Documents and Laws in Parliament

The proposal amends the Energy Act to allow municipalities, regions and their selected organisations to connect up to 60 transfer points as an active customer in the electricity sharing regime instead of the current 11.The aim is to facilitate the use of electricity from renewable sources in public buildings and to simplify sharing without the need to establish energy communities. According to the explanatory memorandum, the change is expected to have a neutral to positive impact on public budgets and promote energy self-sufficiency of local governments. It is proposed to take effect from 1 January 2027.

The proposal amends the Municipal Elections Act by lowering the age for active voting in municipal elections from 18 to 16. At the same time, it explicitly preserves the passive right to vote up to the age of 18. The other conditions of the right to vote remain unchanged and are proposed to take effect from 1 January 2027.

The amendment significantly strengthens the protection of animals against cruelty and tightens sanctions and state intervention. It imposes new obligations on municipalities to deal with abandoned and stray animals, in particular neutering cats, tagging and trapping programmes, and expands the powers of the police and administrative authorities. The ban on breeding is extended from 5 to 10 years, minimum fines are increased, and the animal may become the property of the state if the cost of care is not paid. At the same time, administrative procedures, registration and professional competence in transporting animals are regulated.

The proposal strengthens the penalties for cruelty to a person living in a shared dwelling as well as for cruelty and neglect of an animal. The lower limit of the sentence is increased from six months to one year for domestic and animal cruelty and the upper limit is increased from six months to one year for negligent neglect of an animal and from two to three years for a large number of animals. The killing of a cat or dog for a despicable motive without a lawful reason is also to be made a criminal offence. It is proposed to take effect from 1 January 2027.

The bill unifies and digitizes the rules for ID cards and travel documents, extends filing and acceptance to embassies and outside offices, and changes record keeping. Obligations and penalties are tightened, including a new offence of misuse of a public document and an increase in some fines from CZK 10,000 to CZK 50,000, while administrative fees and some deadlines are changed. The handling of biometric and contact data, the electronic reporting of loss or misuse and the rules for suspending or not issuing a passport, for example in the case of a European Arrest Warrant, are significantly modified. The document does not deal directly with the residence or visa rights of foreigners; the foreign element mainly concerns embassies and the request for a person from abroad.

The amendment changes the rules for the one-day vignette for vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes. The existing validity within a calendar day is replaced by an actual period of 24 hours from the moment of commencement of validity. The aim is to remove situations where drivers had to pay two one-day vignettes when driving over midnight, even if they had only driven for a short time. The law is due to come into force on 1 January 2027 and its impact on state revenue is expected to be rather small.

The Bill amends the VAT Act and introduces a new second reduced rate of 6% in addition to the existing basic rate (21%) and the first reduced rate (12%). This rate is to apply to selected essential goods, in particular basic foodstuffs, drinking water, infant and baby formula and sanitary items for women and children, to increase their affordability and mitigate the effects of inflation. The law also modifies the related provisions and annexes of the VAT law, which newly distinguish between the first and second reduced rates and precisely define the goods falling under the 6% rate. The measure is expected to reduce tax revenues of public budgets by approximately CZK 5.9 to 7.5 billion per year.

The bill extensively amends the Code of Civil Procedure and related regulations, in particular to introduce protections against abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs) that threaten freedom of expression and participation in public debate. Courts will hear such cases on a priority basis, may require security for costs, impose sanctions for abusive conduct, and allow publication of a dismissal at the plaintiff’s expense. The amendment also regulates the service of court documents abroad, including advances for translation and service, and changes the running of procedural time limits. At the same time, it introduces new court fees for certain appeals and clarifies the rules on compensation for the exercise of public authority, for example when a prosecution is dismissed on the grounds of limitation.

The proposal amends the Waste Act so that municipalities with very low production of mixed municipal waste have a 10% lower mandatory target for the proportion of separated waste. It responds to situations where municipalities are effectively preventing waste (e.g. through home composting) and yet do not formally meet the legal sorting targets. A new annex is introduced with a formula and per capita limits on the amount of mixed waste that can be used to apply the reduction in the target; these limits will be progressively reduced. The law is proposed to take effect from 1 July 2026.

The Act adapts Czech law to the European eIDAS 2 Regulation and introduces the European digital identity wallet, electronic attribute confirmations and a new system of trust services. Public authorities and some private entities will have to gradually adopt digital identification and attribute confirmation, with the Digital and Information Agency taking over the supervision and management of the systems. New technical, security and record-keeping obligations are imposed on providers of these services and a wide-ranging system of penalties of up to €130 million or 1% of global turnover is introduced. It also introduces free qualified electronic signatures for individuals for non-professional purposes and changes administrative fees, for example increasing some fees from CZK 25,000 to CZK 50,000.

The bill extensively amends the rules for regulating advertising, particularly for human medicines, medical devices, diagnostic devices and certain foods, including infant formula. It clarifies the definitions of advertising, sets stricter conditions for marketing, limits gifts and hospitality to professionals and prohibits certain practices that encourage excessive consumption. It also establishes rules for patient programs, special protections for children in advertising, and more precise liability for advertisers. It strengthens supervision by state authorities and harmonises offences and penalties, with fines of up to CZK 5 million.

The draft law regulates the rules for remuneration of members of municipal, regional and Prague councils in the event of concurrence of several public functions and corrects the shortcomings of the 2025 amendment. The new reduction of remuneration focuses mainly on cases of concurrence of vacant positions; when concurrent with the position of a deputy, senator or member of the government, the remuneration may not exceed 0.4 of the remuneration of the vacant representative. The obligation for representatives to notify the creation and changes to other functions and their remuneration within 5 days is introduced. At the same time, the rules for determining remuneration are changed - some previous restrictions are abolished (e.g. the upper limit of 0.6 times for a non-elected mayor) and the method of determining remuneration is simplified.

The amendment to the Consumer Credit Act implements EU Directive 2023/2225 and significantly strengthens consumer protection in the provision of credit. It introduces price ceilings for loans linked to the CNB repo rate, stricter rules on advertising, extensive information obligations and stricter creditworthiness assessments, including a ban on the use of sensitive data or social media data. Providers must now help clients in financial difficulty, for example by restructuring debt and referring them to debt counselling. The law also sets high penalties of up to CZK 20 million for breaches and regulates related areas such as credit-related insurance and rules for providers and CNB supervision.

The draft law comprehensively replaces the existing Act on the Residence of Foreigners and newly regulates the rules of entry, residence, expulsion and legal status of foreigners in the Czech Republic in accordance with EU law. It introduces extensive digitalization of the migration agenda through the Integrated Foreigners’ Agenda System and a mandatory “foreigners’ account” through which applications will be submitted and communication with the authorities will be carried out. The law also introduces the institution of a residence guarantor (e.g. employer or school), new types of visas and residencies, regulates labour migration, study stays, family reunification and tightens residence registration, including a new mandatory registration for EU citizens staying more than 90 days. It also sets out more detailed rules on return and detention of foreigners, integration (language tests and integration courses) and the management of large databases on foreigners.

The Act implements European capital market regulations with the aim of reducing the administrative burden and increasing the attractiveness of the market for small and medium-sized enterprises. The main changes include increasing the threshold for the obligation to draw up a prospectus from €1 million to €5 million, introducing an issue document for smaller issues and strengthening investor protection, especially for retail investors. Rules on investment research, transparency of shares with different voting weights and supervision of ESG ratings are also amended, with the Czech National Bank gaining new powers.

The law changes the rules for budgeting taxes to counties to ensure a more equitable and dynamic distribution of funds. The main changes are an increase in the counties’ share of shared taxes from 10.23% to 10.97% and the introduction of new criteria for redistribution, such as population, length of roads or emergency medical services capacity. In addition, a separate additional share of 0.1% is set for the capital city of Prague. The change is intended to strengthen the financial stability of the regions and better reflect their current needs.

The bill changes the tax budgeting system for counties to better reflect current needs and activity volumes. Instead of fixed percentages, it introduces a dynamic model with annual updates to the shares based on objective criteria such as population, length of roads, or emergency medical services capacity. The change will strengthen the financial stability of the counties and ensure a fairer distribution of funds without impacting the state budget.

This law changes the rules for the selection of persons to the management and supervisory bodies of state-owned companies. The main change is that the negative opinion of the Nomination Committee becomes binding on the Ministry and prevents the appointment of the proposed person. The law also strengthens transparency by requiring the Ministry to disclose the reasons why the appointment was not made. The law is set to take effect on 1 January 2027.