Prague, July 17 (CTK) – The Czech Republic still lags behind Western countries, even 27 years after the fall of the communist regime, says the annual report of the Social Watch international network about the situation and sustainable development in the country in 2016 that its authors presented today.
The pace of economic growth is not sufficient for the Czech Republic to approach the level of advanced countries, the report write.
“The Czech Republic still represents the other world. After 27 years, we are in a situation that is far from what we imagined in 1990. We always imagine things differently than what they are in reality. We hope that the sustainable development agenda might help stimulate a change,” Social Watch Czech coalition chairman Tomas Tozicka said.
This will depend on how the Czech Republic will be implementing its sustainable development plan until 2030.
The potential of the Central and East European region, which would enable it to approach the West, has diminished, economist Ilona Svihlikova said.
“We can see this in the Czech Republic. During the last wave of economic boom in 2006 and 2007, economic growth amounted to 6-7 percent. Today, even if the economy is in full swing again, it is 2.3 percent. This pace does not enable us to approach (Western economies). We have hit a certain ceiling,” Svihlikova said.
One of the reasons is “the division of products,” she added. In the Czech Republic and Eastern countries, the major part goes to the profit and the minor one to wages. The keeping of the Czech crown exchange rate also prolonged the “cheap Czech economic model with cheap labour and cheap currency,” she added.
The annual report is divided into five chapters: prosperity, people’s conditions, the environment, peacekeeping and partnership.
The report authors point out that the further development of the Czech Republic will depend on whether its representatives will participate in international institutions and decision-making. Their representation has been very low so far, Tozicka said.
The report assessed the record low unemployment in the country positively, along with the setting of the maximum retirement age of 65 years and the rise in the minimum wage and salaries in the public sector.
However, they criticise the Czech Republic for being among the EU countries with the highest gender pay gap. Women earn about 20 percent less than men on average and this is why they also have lower pensions and are more threatened with poverty in the old age.
The report points out that the Czech Republic has not yet approved the social housing and insolvency laws. Some 600,000 people face several distraint proceedings each in the Czech Republic with a population of 10.5 million.
The Czech Republic does not contribute to peacekeeping too much either. It pledged to earmark 0.34 percent of GDP for development aid, but it actually sends 0.14 percent, Tozicka said.
“The Czech Republic has decided not to accept refugees and help them in the countries where they are living. However, it does not do so either,” he said.
He added that 53 percent of Czech arms export went to the countries with undemocratic dictatorial regimes.
Social Watch, established in 1995, is an international network of some 90 institutions from various countries that associate hundreds of nonprofit organisations. Its aim is to help eradicate poverty and its causes, remove all forms of discrimination and racism and ensure an equitable distribution of wealth and the human rights observance.
The Czech Social Watch coalition covers seven organisations: the Ecumenical Academy Prague, Educon, Eurosolar, Forum 50%, Adeptts, Alternativa Zdola and the Nesehnuti (Independent Social Ecological) movement.
On Tuesday, its representatives will present the annual document as a shadow report to accompany an official assessment of the fulfilment of sustainable development goals in the Czech Republic that the government has prepared.
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