Euroregion Elbe/Labe

Weekly review no. 59

Onset of winter blocks roads in Ústí district - Wages in the Czech Republic to be like in Germany in four years? - New series has its premiere in Ústí - Record in the Teplice Botanical Garden - Euroregion Elbe/Labe has a new president

06.12.2024

Onset of winter blocks roads in the Ústí district

Verrutschter LKW auf der D8 bei Petrovice
Slippery truck on the D8 near Petrovice (© Policie CR)

Large amounts of snow fell in northern Bohemia today, Friday. Not all road users were prepared for this. Crossing the Ore Mountains proved to be particularly difficult. Several accidents meant that it was almost impossible to cross the border in our region in the morning.

The D8 highway was completely closed from the morning due to a broken-down truck near Petrovice in the direction of Germany. The detour via Libouchec and Tisá was prevented by a fallen tree into which a car had crashed. There was also an accident involving two cars in Petrovice itself. Fortunately, there were no injuries in these cases. In contrast, there was a fatality in an accident on the D8 near Ústí in the direction of Prague, when a car hit a truck and partially went underneath it. Here, too, the highway was completely closed for a long time. The traffic situation slowly eased around midday.

Wages in the Czech Republic like in Germany in four years?

Premier Petr Fiala am 17.11.24 in der Talkshow "Fragen von Václav Moravec”
Prime Minister Petr Fiala on 17.11.24 in the talk show "Questions from Václav Moravec" (© Czech Television)

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala sparked a debate about wage levels in the Czech Republic with a statement on a talk show on November 17. He said that the four years of his government had not yet been enough, but in another four years it could ensure wages similar to those in Germany. Given that the average Czech wage level is just under 40% of the German level, this is a bold statement, even if the relative gap is narrowing year on year. Criticism from economists and trade unions, among others, was prompt. There is now a debate about exactly what the prime minister meant.

What is interesting about the debate, however, is on the one hand that Germany was chosen as the standard of comparison as a matter of course, meaning that the role model effect of the big neighbor is still present. On the other hand, it is clear in some of the contributions that the external view of the economic situation and the level of development in Germany (e.g. in terms of digitalization and automation) is less pessimistic than in the debates in this country.

New series premieres in Ústí

Beim Dreh von "Limity"
During the filming of "Limity" (© Czech Television)

This evening, two parts of the new series "Limity" will be exclusively previewed at Hraničář in Ústí nad Labem. The series about a toxic waste entrepreneur who becomes an environmental activist against his will was largely filmed in the Ústí region. This was financially supported by the Ústí region. In addition to Ústí nad Labem, filming locations included Děčín, Trmice, Teplice, Libochovice, Horní Jiřetín and Terezín.

Director Petr Zelenka is one of the Czech Republic's best-known filmmakers. With films such as "Knoflíkáři", "Samotáři", "Rok ďábla", "Příběhy obyčejného šílenství" or "Karamazovi", he has been known since the end of the 1990s. He is also represented in the Czech Film Wednesday program with almost all of these films. In "Limity", he will interweave the themes of ecology and family with his well-known humor. The series will be shown on Czech television from February 2025.

Record in the Teplice Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden in Teplice has reported a record number of visitors this year. For the first time, it welcomed more than 50,000 people in one year. The director, Petr Šíla, attributes this not only to the attractive exhibitions but also to the extensive accompanying program. This also includes the cooperation with the Schellerhau Botanical Garden, which will hopefully be continued and intensified in the coming years.

Euroregion Elbe/Labe has a new president

Annekatrin Klepsch
Annekatrin Klepsch (© David Nugglisch)

And now some news on our own behalf: At yesterday's general meeting of the Kommunalgemeinschaft Euroregion Oberes Elbtal/Osterzgebirge e.V. (the official name of the German half of the Elbe/Labe Euroregion), Dresden's Mayor of Culture Annekatrin Klepsch was elected as the new President. The long-standing President Dirk Hilbert, Lord Mayor of the state capital Dresden, did not run for the office again after 15 years, according to his own explanation with a heavy heart due to a lack of time. Manuela Förster from the District Office in Pirna and Thomas Peters, Mayor of Bad Gottleuba-Berggießhübel, were elected as Vice Presidents, as well as Dresden City Councillor Bettina Kempe-Gebert as a further member of the Board. The other committee representatives on the working committee and the joint council of the Elbe/Labe Euroregion were also newly elected as scheduled.

 

 

The production of this newsletter is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.

(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)

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