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Parliament To Debate "Lex Babis," Cabinet To Discuss Draft 2024 Budget

CZECHIA
  • The Chamber of Deputies will once again debate an amendment that would tighten the rules on media ownership by politicians and their eligibility to receive state subsidies for private enterprise. Dubbed "lex Babis," the discussion is set to polarise parliament amid the perception that it targets Andrej Babis, leader of the main opposition party ANO, former Prime Minister and a prominent business tycoon. Observers of the Czech media landscape have been pointing to its growing oligarchisation over the past few years, with Babis estimated to own almost a third of the local media industry, including two major newspapers. The ruling coalition attempted to pass "lex Babis" in parliament last month, but the vote was postponed as the opposition deployed obstruction.
  • The Cabinet will discuss the draft state budget for 2024 later today. The main assumptions have been reported by CTK yesterday. According to the newswire, the government will target a budget deficit of CZK235bn. The budget will account for the fiscal consolidation package unveiled by the government last month, which could be tabled in parliament around the turn of the month.
  • In the latest edition of their monthly macro predictions, Ceska Sporitelna said that they see the CNB keeping interest rates unchanged next week, despite a tight vote split in May. The data released since then have been anti-inflationary and they expect the first rate cut to be delivered in November, although data alone could justify earlier cuts. The perception that the odds of further rate hikes have decreased is broadly consistent with dovish CNB repricing observed in the first half of this month, before the last couple of days brought some stabilisation.

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