He remains Honorary Chairman of the ODS but his views on the European Union, climate change and NGO’s for example, are entirely his own.
Elections
The next Presidential election is scheduled for early 2008. The next general election is scheduled for mid-2010.
ECONOMY
Basic Economic Facts
GDP:CZK 2,931BN (US$ 122bn)
GDP per head: CZK 286,430 (US$ 11,964) (2006)
Annual Growth: 6.0% (2006)
Inflation: 2.2% (April 2007)
Major Industries: metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
Major trading partners: Germany, Slovakia, Austria, France, United Kingdom
Exchange rate:�1 = approx. CZK 41.5 (April 2007)
The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-communist states. Economic growth has been driven, in particular, by high levels of foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic consumer spending, and Czech exports. Some 70% of trade is with the EU, notably . Unemployment stands at 7.1 % (Jan 2007)
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In January 2007, the coalition agreement of Topolanek’s government policy programme outlined a clear commitment to cutting the budget deficit from 4% of GDP now to 3% in 2008, 2.6% in 2009 and 2.3% in 2010 with expenditure and the size of the deficit closely tied to the rate of real-terms GDP growth. By January 2008 government plans to introduce a revenue-neutral eco-tax scheme aimed at reducing energy-intensiveness of the economy and thus create jobs by helping firms reduce labour costs.
The target for this revenue from ecological tax reforms is 0.5% - 1% of GDP by 2010. A slightly reduced basic VAT rate of 17 – 19% for most goods and services with a lower rate for certain energy-saving heating equipment along with plans to cut taxes on dividends, capital gains, inheritance, gifts, property transfers and farmland deals are also priorities. The government have called for new legislation to ensure any increases in mandatory spending (welfare, subsidies, pensions and healthcare) is capped at 50% of all spending by 2010.Government plan membership of Schengen by the end of 2007 and are aiming for 2012 as the target date for Euro entry. The Czech economy is strong – 5-6% GDP growth per annum and unemployment (8%) is falling.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The
The is a founding member of the Visegrad Group with , and . The group seeks to work together to promote their common interests.
The
The has now largely achieved its prime post-communist foreign policy goal of integration into the Euro-Atlantic mainstream. It joined the Council of Europe in 1990, the OECD in 1995, NATO in 1999 and the EU in 2004.
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