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Jurečka: Czech Republic has not yet received 4 billion CZK from the recovery plan for care, it is negotiating with the EC

by AI | 26.Nov 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The minister assumes that the Czech Republic will meet the required milestones in the first quarter of next year, after which it could receive the withheld money.

Czech Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka. Photo: EP/Eric Vidal

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Prague – The Czech Republic has not yet obtained about four billion crowns from the National Recovery Plan (NPO) for long-term care of the elderly and disabled. It has not yet completed the necessary reforms. It is negotiating the release of the sum with the European Commission. Labor Minister Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL) told ČTK. He expects the Czech Republic to meet the required milestones in the first quarter of next year, after which it could receive the withheld money. According to the website of the Ministry of Labor, more than 8.58 billion crowns could flow from the NPO for the development and modernization of care.

“At this moment, because we do not have a negotiated and effective law on the social-health interface, we are in a situation where a part of about four billion crowns has been held in the National Recovery Plan,” said Jurečka. According to him, at the last meeting with the representatives of the commission, which took place ten days ago, attended ministers of finance and industry alongside him. “We described which steps are now underway, that the second reading of the law is complete. The milestones are reflected in the law, including amendments. We are now in the period to show the commission that upon the law’s entry into force, we are fulfilling the milestones of the National Recovery Plan in long-term care, which – I assume – will happen in the first quarter of next year. Then the money will be released again,” said the labor minister.

According to the implementation documents for the recovery plan, the long-term care reform was supposed to be completed by the end of last year. Jurečka sees the problem in the general setting of intentions. “Unfortunately, the National Recovery Plan was defined by the previous government in many parts generally, laxly. We are struggling with the fact that we are a bit on the shorter end in negotiations with the commission,” the minister said recently. He added that views on meeting milestones such as transformation or deinstitutionalization vary and depend partly on subjective assessment. Therefore, it is not possible to say whether the Czech Republic will receive the full allocated amount, Jurečka has previously conceded. (November 26)

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