Media in the headlines in Czechia; bill to transform energy sector
Despite promising to shore up the media’s role as a pillar of Czech democracy, PM Petr Fiala’s track record in office is questionable. In fact, after his government announced plans to raise VAT on newspapers to 21 per cent, he’s being forced to defend himself against accusations that he’s actually weakening the country’s quality media by driving “the last nail in the coffin” of Czech newspapers. EU Commissioner Vera Jourova warned over the weekend that the hike of the VAT rate to a European peak risks liquidating Czechia’s print media, and contradicts an EU trend amid the fight against disinformation to slash rates. “Even countries like Poland or Hungary have not taken such steps,” she noted. But Fiala appears unconcerned. He doesn’t believe the move will kill off any newspapers, and anyway, “people get access to information through internet sources, and public media are freely available, so there is no threat of disaster,” he shrugged in a TV interview.
At the same time, it’s notable that the main victims of the higher tax will be the oligarchs that have over recent years bought up most of the Czech press, in a bid to add political influence to their economic power. The leading example of this trend is, of course, former PM and leader of the opposition ANO party, Andrej Babis. And with that in mind, the governing coalition will on Friday convene an extraordinary parliament session to discuss a bill that would tighten up the ban on media ownership by members of the government. The ban was introduced in 2016 as part of a Conflict of Interest Act, which also banned companies owned by officials from receiving state subsidies. “Lex Babis”, as it was dubbed, forced the billionaire to cede control of his business empire – theoretically at least – by putting it into trust during his time in government. But the coalition now wants to amend the legislation so that it applies to ownership. Unsurprisingly, ANO has been delaying discussion of the bill for months. The governing parties, which insist the amendment is absolutely not aimed specifically at the ANO leader, say that if the obstruction persists, they will bypass any debate and force a vote next month. In 2021, the EU suspended subsidies to Czechia and demanded it tighten up legislation after finding that Babis had conflicts of interest.
Another bill due in the Chamber of Deputies soon will amend regulations governing the division of publicly-traded companies, which all sounds very dry but it paves the way for a fundamental transformation of Czechia’s energy sector. Approved by the government on Wednesday, the bill – dubbed “lex CEZ” – would reduce the required votes to split companies from 90 per cent of shareholders to 75 per cent, as well as the required quorum. This would allow the government to push through its plans to take control of the production assets of CEZ. Minority shareholders and financing complications have been blocking the energy group, in which the state holds 70 per cent, from building new nuclear reactors – the main pillar in the government’s energy strategy – for years.
