The Czech government, led by Andrej Babiš, met on Monday, July 27, 2026, at the Strakova Academy for the last time before the summer break. Among other things, it discussed a draft amendment to the law on the conditions for operating vehicles on public roads, which aims to digitize the entire vehicle registration process. It also considered a draft amendment to the law on municipalities, which, for example, regulates the reduction of remuneration for council members and strengthens the institution of municipal associations. The government decided to limit the scope and number of acceleration zones for potential renewable energy projects compared to the proposal from the previous Czech government.
Vehicle owners and operators will no longer have to visit an office in person to register, transfer ownership of, or deregister a vehicle. The draft amendment to the law on the conditions for operating vehicles on public roads, which the Czech government approved, provides that all procedures related to vehicle registration can be carried out electronically through the Transport Portal managed by the Ministry of Transport.
Vehicle owners may have new license plates delivered to a designated pick-up location or by courier. The rules for the transferability of license plates will also be relaxed.
The Czech government also discussed a draft amendment to the law on municipalities and related legal regulations. The amendment aims to clarify and refine the procedure for reducing remuneration for council members in cases where the member is part of multiple councils. This rule was introduced by an amendment to the law on the salaries of constitutional officials.
A register of key individuals leading local government entities will be created. It will include mayors, city councils, and regional governors, as well as newly appointed deputy mayors, deputy city councilors, and regional governors, secretaries, and directors of municipal and regional offices.
The amendment also provides for the modernization and digitization of the register of voluntary associations of municipalities and strengthens the institution of municipal associations. This would allow municipalities to, for example, establish a joint municipal police force.
The government also discussed changes to the Territorial Development Plan, which defines so-called acceleration areas with a simplified process for approving the construction of renewable energy sources.
After several months of expert discussion, the Czech government took into account comments from regions, municipalities, and the public, and significantly reduced the scope of the acceleration areas proposed by the previous Czech government in the amended document. They will now cover only eleven percent of the originally planned area.
The original proposal included an area of 2,685 square kilometers and 110 acceleration areas. The approved document includes 297 square kilometers and 61 selected locations.
Defining acceleration areas does not automatically grant permits or immediately initiate the construction of wind or photovoltaic power plants. This is one of the milestones of the National Recovery Plan. If the Czech Republic fails to meet this goal, it could lose up to 25 billion crowns from EU funds.
The Czech government also amended the ordinance on the catalog of jobs in public service and administration. It has now included peer workers, who share their experience with difficult life situations and help people with similar disabilities or problems.
Peer workers can provide advice on how to cope with a particular situation or how to communicate with authorities or doctors. From August 1st, they will officially be included in the catalog of jobs and salary grades, which will allow their work to be financially compensated accordingly.
The next meeting of the Czech government will take place after the summer break on Monday, August 17th.
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