Documents and Laws in Parliament

The opposition report of the minority of the Budget Committee criticizes the amendments to the government’s amendment to the public budgets as a threat to fiscal responsibility and the stability of public finances. It states that they could lead to a rapid increase in debt, higher debt servicing costs and an early reaching of the debt brake. At the same time, it warns against weakening the budgetary autonomy of certain constitutional institutions in favour of the Ministry of Finance. It therefore proposes a second reading.

The amendment clarifies the rules for factual remarks in the proceedings of the Chamber of Deputies. The factual remark should now relate to the matter under discussion and respond to the content of another speaker’s speech, instead of the previous general response to the course of the debate. The aim was to limit digressions and to clarify the interpretation of the Rules of Procedure.

The proposal allows the government to regulate fuel prices for the domestic market for a maximum of 12 months, with the possibility of a repeat. The government may not set a minimum or fixed price and its powers complement the existing role of the Ministry of Finance. At the same time, the Law on Prices is amended so that government price assessments will be issued as government decrees and published in the Collection of Laws, including the rules for their effectiveness. The document states that this bill was rejected by the Senate.

The Senate rejected the government’s bill to regulate fuel prices. It therefore disagrees that the Government should be able to set maximum or administered fuel prices by regulation. At the same time, the Senate instructed three Senators to justify this rejection in the Chamber of Deputies.

The document contains the government’s consenting opinion on the MPs’ draft amendment to the Construction Act. The Government discussed the proposal on 20 April 2026 and supported its adoption. It is therefore a formal expression of support for a change in the rules of construction law.

The amendments modify the draft law on supplementary pension savings and related tax regulations. Part of the proposal deletes some transitional provisions and makes technical changes to the numbering. Other amendments modify the rules on charges in participating funds and reduce one rate from 0.8 to 0.4. The proposal also introduces definitions of private equity and venture capital funds and allows pension funds to invest in their securities up to a limit of 10% of assets, with a possible slight increase in the maximum management fee.

The amendments significantly modify the housing support system, in particular shifting a number of powers from the contact points to the Labour Office and changing the procedures for registering housing and deciding on support measures. The conditions for obtaining support are clarified, including the definition of persons without adequate housing and household income limits. The proposals also regulate administrative procedures, the digitisation of submissions and repeal some previous provisions (e.g. binding opinions or parts of the register). At the same time, it is clarified that selected groups of foreigners, including those with asylum, long-term residence or temporary protection related to the war in Ukraine, may also fall under the system.

The amendments amend the government’s reform of the fiscal rules and the budgetary framework in line with EU legislation. They clarify how the primary structural balance and expenditure frameworks are calculated, strengthen the role of the National Budget Council and set out procedures for deviations from the fiscal rules. Some of the proposals allow for increased spending, for example on defence above the limits set (e.g. up to 10% in a security crisis or above 2% of GDP) or on strategic infrastructure. Other changes increase transparency in budgetary management and regulate the financing of large projects, including the construction of low-carbon energy sources.

The amendment adds an explicit principle to the introductory provision of the Fiscal Responsibility Rules Act that the state and public institutions should manage responsibly and should not finance current expenditure with debt in the long term. Debt should only be allowed in exceptional circumstances or for investments with long-term benefits. The aim is to give the law a clear value framework and to emphasise that public finances should not pass on the costs of current consumption to future generations. The proposal also systematically defines the principles of the law and the remit of the budgetary institutions.

The amendment proposes to delete the part of the government proposal that amends the Act on the Rules of Budgetary Responsibility, leaving the current legislation unchanged. This would avoid the introduction of new fiscal rules and adjustments related to the government proposal. The submitter argues that the proposed changes would lead to a weakening and opacity of budgetary discipline and to greater scope for exceptions or expenditure increases. The aim is to maintain the existing, stricter and clearer rules for public finance management.

The amendment clarifies the rules for extraordinary overruns of state budget expenditure in security crisis situations. The government could exceed total expenditure by up to 10% only for defence expenditure reported according to the NATO methodology. The aim is clearly to limit the use of this exceptional budgetary measure exclusively to national defence and to prevent its use for other purposes.

The amendment modifies the rules for the provision of an allowance for assistance in the housing support system. It now allows, in exceptional cases, to draw assistance for up to 3 years instead of the current limit of 2 years and stipulates that the total period of drawdown may not exceed 3 years over 8 consecutive years. The change is reflected in several provisions of the Act, which regulate the conditions for granting and extending the allowance and introduce a new limitation through Section 91(3). Technical legislative changes to references and wording are also included.

The amendment modifies the rules on appeals in the housing support system. The previous provision excluded appeals against selected decisions; an exception is now introduced to allow appeals against decisions to refuse to register the need for a support measure or to not extend it. The goal is to maintain a speedy process while giving applicants a basic appeal remedy in decisions that determine their access to housing assistance.

The amendment introduces a new provision requiring the Labour Office to process applications for housing support measures in acute social situations as a matter of priority. This applies in particular to victims of domestic violence, households with dependent children at risk of losing their housing, homeless people and people leaving institutions (e.g. children’s homes, social services or prisons) without secure housing. The aim is to avoid serious social impacts caused by delays in decision-making. The proposal also allows these situations to be substantiated by various certificates or affidavits.

The amendment strengthens the protection of persons in housing need in the housing support system. The Labour Office is now to assess in particularly urgent cases whether assistance is necessary to maintain housing and to inform the applicant of this possibility. At the same time, the deadlines for submitting a new contract for assistance are extended (from 3 to 4 months and from 1 to 3 months) and an exception is introduced if the contract cannot be delivered for reasons outside the supported person. The aim is to prevent unreasonably rapid termination of tenancies and to stabilise the situation of vulnerable households.

The amendment extends the conditions for the granting of the housing allowance. The allowance may now also be granted to persons in an extremely urgent situation under Section 17a(1) without having to meet the standard conditions attached to state social assistance benefits. The amendment changes the wording of the law so that, in addition to the existing condition, there is an additional alternative for granting the aid. The aim is to make it easier and quicker to help people in the most acutely vulnerable situations.

The amendment modifies the proposed changes to the Housing Support Act so that the so-called criterion of the applicability of the apartment is completely abolished. The condition that households must have at least the minimum subsistence amount remaining after paying the housing costs in order to be eligible for support is now abolished. The aim is to allow the poorest and most vulnerable households, who would otherwise be excluded from the programme, to access support. The proposal also makes related technical adjustments to paragraph references and recorded data.

The amendment amends the income test for the granting of the housing support allowance. The new requirement is that at least half of the subsistence minimum remains after the household has paid its housing costs, whereas previously the full subsistence equivalent was required. The lowering of the threshold is intended to enable the inclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable households who would otherwise not qualify for support. The aim is to better meet the purpose of the Act - reducing housing need.

The amendment extends the range of persons who can benefit from housing advice at contact points. It now explicitly includes persons with temporary protection or special long-term residence under a law adopted in connection with the war in Ukraine. The aim is to enable refugees from Ukraine to access counselling in order to prevent them from being exploited in the housing market or falling into housing distress. At the same time, the wording of the provision is modified by deleting the original phrase ’the Republic or’ and the list of eligible persons is clarified.

The amendment stipulates that all municipal offices of municipalities with extended jurisdiction (205 in total) will be housing contact points, instead of the current system where only some municipalities were designated and others were designated by the government by decree. The Annex to the Act listing these municipalities and the Government’s power to designate additional contact points is therefore repealed, as is the relevant Government Order. The aim is to improve the availability of assistance to people in housing need throughout the country. The change is due to come into effect from 1 January 2027 and the ongoing procedure will complete the original contact points.

The amendment removes two points of the government amendment that would have narrowed the circle of persons entitled to housing counselling. The aim is to maintain a broader target group so that the advice can continue to act as a preventive tool against households falling into housing distress. The authors argue that a narrowing would significantly reduce the availability of assistance and limit the preventive effect of the service. Paradoxically, according to their analysis, it would also lead to lower long-term savings for public budgets.

The amendment expands the exceptions to the rule that an applicant for housing assistance cannot be re-enrolled if he or she has terminated it by agreement or for his or her own reasons within the last two years. It will now be possible to grant exemptions not only for health reasons but also in other cases of special consideration, provided that they are justified in writing and approved by the head of the contact point. The aim is to enable assistance, for example, for victims of domestic violence or people leaving institutions. This change is due to take effect on 1 July 2026.

The amendments modify the Government’s amendment to the Investment Companies and Investment Funds Act mainly by technical and clarifying changes in individual provisions. For example, the requirement that a certain legal entity must have its registered office abroad is removed and the rules for fund management are clarified, including the requirement that at least two managers devote full-time equivalent time to the function. The draft also adds provisions on conflicts of interest, modifies references to penalty and obligation sections and clarifies wording in the law. Open-ended fund managers must bring their ratios into line with the new rules by 16 April 2027.

The amendment tightens the conditions for government regulation of fuel prices. It removes the possibility to regulate prices only because of the ongoing effects of an emergency situation and links intervention solely to a genuine ongoing emergency market situation. Reduces the maximum period of validity of a price assessment from 12 to 3 months and requires the prior approval of the Chamber of Deputies for its re-issuance. At the same time, it obliges the government to immediately lift the regulation if the exceptional market situation ceases to exist.