Derweil in Tschechien... 46/25
28.11.2025
German Foreign Office Warns of Hepatitis in the Czech Republic
The Federal Foreign Office has drawn attention to the increase in hepatitis A infections in the Czech Republic and has recommended that people should only enter the country if they have been vaccinated against the disease. According to the Foreign Office, the capital Prague and the regions of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Central Bohemia, and Moravian Silesia are particularly affected. “Observe basic hygiene measures, especially consistent hand hygiene,” states the Foreign Office website.
The Czech Republic is currently experiencing its largest hepatitis A outbreak in recent decades. By mid-November, over 2,500 cases had been reported—four times more than a year ago and more than at any time since 1989. The last hepatitis A epidemic dates back to 1979, when over 32,000 people were infected.
First coal-fired power plants to be closed as early as 2027
The first coal-fired power plants in the Czech Republic will be taken off the grid by the end of next year. Sev.en has announced that it will shut down the Počerady and Chvaletice power plants, as well as the power plant in Kladno, in December 2026, and by March 2027 at the latest. The reason for this is the difficult market situation. Specifically, this relates to the price of emission allowances and the market prices for electricity and gas. This would mean that the power plants would be shut down well ahead of the government’s previous plan, which had called for a phase-out of coal by 2033.
The Počerady power plant is located in northern Bohemia, south of Most (Brüx). The Chvaletice power plant is located on the Elbe River in the Pardubice district, east of Kolín. Both are among the largest coal-fired power plants in the Czech Republic. Together with the power plant in Kladno, they have an installed capacity of nearly 2,400 megawatts. The power plant in Kladno also has an installed thermal capacity of 950 megawatts.
For the second year in a row, Sev.en is incurring heavy losses at its power plants. The problem is high CO2 emissions. Sev.en needs exactly one emissions certificate to produce one megawatt-hour. By comparison, the coal-fired power plants operated by the state-owned energy company ČEZ require only an average of 0.8 certificates. Sev.en’s power plants also have a lower efficiency rate, at 32 to 33 percent.
The big question will be what impact the closure of three power plants will have on the grid and the energy supply. The grid operator ČEPS must assess this. In an earlier projection, ČEPS had already assumed that the shutdown of several power plants would turn the Czech Republic into an importer of electricity. The country has traditionally been an energy exporter. Should it be economically necessary, the Czech Republic has the option of allowing a power plant to continue operating with state aid.
The upcoming change in government also plays an important role. The three parties involved have already announced that they will allow coal-fired power plants to operate longer with state support.
An overhead line causes train disruptions between Prague and Berlin
Train detours and hours of delays: On November 26 (Wednesday), rail travelers from Prague via Dresden to Berlin had to be patient. The cause was an overnight accident involving the overhead line on the Prague-Děčín line, according to a breaking news report from Czech Railways (České dráhy). Rail traffic was interrupted between the stations of Hrobce and Roudnice nad Labem (Raudnitz). International trains were rerouted with significant delays via the alternative route on the right bank of the Elbe through Lysá nad Labem and Mělník, which subsequently also affected service between Dresden and Berlin. The line at the accident site did not reopen until 2 p.m., and delays continued into the evening.
However, the railroad did not disclose this: Damage to the overhead lines has occurred for the 16th time in just under nine months, with the most recent incident taking place last weekend. And the damage does not occur by chance somewhere on the open track, but right in the middle of Roudnice nad Labem. In a way, it is damage by design. In Roudnice, the historic Špindler Bridge over the Elbe has been undergoing renovation since March. The steel structure, built in 1910, was showing its age. The international railroad line runs directly under the bridge on the town side. When the line was electrified, the bridge was already in place, which is why the overhead line hangs relatively low. To avoid endangering the bridge renovation—and, above all, the construction workers—the section under the bridge was taken off the grid. Train drivers must retract the pantograph for the time being. To be on the safe side, the railway infrastructure company Správa železnic had safety hooks installed before and after the work. If the pantograph remains raised, it is pulled off the hooks as an emergency measure. The overhead line then remains intact, but the train cannot continue with the broken pantograph and blocks the line until a new locomotive is procured.
At the moment, infrastructure companies and train drivers are blaming each other. Some complain about train drivers who are unaware of the risks. Others feel they were inadequately warned. In fact, flashing warning signals were only recently installed. In addition, train drivers are now being contacted and reminded to lower the pantograph. Despite this, another accident occurred on Wednesday night. Train drivers also believe the problem could be solved differently and that the pantographs are being damaged unnecessarily. Správa železnic denies that any other technical solution exists.
In this context, it was likely bad news when it was announced in October that the bridge would require renovation for much longer than originally planned. The renovation should actually have been completed by now. Since both the steel structure and the sandstone girders need to be partially replaced, the renovation will now last until the fall of next year. The Ústí district, which owns the bridge, has announced that it wants to complete the section of the bridge under which the railroad line runs as quickly as possible. Until then, there is a risk of hours-long delays in the event of another accident.
North Bohemian Cities Offer Scholarships for Returnees
In an effort to stem the exodus of well-trained specialists in particular, towns in northern Bohemia are offering scholarships. The spa town of Teplice, for example, offers 100,000 crowns each year to anyone who returns to Teplice after completing their studies and works or runs a business there. The condition is that they remain in Teplice after completing their studies for at least as long as they received the scholarship. However, interest is limited. Only five people have applied. The scholarship amounts to 4,167 euros per year. That doesn’t sound like much, but it can help. Unlike before, when the city offered only an annual scholarship of 10,000 crowns—that is, 417 euros—no one was willing to commit to their hometown for such a small amount.
There is even less interest in the hop-growing town and UNESCO World Heritage site of Žatec (Saaz). No one has applied for the annual scholarship—which is only 50,000 crowns—since it was introduced in 2022. In Žatec, the offer is also limited to future general practitioners, pediatricians, and dentists.
The Ústí (Aussig) district also awards scholarships. Here, you can receive up to 100,000 crowns. However, the scholarship is now limited to future teachers. As many as ten apply each year. This was different in the past, when the scholarship was available for other fields of study without restriction.
The city of Aš, located in the Saxon-Bavarian-Czech border triangle, is also primarily interested in teachers. Students can receive up to 96,000 crowns per year (4,000 euros). In addition, after graduation, there is a one-time starting grant of another 150,000 crowns (6,250 euros). Future teachers can also save on rent in the long term. They are even given priority in the allocation of a municipal apartment, which they can use rent-free for one year. After that, they pay the rent themselves, but only half as much as in other municipal apartments.
Strong Consumer Sentiment in the Czech Republic
This should be good news for retailers in the run-up to Christmas: In the Czech Republic, private household confidence in the economy jumped by 4.3 points to 111.7 in November. This is the highest level in six years. Analysts attribute the increased confidence in part to the outcome of the parliamentary elections in October. “Households are expecting certain economic improvements from the new government,” said Petr Javůrek, chief analyst at Provident Financial. The hope is specifically tied to the promise of lower energy prices.
However, the increase is also occurring against the backdrop of strong economic performance. The economy is growing faster than expected, and wages have also risen significantly. All of these factors combined are likely the reason for the positive sentiment.
The situation is different for companies, however, where confidence in economic development fell by 3.5 points to 99.9. This is slightly below the average. This is a clear indication that the positive economic development in the Czech Republic continues to be driven by private consumption. However, the picture is not uniform across the economy either. While sentiment in the industrial and construction sectors is down, it is excellent in the service sector.
Analysts expect economic growth of 2.5 percent in 2025. They do not anticipate a recovery in industry until sometime next year.
Another Nine Saxon-Czech Projects Approved
Today, the Local Steering Committee approved funding for an additional nine small Saxon-Czech projects from the Small Projects Fund in the Elbe/Labe Euroregion. The distribution was very uneven this time: eight Czech projects were matched by only one from Saxony. The projects received a total of 80,469.60 euros in funding.