The Czech Republic has fallen behind Slovaks and Poles when it comes to borrowing money from the European Investment Bank for the development of its infrastructure. And while the country is finally waking up to the opportunity to borrow cheaply from the bank, they will become far less numerous after 2020. This is the warning carried in an article in Hospodářské noviny from the vice president of the bank Vazil Hudak. “The ministry of finance and a wide portion of the previous government wanted to show that what was important was to reduce the country’s debt and its deficit,” said Hudak.
He claims that the Czech Republic is one of the countries that needs to invest in innovation and in improving the competitiveness of its economy. “Market sources are currently available at the lowest prices in history,” he said. “To not use them is to lose touch with the future.” Last year, the Czech Republic concluded €1bn in new loans, according to HN. That was nearly twice the amount it borrowed in 2016. “It seems to me that there’s been a shift in the thinking of political leaders away from the reduction of debt at all costs to an approach that’s more focused on development,” he said. Among the projects that could receive EIB support are a proposed PP project for the final 32 km section of the D4 between Příbran and Písek. Hudak says loans could also be used to pay for railway improvements or for new trains.
