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A law to pave the way for a more efficient and professional Czech civil service came into effect at the start of 2015 after years of foot dragging by the state and final warnings from the European Commission in Brussels. Although much of the new package focused on recruitment, that’s exactly where the new framework seems to be failing with changes to the system now being prepared.

The Czech film industry is on the rebound. After playing second fiddle to foreign productions for years, Czech films are now attracting a record number of cinema goers and helping to raise profits.

The state-owned Budějovický Budvar brewery in South Bohemia sold a record amount of beer last year, in fact, the largest amount in its history. At the same time, the brewery reached its production and logistics limit.

Average mortgage rates in the Czech Republic reached a record low in June and analysts are already predicting an all-time low rate for the whole of 2016. Average monthly repayments have also hit a fresh minimum, falling below CZK 5,000 for the first time.

Nearly 70 percent of Czechs consider it normal to have a loan, according to a survey conducted by the market research firm GfK. According to the survey, carried out among 900 respondents, some 35 percent of Czechs have some kind of ongoing loan and 31 percent of those asked said they were planning to take a loan in 2016.

A new battle over drugs and health spending appears to be brewing with the Ministry of Health pushing for a lower limit to the ceiling that pensioners should pay for prescription medicines. And there is some backing for a limit also to be put on the drugs bills for families with children.

Czechs are increasingly interested in buying a chata or a chalupa, a cabin or a cottage, in the countryside. According to the daily Lidové Noviny, the sale of summer houses has increased on average by 40 percent this year compared to the previous year.

The Czech Ministry of Agriculture has highlighted the plight of Czech egg producers faced with increased imports of cheap foreign imports with the importers accused of sometime breaking the rules.

Filmmakers are expected to pump around CZK 5 billion into the Czech economy this year. A large share of that sum will be spent by the makers of epic historical serials, while stars such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Shia LaBeouf are also slated to shoot here during 2016, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Environment has launched a new programme to deal with drought, which threatens to become a more regular feature in the future. On Tuesday, Environment Minister Richard Brabec promised to earmark 300 million crowns in subsidies to help municipalities find new sources of drinking water in villages and towns across the country.