The Czech economy has benefited from joining the European Union 20 years ago, as accessing the European market boosted Czech exports and helped the country’s GDP, Marek Rojicek, chairman of the Czech Statistical Office (CSU), said on Thursday.
Since joining the European Union in 2004, Czechia has seen a jump in exports as well as an increase in investments, Rojicek said on Thursday, the Czech News Agency reported.
“The Czech Republic’s advantage in terms of its location, but also in terms of industry, has been strengthened,” he said, pointing to how the new member states at the time were very competitive in terms of labour costs, so European companies were interested in investing and producing more in Czechia.
EU accession also gave the economy a significant boost by breaking down trade barriers, Rojicek said, noting, however, that in terms of GDP per capita, the country has only reached 90% of the EU average.
EU membership has also played a key role in foreign trade, with 80% of exports going to the bloc, meaning Czechia is among the EU states that exports the most, Rojicek said.
EU accession has also boosted the Czech industry, which has benefited from a significant inflow of foreign investment, reflected in the growth of labour productivity in the industry. The profitability of Czech industrial companies is above average compared to older EU members due to lower labour costs —- which have risen in the Czech Republic since EU accession but are still only 60% of the EU average —- Rojicek said.
As for price levels, they are still below the EU average but have come closer in the last five years, Rojicek said. When the country joined the EU, prices were 53% of the EU average, compared to 80% last year.
But not everything is ideal. Housing and energy prices have risen the most in the last 20 years, while health, food and accommodation prices have risen significantly faster than the EU average.
(Ondřej Plevák | Euractiv.cz)
