Czech President Accused of Budget Losses Due to Delay in Approving Pension Reform

Czech President Petr Pavel has dismissed accusations from the government regarding the delay in signing changes to early retirement rules, which were expected to incur additional expenses for the budget. On the last day of August, the Senate approved amendments to legislation concerning the pension system. Initially, the government had planned to implement this law from the first of September, as reported by Radio Prague International.

The proposed amendment involved strengthening rules for early retirement and reviewing the annual indexing of pension payments in January. The President expressed critical views towards certain aspects of these changes, particularly the decision to reduce the period of possible early retirement from five to three years before reaching the retirement age. However, he eventually signed the law at the beginning of the month, referring to this step as a "move in the right direction."

Following this, Minister of Labor Marian Jurecka stated that the President's delay in signing the law could result in additional expenses for the budget, amounting to around 4 billion Czech crowns (approximately 178 million US dollars). Thousands of individuals who could have benefited from the previous rules decided to submit documents before the new regulations came into effect.

Petr Pavel rejected these accusations, stating that he signed the law within the 15-day timeframe mandated by the law. At the same time, he noted that the government should have better planned the schedule for reviewing and approving the legislative proposal.

Additionally, the head of state criticized the government for insufficiently informing the public about the planned changes, so that people could adequately prepare for them.

Last month, the Czech President was forced to apologize after being caught riding a motorcycle without a protective helmet, which constitutes a violation of traffic rules.

Recalling recent developments, the National Anti-Terrorism Centre of the Czech Republic initiated an investigation into the activities of Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International in connection with its subsidiary's operations in Russia. The Association for the Rights of Citizens and Entrepreneurs filed a complaint against Raiffeisen Bank with law enforcement authorities, claiming that the Austrian company's continued business in Russia effectively finances the incursion into Ukraine.