Czech Business Today
Business says: We Belong to the EU!
The Czech Republic is celebrating 10 years since its accession to the EU and that is a good opportunity not only to look back and review, but also to look into the future.
According to the survey presented during the conference on 30th April in Prague, conducted by the Confederation of industry of the Czech Republic and by Erste group among more than 250 Czech companies, around 75 % of companies see clear positive effect on making business after joining the EU. Furthermore, they perceive the internal market as the biggest advantage of the enlargement. “We belong to the EU”, reaffirms President of the Confederation of Industry CR Jaroslav Hanák.
However, the Czech Republic hasn ́t made full use of its potential and has been losing its competitiveness. “The lost potential has its price”, says Secretary of the State for EU Affairs Tomáš Prouza, adding that, if the Czech Republic had been a member of eurozone, Czech economy would have been growing faster each year from 0.6 to 1.2 %. The newly elected government is more significantly inclined to the EU than the previous one and current Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka reassured President of the EU Herman van Rompuy that the Czech Republic is willing to adopt euro in the coming years. Approximately three quarters of Czech companies would welcome it.
Furthermore, the Czech Republic needs to be more involved in shaping EU and its legislative process. “Czech Chamber of Commerce is following closely EU legislative proposals and supports Czech businesses through its Brussels’ representation, as nearly 70 % of Czech legislation is based on EU laws”, points President of Czech Chamber of Commerce Petr Kužel out. This is also closely related to the need of having more representatives in key positions in the EU institutions, agrees Czech government with businesses.
