Unions want to verify the effectiveness of the amendment to the building law in advance

Prague - Employers and trade unions fear that the upcoming amendment to the building regulations may prolong the timelines for construction permits even further than they currently are. During today's meeting with the economic ministers, their representatives therefore requested that it be verified that the planned changes will indeed streamline the process before the amendment is approved. According to the head of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions, Josef Středula, the same approach should be applied to the new public procurement law.
    "It is necessary to verify that this will not jeopardize any future public contracts," he told reporters, adding that it could limit the absorption of grants from European funds or some significant investment projects.
    Vice-premier and head of the Christian Democrats Pavel Bělohrádek also considers the building law to be a priority that still needs to be addressed. "The law is very complicated and hinders some constructions. It is also a question of merging certain steps in the construction process to expedite projects," he stated after the meeting.
    Originally, the amendment to the law, which is being amended for the second time in three years, was supposed to take effect by mid-next year. However, in September, the Ministry of Regional Development proposed to postpone the amendment's effectiveness to the end of 2016 or January 2017.
    A significant change is expected to be the merging of the permitting process into a single procedure. The previously separate zoning proceedings, construction proceedings, and environmental impact assessments, known as the EIA process, would be combined into a coordinated, previously proposed unified permitting procedure. The amendment proposes to abolish the mandatory public hearing within the process, allowing the office to decide whether to hold one or not. Currently, public hearings are required to be held in all cases. According to environmental organizations, however, the changes will fundamentally limit people's rights to express their opinions on constructions in their vicinity.
    For the Ministry of the Environment (MŽP), the amendment is an acceptable compromise in the parts that pertain to its competencies.
    The Ministry of Regional Development (MMR) has received over 2000 comments on the draft amendment, of which hundreds are substantial and need to be addressed. The document was originally supposed to be sent to the government in June, but the deadline is likely to extend to the end of the year.
    Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) invites social partners to the meetings of economic ministers once every quarter. Středula appreciated that the government discusses strategic decisions with trade unions and employers. The next meeting will take place in December.