Czech Republic - internal market

Short-term priorities:

• intellectual property rights (legislation and enforcement);
• certification and standardisation (further aligning legislative measures with the acquis and concluding a European conformity assessment agreement);
• amending the anti-trust law;
• further developing the legislative framework for controlling State aid and increasing transparency through the establishment of an additional State aid inventory.
• free movement of goods: amending horizontal legislation on technical requirements for products, conformity assessment and public health protection;
• free movement of capital: aligning laws on telecommunications, insurance and bonds;
• free movement of services: reinforcing the Securities Commission and widening its field of operation.

Assessment (October 1999)

Progress has been made in the fields of standardisation and certification, following the adoption of substantial sectoral legislation. Nevertheless, the amended framework law on technical requirements has still not been adopted. The negotiations relating to the Protocol on European conformity assessment are continuing. Progress has also been made in respect of the frontier controls to be applied to intellectual property rights. Part of the inventory of existing State aid has been drawn up. On the other hand, there has been no progress in the fields of anti-trust and State aid legislation.

Assessment (November 2000)

Considerable progress has been made in the area of industrial property and copyright legislation, but the implementation and monitoring of these laws needs to be improved. As regards company law, the issue of the protection of small shareholders has not yet been dealt with. The new law on the protection of personal data is in line with the relevant Community legislation, but the planned independent supervisory authority has yet to be established. The priority regarding the free movement of goods has been met. As regards the free movement of capital, problems remain regarding non-residents' right to purchase real estate and the closure of existing anonymous accounts. Limited progress has been made with the priorities regarding the free movement of services. Antitrust law is not yet in line with Community law. Major progress has been achieved in the legislation on State aid, and a large part of the inventory has been completed.

Assessment (November 2001)

Transposition has been completed in the field of intellectual and industrial property rights. Czech company law is generally in line with Community legislation, as is Czech data protection law. An independent supervisory authority has been set up in this sector. Good progress has been made with alignment in the field of the free movement of goods and in the audiovisual sector. The liberalisation of capital movements has almost been completed. Substantial progress has been made on competition matters. The telecommunications regulatory authority should be more independent.

Assessment (November 2003)

Please refer to the fact sheets on the adoption of the Community acquis.

Medium-term priorities:

• alignment of legislation on public procurement, accounting, data protection, financial services, indirect taxation, the audiovisual sector and consumer protection;
• further development of standardisation and conformity assessment bodies and establishment of a market surveillance system;
• adoption of technical legislation in respect of industrial products;
• strengthening of the relevant competition authorities;
• completion of the alignment of competition law with the acquis;
• promotion of enterprise development (particularly SMEs);
• alignment with the acquis in the fields of telecommunications, consumer protection and the internal energy market.

Assessment (October 1999)

The Czech Republic has made progress in aligning its banking legislation and its technical legislation in the field of industrial products. It has also continued its SME-support policies.

Assessment (November 2000)

As regards public procurement, the national preference clause has yet to be abolished. A new law on data protection has been adopted. The adoption of new laws on insurance and strengthening the insurance supervisory authority constitutes major progress. The staff responsible in the area of competition have been well-trained in Community competition policy. Some progress has been made in aligning consumer protection legislation.

Assessment (November 2001)

In the field of public procurement, the national preference clause should be repealed. The transposition of intellectual and industrial property law is almost complete. The legislation on data protection is virtually in line with Community legislation and a supervisory body has been set up. There has been good progress in aligning the free movement of goods, insurance and VAT, but this is not the case with the free movement of persons. The application of antitrust and State aid rules still needs to be guaranteed. Significant progress has been made in the field of consumer protection. The customs legislation is closely aligned to the Community legislation.

Assessment (November 2003)

Please refer to the fact sheets on the adoption of the Community acquis.

Following the signing of the Accession Treaty on 16 April 2003, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004.

REFERENCES

Decision 98/267/EC of 30.03.1998Official Journal L 121, 23.04.1998

Decision 99/858/EC of 6.12.1999Official Journal L 335, 28.12.1999

Commission Opinion COM(97) 2009 finalNot published in the Official Journal

Commission Report COM(98) 708 finalNot published in the Official Journal

Commission Report COM(1999) 503 finalNot published in the Official Journal

Commission Report COM(2000) 703 finalNot published in the Official Journal

Commission Report COM(2001) 700 final - SEC(2001) 1746Not published in the Official Journal

Commission Report COM(2003) 675 final - SEC(2003) 1200Not published in the Official Journal

Treaty of Accession to the European Union [Official Journal L 236, 23.09.2003]

Last updated: 19.11.2004