First German-Czech regional forum

The first German-Czech regional forum took place in Chemnitz. At the invitation of the Minister of State in the Foreign Ministry Anna Lührmann, representatives from the federal, state, district and municipalities from Germany and the Czech Republic exchanged ideas for two days. A wide range of representatives from various organizations active in the German-Czech border area were also invited, who spoke not only about the key topics of transport, the labor market and healthcare.

“Our goal is that people in the border regions are no worse off than elsewhere,” said State Minister Lührmann at the beginning of the forum. Workshops highlighted concrete problems that have existed for years in the emergency services, the status of Czech workers in Germany, cross-border transport connections, language training and the recognition of qualifications and have not yet been solved. The regional forum is intended to improve networking not only between the two states, but also between the administrative levels, the individual players and, last but not least, between Saxony and Bavaria. Lührmann announced that the problems raised would be forwarded to the appropriate authorities and that regional forums between the two countries would take place regularly in the future.

School strike and doctors' protest in the Czech Republic

On Tuesday, thousands of teachers took part in a nationwide strike. Unions announced that around half of schools had gone on a one-day strike. They were protesting against planned cuts in the education sector. They ensure that the number of hours is reduced, which is why there is a risk of loss of hours, especially in smaller schools in the regions. Employees from some companies and students also took part in the strike out of solidarity.

The strike was directed against the government, which has presented an austerity package to get the budget deficit under control. It is reacting to the necessary special spending in recent years as a result of the corona pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which have caused the budget deficit to rise sharply. In response to the strikes, Prime Minister Petr Fiala pointed out that the education budget, along with the defense budget and the social budget, are the only three departments whose spending will increase in the 2024 budget.

An indefinite strike by the medical profession seems to have been averted. Doctors had announced that they would no longer work overtime from December 1st, which would have led to severe disruptions to health care. The doctors' goals are to change the labor code to regulate 24-hour shifts and to improve pay. These demands are now being met. Labor Minister Marian Jurečka and Health Minister Vlastimil Válek introduced an amendment that reverses planned changes to labor law and allows doctors to work twice as much overtime as before. In addition, after negotiations, Prime Minister Petr Fiala promised almost 10 billion crowns more for higher doctors' salaries.

Czech route Dresden-Prague next year

The Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka would like to announce the route of the new Prague-Dresden line on the Czech side by the end of 2024 at the latest. The minister said this at a dialogue forum with affected communities in Ústí nad Labem. The state railway network administration Správa železnic (SŽ) is currently pursuing three different routes through the Bohemian Central Mountains, which are rejected by the affected communities. The tunnel exit at Chlumec and the passage through Ústí are also controversial. The Elbe city calls for freight traffic to be routed around the city. The approximately 57 kilometer long section from the Bohemian Central Mountains to Prague with a new terminal at Roudnice nad Labem has already been determined. The first commissioning of the new high-speed line is also expected here.

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Our audience was allowed to vote on the Wednesday film in December and chose: “Český sen” (The Bohemian Dream). This 2004 film is a nasty documentary-satire about a supposed opening of a hypermarket.

Two students from the Prague Film School are making a very special film as their final thesis: the facade of a huge hypermarket is being built on the outskirts of Prague. At the same time, there are massive advertising campaigns for the supposedly opening market. On the day of the "opening" a show is staged, which culminates in the waiting customers running towards the market and disappointed to find that they have been thoroughly processed. Then things get high...

More about the film and tickets

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We had to wait a long time, but now the time has come: the new small project fund has started! Applications for funding for Saxon-Czech encounter projects can now be submitted again.

In the past, simplifications were often promised that turned out not to be the case. But this time it really looks like it: There are now capitation fees for projects with a determinable number of participants (i.e. all classic encounter projects). No offers need to be obtained and no individual receipts need to be provided at the end. All you need is proof of the number of participants. It couldn't be easier. So anyone who has held back on project applications in recent years due to the bureaucratic burden should try again now.

There are two downsides: There is still no legal basis for projects without an ascertainable number of participants. They probably can't start until mid-2024 at the earliest. And projects to promote tourism are no longer possible in the KPF.

You can find all information about this on our website.

For information on the small project fund

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)

Deutsche Bahn is building a full tunnel variant

After months of testing, Deutsche Bahn has decided on a continuous tunnel for the new Dresden-Prague high-speed line through the Ore Mountains. This creates a 30 kilometer long tunnel that disappears underground near Heidenau and only comes to the surface again near Chlumec (Kulm) on the Czech side. It would be the longest railway tunnel in Germany.

A year ago, Deutsche Bahn limited the number of route variants from 10 to 2. The so-called full tunnel variant was not included in the railway's original plans, but was only brought into play by a citizens' initiative. The second so-called partially open variant had a shorter tunnel and a 27 kilometer long tunnel through the Ore Mountains. A bridge over the Seidewitztal was supposed to connect the two buildings.

The variant now chosen with the continuous tunnel is the best solution “for the environment as well as in terms of traffic, technology and economy,” Deutsche Bahn announced on Monday.

The new building, which is around 43 kilometers long, is intended to relieve pressure on the flood-prone Elbe valley and more than halve the travel time from Dresden to Prague from 2 hours 15 minutes to one hour. It is part of the future Berlin-Prague high-speed line and, in the future, continues to Vienna and the Balkans.

However, it will still be almost ten years before construction begins. The next big milestone for the project is the vote in the Bundestag on implementation and financing. This could happen in 2025. Deutsche Bahn expects building rights to be granted in 2032. The construction period is estimated to be around 12 years.

Edmundsklamm will remain closed in 2024

The Edmundsklamm, which has been closed since the devastating forest fire in the summer of 2022, will not open next year either. When asked, the Bohemian Switzerland National Park said that no opening date could be given. However, an opening in 2024 is ruled out. The same applies to the Gabrielensteig. The popular and panoramic hiking trail leads from Mezní Louka (Rainwiese) to Pravčická brána (Prebischtor). A total of 15 kilometers of marked hiking trails are currently closed. This affects around 5 percent of the hiking trails in the national park. The marking was removed for another 14 kilometers. You can hike there at your own risk.

The fact that a year and a half after the forest fire and years after the bark beetle catastrophe so many hiking trails are still closed was explained by national park spokesman Tomáš Salov, citing the different legal situation in the Czech Republic. All paths are now clear again in Saxony. The Bohemian Switzerland National Park, on the other hand, is responsible for safety on the paths. The national park is also liable for damage caused by the removal of dangerous trees. Strict protection requirements also apply in the quiet zone. The removal of trees causes significant associated damage. The natural regeneration is disrupted, there is a risk of instabilities in the rock and greater erosion stress occurs. This was also shown by the test clearing of a small section of the Edmundsklamm in the summer. However, the results of this pilot project are still pending.

Salov was confident that the first paths could be opened soon. But this applies more to paths in the back of Bohemian Switzerland. The decay process of damaged trees has already progressed far enough. This concerns the path from Hadí pramen (Snake Spring) to the Maiden Fir (Panenská jedle). At the same time, the national park is cutting down trees on many hiking trails to prevent further paths from being closed. The hiking trail at Brtnický potok (Zeidlerbach) is currently temporarily closed.

Municipalities and the tourism association, on the other hand, are demanding more effort from the national park in order to reopen paths more quickly. They accuse the national park of permanently closing hiking trails.

RegioJet displaces České dráhy from Ústí regional traffic

The Czech railway company RegioJet has won a tender to operate six electrified railway lines in the Ústí district. As RegioJet announced, they had submitted the lowest offer. With 90 percent weighting, the price was decisive for the outcome of the procedure. RegioJet will therefore take over the strategic lines U1 Děčín-Ústí nad Labem-Most-Kadaň, U2 Chomutov-Karlovy Vary and U3 (Děčín-) Ústí-Litvínov as well as the lines U32 Ústí-Lysá, U51 Ústí-Klášterec nad Ohří and U54 (Děčín - ) Ústí-Roudnice (-Hněvice). RegioJet already operates for the Ústí district on the routes Ústí nad Labem-Děčín on the right bank of the Elbe and Ústí-Upořiny-Most.

The Ústí district has not yet officially confirmed the outcome of the proceedings, citing the current objection period; the participants have been informed. However, the losing competitor České dráhy had made a statement, to which the Ústí district responded, thereby indirectly confirming the winner, RegioJet. So far, all lines have been operated by the state-owned České dráhy, for which the defeat is a significant loss. The Ústí district excluded České dráhy (ČD) due to a procedural error, writes the server zdopravy.cz. The company left it open whether ČD would object.

The new operator is scheduled to take over the routes when the timetable changes in December 2026. The operating contract is for 15 years.

Trekking huts for the Ore Mountains

The Krušnohoří (Ore Mountains) Tourism Agency plans to build 12 trekking cabins. They are intended to offer hikers a simple overnight camp. A simple wooden construction is planned. The huts should be equipped with photovoltaic systems and a small oven. The construction of the first two huts is planned in Adolfov near Telnice and in Sněžná near Kraslice in the Western Ore Mountains. The trekking huts are primarily intended to serve long-distance hikers. The new long-distance hiking trail Stezka Českem (Around the Czech Republic) runs through Adolfov.

Million-dollar projects for the Saxon-Czech border area

Improved early childhood education in the neighbor's language, cross-border cycle tourism and several nature conservation projects are among the projects that have received a commitment to receive funding from the European Union in the cross-border program Interreg Saxony-Czech Republic 2021-2027. At its meeting in Schönbach im Vogtland, the program's monitoring committee approved 17.7 million euros for 15 cross-border projects. The “Neighbouring Language from the Beginning” project was awarded almost 2 million euros under the leadership of the Euregio Egrensis, in which the Elbe/Labe Euroregion is also involved.

A little more than 2 million euros in funding will go to the “By bike to the neighbor” project led by the municipality of Doln'í Poustevna, in which the cities of Sebnitz and Hohnstein are involved.

A total of 28 Saxon-Czech projects have already been supported in the current funding period.

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Digitální Kulturní pas EEL each možné letos získat stažením application zdarma zde:

Apple App Store: https://apps.apple.com/cz/app/uneeqly/id1610296683?l=cs
Google play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uneeqly.app

(This is an automatic translation by Google Translator.)