Babis Sour on Euro and EU Welfare

Prague, Dec 5 (CTK) – Labour market shortage is the biggest problem of the Czech economy, ANO movement chairman and next prime minister Andrej Babis said at today’s meeting of Czech export leaders.

 

A detailed registration of job vacancies, activities linking schools with employers and employment of foreigners are measures that might help solve the problem, Babis said.

 

When it comes to euro adoption, he sees more cons than pros for the Czech Republic, such as loss of independence of the central bank and costs related to the entry into the euro area.

 

Many people work illegally, many collect benefits so that they do not have to work, and companies are losing the opportunity to make products, Babis said.

 

Massive investments of the government can help maintain the economic growth, said Babis.

 

“It is the main role of the state to invest and reduce bureaucracy,” he added.

 

“Our problem is not the euro … but the lack of people, education, we must primarily put an end to (the system of) tax incentives. Why do we get them to firms that do not need them?” Babis said.

 

On Wednesday, Babis is to be appointed Prime Minister by President Milos Zeman. Babis’s minority government is to be appointed a week later.

 

Czech unemployment fell to 3.6 percent in October from 3.8 percent a month earlier. The country had some 271,000 job seekers, which was the lowest figure in nearly 20 years, and the number of job vacancies increased by nearly 4,000 to 210,000.

 

In October last year, the jobless rate reached 5 percent and there were 71,000 fewer vacancies.

 

The number of job seekers reached 269,000 in December 1997.