COMPETITIVENESS OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC 26. October 2011 / Petr Jonák

BIG ISSUE COMPETITIVENESS IS BEING DISCUSSED MORE AND MORE Over articles about competitiveness in the Czech media in less than 10 months of 2011 – 2010 – articles – 2009 – articles Main reasons: – crisis in the EU – worsening of the international competitiveness of the Czech Republic – International Competitiveness Strategy of the Czech Republic Who is the driver of the discussion? Politics, business, chambers? 2Competitiveness of the Czech Republic

WASTING OF TIME? …MONEY, PEOPLE, ENERGY…? First results: – document with approx. 500 pages, 200 measures, 43 projects… – Government Council for Competitiveness and Information Society – 4 working committees – Delivery unit Signs of hope: – Czech Republic needed some strategy and direction (last one from 2004) – Wide range of stakeholders and experts have been involved (confederations, chambers, trade unions, academic sphere…) – very good description, realistic solutions and detailed implementation plan Strategy as a good quide across the problems and solutions of the Czech economy 3Competitiveness of the Czech Republic

COMPETITIVENESS OF THE STRATEGY HOW SERIOUSLY WILL IT BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT? Written strategy is a sine qua non. Implementation will be crucial for the future success. Key role of the prime minister (not Government council) Key role of media (watchdog of the time schedule) The accid test: – Short term measures – Regulation Impact Assessment (RIA) – Meeting the time schedule – Breaching the implementation plan „Back to the swimmsuit shape“ strategy? 4Competitiveness of the Czech Republic

WHAT ARE THE CRUCIAL PILLARS? 3i strategy? 4i? 5i? Three basic pilars from the view of the Government: – Institutions – Infrastructure – Innovations Is that enough? Intelligence – skills and knowledge are the only things which can not be infringed Intuition - seeking the future strengths and opportunities (Export strategy, Educational reform, Energy strategy) Wayne Gretzky – „I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.“ 5Competitiveness of the Czech Republic

VIEW OF THE TRANSPORT COMPANY INFRASTRUCTURE Still one of the comparative advantages of the Czech Republic (and one of the sources of success in attracting the Foreign Investments) Huge hidden internal debt Missing sustainability – too many launched projects and a lack of money for the key ones Missing credibility – chaotic interruptions of the projects, missing clear and widely accepted concept Missing complexity – strategies for road transport, however the rail transport is being omitted (fee for usage of rails, support of combined transport, sidings in industrial zones…) Missing integrated approach – together with municipalities, EU, companies… 6Competitiveness of the Czech Republic

VIEW OF THE TRANSPORT COMPANY INFRASTRUCTURE Open AWT terminal Ostrava-Paskov: -Central railway junction for all main European ports and terminals Czech Republic should havethe ambition to become a logistic hub of Europe 7Competitiveness of the Czech Republic

VIEW OF THE TRANSPORT COMPANY EXPORT STRATEGY The importance of traditional EU markets is falling New markets - Asia, Russia and former Soviet Union countries, Turkey, former Yugoslavia countries, BRIC countries Companies need to diversify the exports and find new markets Role of government: – Business intelligence, analysis, data mining – Narrow cooperation of the institutions – Door opener, advisor 8Competitiveness of the Czech Republic Zastoupení v přístavech Země se stálými partnery Realizované přepravy import/export

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