Fiala and Stanjura met the CNB Governor Aleš Michl and other members of the bank’s board. Photo credit: cnb.cz.
Prague, May 26 (BD) – Czech National Bank (CNB) Governor Aleš Michl and other members of the bank’s board met with Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Minister of Finance Zbyněk Stanjura yesterday, to discuss the current economic situation, the fight against inflation and the state of public finances.
“The Czech National Bank and the government have a common priority, namely to reduce inflation,” said Michl after the meeting. “We are on the right track. We expect inflation to be in the single digits within three months. But it is necessary for the CNB and the government to reasonably cooperate and support the reduction of the public finance deficit.”
“We discussed the steps taken by the government and the CNB in the fight against inflation, and the need to continue these efforts in order to achieve a further significant reduction in inflation,” said Prime Minister Petr Fiala. “We also talked about the development of the Czech economy, the recovery package and steps that will lead to reducing the deficit. Some of our measures are already working. Food and energy prices are decreasing, which is a positive trend.”
“The meeting was substantive, with a good atmosphere, and we all see common tasks and a common goal that we want to achieve,” Prime minister Fiala wrote later on Twitter.
At the beginning of May, before the publication of the austerity budget package, Michl said that if the government’s plan to restore public finances was not credible enough, the CNB would have to take action to address the pro-inflationary impulse created by the state budget deficit. At the time, Fiala said the CNB was primarily responsible for inflation, and the governor should not blame the government, arguing that the central bank could do more against inflation.
Written by Tomas Houdek.
