Czech news in brief for May 29: Friday's top morning headlines

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This morning's news lands with Prague approving its first new zoning plan in 25 years which makes a provision for hundreds of thousands of new apartments. In related building news, the government has opened applications for an interest-free green home loan. Read more in your Morning Mix.

Prague's City Assembly voted 50-65 to adopt a new Metropolitan Plan on Wednesday, replacing zoning rules that have been in place since 1999. The plan takes effect in September. It introduces height restrictions, including zones where buildings up to 100 metres will be permitted, and makes provision for 350,000 new apartments, primarily on brownfield sites. City Hall says it will accelerate major infrastructure including both ring roads and high-speed rail links.

There are critics: Opponents also raised concerns about green space protection, developer influence, and inadequate public amenities planning.

President Petr Pavel toured Estonia's eastern fortifications this week as the country bolsters defenses against intensifying Russian provocations. Estonia began building the border defense line last year. Drone incursions into Estonian and neighboring airspace have become a regular occurrence in recent days. "We will not tolerate violations of our airspace, just as Russia would not tolerate us violating its airspace," Pavel said.

The Czech Republic has dropped one place to 13th in the EU for education and research quality, according to the 2026 Prosperity and Financial Health Index. The core problem, experts say, is funding: Czechia allocates just 4.5 percent of GDP to education, down from 4.7percent four years ago, placing it 19th in the EU by that measure. Only 24.6 percent of working-age Czechs hold a tertiary degree, the third-lowest share in the EU.

A bright spot? Czech universities have quietly climbed the rankings, rising from 15th to 11th in the EU for high-quality institutions per capita. Student enrollment is also up, reaching 330,000 at the end of 2025.

Prague's Thomayer Hospital has flown recruiters to Manila to hire fifty new staff (forty nurses and ten radiologists) as Czech healthcare braces for a wave of retirements. More than half of Filipino nurses already work abroad, making the Philippines one of the world's primary sources of medical labor. Applicants are vetted for Czech language ability at interview stage. Other facilities are reportedly following suit.

Why the Phillipines? The Philippines is consistently identified as the world's largest exporter of nurses, with roughly 25 percent of all overseas nurses worldwide being Filipino, and about 85 percent of employed Filipino nurses working abroad across more than 50 countries.

The revamped New Green Savings (Nová zelená úsporám) program opens for applications on June 25, offering interest-free loans of up to CZK 2 million for comprehensive home energy renovations: insulation, windows, solar, heat pumps. Apartment owners can borrow up to CZK 750,000 per unit. The shift from outright grants to loans follows last November's early program closure, when funds ran dry faster than expected. Direct subsidies remain, but only for low-income households.

Good to know: Eligibility runs through the State Environmental Fund, which assesses creditworthiness. Applications go through zadosti.sfzp.cz.