The Czech Republic will ask the European Commission that automobile manufacturers not be penalized for failing to meet strict ecological norms. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has received the backing of his government to make the request during a video conference scheduled for today between the EU’s presidents and prime ministers. He’s expected to point out that the pandemic has already cost Czech automobile manufacturers 12 percent of their annual production volume, which comes to 170,000 cars. In March alone, they lost CZK 67bn in expected sales and laid off thousands of people. With the automobile sector responsible for 9 percent of the country’s GDP and 26 percent of its industry, Babiš will argue that further economic pain for the sector would be felt by all Czechs. Hospodářské noviny writes that car manufacturers were expected to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide their average car produced by 20 percent compared to last year.
