COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 2025 Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - CZECHIA Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2025 Environmental Implementation Review for prosperity and security
Date: 2025-07-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Czechia, EU environmental policy, application of EU law, biodiversity, circular economy, climate change policy, environmental law, governance, pollution control measures, waste management

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 7.7.2025  SWD(2025) 305 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  2025 Environmental Implementation Review                        Country Report - CZECHIA                           Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 2025 Environmental Implementation Review for prosperity and security {COM(2025) 420 final} - {SWD(2025) 300 final} - {SWD(2025) 301 final} - {SWD(2025) 302 final} - {SWD(2025) 303 final} - {SWD(2025) 304 final} - {SWD(2025) 306 final} - {SWD(2025) 307 final} - {SWD(2025) 308 final} - {SWD(2025) 309 final} - {SWD(2025) 310 final} - {SWD(2025) 311 final} - {SWD(2025) 312 final} - {SWD(2025) 313 final} - {SWD(2025) 314 final} - {SWD(2025) 315 final} - {SWD(2025) 316 final} - {SWD(2025) 317 final} - {SWD(2025) 318 final} - {SWD(2025) 319 final} - {SWD(2025) 320 final} - {SWD(2025) 321 final} - {SWD(2025) 322 final} - {SWD(2025) 323 final} - {SWD(2025) 324 final} - {SWD(2025) 325 final} - {SWD(2025) 326 final}  
 
 
Czechia  2 

Contents 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................... 3 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ...................................................................................................................................... 4 

1. 

CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND WASTE MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................... 4 

Transitioning to a circular economy ..................................................................................................................... 4 
Waste management ............................................................................................................................................. 6 
Policies to encourage waste prevention .............................................................................................................. 9 

2. 

BIODIVERSITY AND NATURAL CAPITAL ............................................................................................................... 12 

Global and EU biodiversity frameworks ............................................................................................................. 12 
Nature protection and restoration – Natura 2000............................................................................................. 12 
Recovery of species ............................................................................................................................................ 14 
Recovery of ecosystems ..................................................................................................................................... 15 
Prevention and management of invasive alien species ..................................................................................... 19 
Ecosystem assessment and accounting ............................................................................................................ 20 

3. 

ZERO POLLUTION.......................................................................................................................................... 22 

Clean air ............................................................................................................................................................. 22 
Industrial emissions ........................................................................................................................................... 23 
Major industrial accidents prevention – Seveso .............................................................................................. 25 
Mercury Regulation ........................................................................................................................................... 27 
Noise .................................................................................................................................................................. 27 
Water quality and management ........................................................................................................................ 28 
Chemicals ........................................................................................................................................................... 32 

4. CLIMATE ACTION .............................................................................................................................................. 35 

The EU emissions trading system ....................................................................................................................... 36 
Effort sharing...................................................................................................................................................... 36 
Land use, land-use change and forestry ............................................................................................................ 37 
Adaptation to climate change ............................................................................................................................ 37 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK – IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ............................................................................ 39 

5. FINANCING ...................................................................................................................................................... 39 

Climate finance landmarks ................................................................................................................................. 39 
Environmental financing and investments ........................................................................................................ 39 
Public financial management ............................................................................................................................. 44 
Priority actions ................................................................................................................................................... 46 

6. ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE ........................................................................................................................... 47 

Information, public participation and access to justice ..................................................................................... 47 
Compliance assurance ....................................................................................................................................... 49 
EU-supported environmental capacity building ............................................................................................... 52 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
Czechia  3 

Executive summary 

In  May  2016,  the  European  Commission  launched  the 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR), a  regular 
reporting  tool  based  on  analysis,  dialogue  and 
collaboration  with  EU  Member  States  to  improve  the 
implementation of existing EU environmental policy and 
legislation (1).  Following  previous  cycles  in  2017,  2019 
and 2022, this report assesses the progress made while 
describing  the  main  outstanding  challenges  and 
legal 
opportunities 
implementation in Czechia. The purpose of this report is 
to  provide 
implementation 
performance  and  highlight  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address  the  implementation  gaps  that  impact  human 
health and the environment and hamper the economic 
development  and competitiveness of the country. The 
report  relies  on  detailed  sectoral 
implementation 
reports  collected  or  issued  by  the  Commission  under 
specific environmental legislation. 

information  on 

environmental 

regarding 

the 

The main challenges set out below have been selected 
from Part I of this report, ‘Thematic areas’, taking into 
consideration  factors  such  as  the  gravity  of  the 
environmental  implementation  issue  in  light  of  the 
impact on the quality of life of citizens, the distance to 
target and financial implications. 

While  Czechia  shows  a  growing  commitment  to 
transitioning  to  a  circular  economy, 
its  resource 
productivity remains well below the EU average and the 
Circular  Czechia 2040 framework needs to be speedily 
implemented  in  practice.  Czechia  is  at  risk  of  not 
meeting  the  2035  target  of  a  maximum  of  10 %  of 
municipal  waste  being  landfilled  and  has  made  no 
progress on shifting reusable and recyclable waste away 
from  incineration.  It  needs  to  do  more  to  divert 
reusable products and recyclable waste from landfilling 
and incineration. 

Czechia  needs  to  step  up  its  zero-pollution  efforts.  As 
regards  industrial air pollutants, Czechia has the  sixth 
highest level of damage in the EU, and it comes fourth 
for emissions intensity. As regards industrial emissions 
of heavy metals to water, Czechia has the 10th highest 
amount  of  emissions  in  the  EU,  and  is  also  in  10th 
position  for  emission 
intensity.  As  regards  water 
quality, there is a trend of deterioration concerning the 
ecological  and  chemical  status  of  Czechia’s  surface 
water and groundwater bodies. The main pressures are 

industrialised  large-scale  agriculture  heavily  relying  on 
fertilisers,  and  waste  water  polluting  rivers  and  lakes 
with nutrients causing eutrophication. 

Czechia faces climate action challenges. There is still no 
progress  in  decarbonising  transport.  The  share  of 
renewables  in  the  electricity  sector  is  substantially 
below  the  EU  average  and  it  is  growing  very  slowly. 
While Czechia’s land use, land-use change and forestry 
sector has the potential to function as a net carbon sink, 
there  has  unfortunately  been  no  progress  and 
projections show that Czechia will miss its target. 

The  overall  environmental  investment  needed  to 
enable  Czechia  to  meet  its  objectives,  beyond  climate 
change, is estimated at EUR 6.8 billion per year, broken 
down  as  follows:  EUR 1.7 billion  for  the  circular 
economy;  EUR 2.2 billion  for  pollution  prevention  and 
control; EUR 1.6 billion for water; and EUR 1.3 billion for 
biodiversity and ecosystems. The additional investment 
needed over the current levels – the investment gap – 
reaches an estimated EUR 2.3 billion per year in Czechia, 
which  represents  around  0.82 %  of  its  GDP  (slightly 
higher than the EU average of 0.77 %). 

On  environmental  governance,  Czechia  needs  to 
improve the accessibility of high-value spatial datasets 
for  implementing  environmental  legislation.  There  is 
also  room  for  further  improving  access  to  courts  in 
national  environmental  cases  by  the  public  concerned 
and  eliminating  practical  barriers,  such  as  excessive 
costs.  Finally,  Czechia  should  publish  more  exhaustive 
information  on  EIA  and  SEA  procedures,  including  on 
public  participation  possibilities  and  on  publication  of 
final decisions, and provide information on the average 
duration of all steps in the EIA process. 

On  the  positive  side,  Czechia  introduced  in  2024  a 
simplification  of  the  conditions  for  assessing  the 
environmental impacts of wind power projects. This was 
accompanied by a procedural integration of 29 different 
administrative  acts  relevant  for  Renewable  Energy 
Sources  projects.  Further,  food  waste  is  one  of  the 
priority  waste  streams  in  Czechia’s  updated  National 
Waste Prevention Programme. This is accompanied by 
active  support  for  food  banks  and  food  donation, 
including  mobile  applications  offering  food  leftovers 
from restaurants. 

(1) 

Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Delivering the 
benefits  of  EU  environmental  policies  through  a  regular 

environmental  implementation  review,  COM(2016) 316 
final  of  27 May  2016,  http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2016%3A316%3AFIN.  

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
Czechia  4 

Part I: Thematic areas 

1. 

Circular economy and waste management 

Transitioning to a circular economy 

Figure 1: CMUR (%), 2013–2023 

Advancing the transition to a circular economy in the EU 
will reduce the environmental and climate impact of our 
industrial  systems  by  reducing  input  materials,  keeping 
products and materials in the loop for longer and reducing 
waste generation, thus decoupling economic growth from 
resource 
circular  economy  has 
considerable  potential  to  increase  competitiveness  and 
job creation and will also promote innovation and provide 
access to new markets. With the 2020 circular  economy 
action  plan  (CEAP) (2)  measures  either 
in  place  or 
legislatively advanced, EU Member States will now have to 
focus on a swift and effective implementation. 

consumption.  A 

The 2020 CEAP launched the legislative process for a set 
of  initiatives  that  will  now  have  to  be  implemented  by 
national  governments  across  the  EU.  These  initiatives 
were all introduced following a holistic life-cycle approach, 
with  measures  addressing  the  different  stages  of  a 
product’s life cycle, from design through use to end of life. 

In the CEAP, the EU sets as its overarching objective the 
doubling of its circular material use rate (CMUR) by 2030. 

The CMUR is a  measure of one aspect of circularity: the 
share of the total amount of material used in the economy 
that is accounted for by recycled waste.  A higher CMUR 
value means that more secondary materials were used as 
a  substitute  for  raw  materials,  thus  reducing  the 
environmental impacts of extracting primary material. 

The circular use of materials in Czechia has been steadily 
increasing  since  2013,  and  reached  12.8 %  in  2023,  thus 
surpassing  the  EU  average  of  11.8 %  (Figure 1).  This 
progress  emphasises  Czechia’s  growing  commitment  to 
sustainable  resource  management  within  the  circular 
economy framework. 

15

10

5

0

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

Czechia

EU-27

Source: Eurostat, ‘Circular material use rate’, env_ac_cur,  last updated 
13 November 
2024, 
accessed 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/view/env_ac_cur. 

10 December 

2024, 

Resource  productivity  measures  the  total  amount  of 
materials directly used by an economy in relation to gross 
domestic product (GDP). Improving resource productivity 
can help to minimise negative impacts on the environment 
and reduce dependency on volatile raw material markets. 
As shown in Figure 2, with EUR 1.21 generated per kg of 
material  consumed  in  2023,  resource  productivity  in 
Czechia remained well below the EU average of EUR 2.23 
per kg. 

Figure 2: Resource productivity (EUR/kg), 2013–2023 

2,5

2,0

1,5

1,0

0,5

0,0

2013

2015

2017

2019

2021

2023

Czechia

EU-27

NB: The unit of measurement used is EUR/kg chain-linked volume (2015). 
Chain-linked  volumes  focus  on  changes  on  quantities  and  prices  of 
commodities  in  previous  years,  taking  account  of  inflation,  and  are 
indexed to the nearest appropriate year, in this case 2015. 

(2) 

from 

the  Commission 

the  European 
Communication 
Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions –  A  new  circular 
economy action plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, 

to 

COM(2020) 98 
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A98%3AFIN. 

11 March 

2020, 

final 

of 

https://eur-

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Resource  productivity’,  env_ac_rp,  last  updated 
7 August 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/product/view/env_ac_rp. 

10 December 

accessed 

2024, 

Policies and measures 

In  parallel  with  European  initiatives  under  the  CEAP, 
Member States are encouraged to adopt and implement 
circular strategies at the national, regional and city levels. 
These should be tailored to each national and local reality, 
to  harness  the  proximity  economy’s (3)  potential,  while 
following  the  principles  of  a  holistic  whole-value-chain 
approach. 

Since the launch of the online European Circular Economy 
Stakeholder  Platform  in  2017 (4)  national,  regional  and 
local  authorities  have  used  the  platform  to  share  their 
strategies,  roadmaps  and  good  practices,  for  example 
alternative business models and innovative technologies. 

A strategic framework for Czechia’s transition to a circular 
economy by 2040 (also called Circular Czechia 2040) was 
adopted by the Czech government in December 2021 as 
part  of  a  reform  introduced  by  the  Czech  recovery  and 
resilience plan (RRP) (5). The implementing action plan for 
2022–2027 (6) was adopted in June 2023. Its main function 
is  to  specify  the  measures  to  be  rolled  out  by  2027  to 
achieve the strategic goals of Circular Czechia 2040. 

Circular Czechia 2040 sets out 10 priority areas related to 
the circular economy: products and design; industry, raw 
materials,  construction  and  energy;  bioeconomics  and 
food;  consumption  and  consumers;  waste  management; 
water; research, development and innovation; education 
and knowledge; economic instruments; and circular cities 
and infrastructure. The action plan identifies initiatives for 
each  priority  area,  ranging  from  awareness  raising  to 
financial support. 

Specific targets, goals and measures for plastics, textiles, 
construction  and  demolition  waste  are  set  in  the  Czech 
waste  management  plan,  the  Czech  waste  prevention 
programme and in the new Circular Czechia 2040 strategy. 

Circular  cities  are  one  of  the  strategic  goals  of  Circular 
Czechia 2040, and local governments are slowly taking up 
circularity measures. 

website, 

Commission 

(3) 

(4) 

European Commission, ‘Proximity and social economy ecosystem’, 
https://single-market-
European 
economy.ec.europa.eu/sectors/proximity-and-social-
economy_en. 
Circular 
(https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/en/strategies). 
https://www.planobnovycr.cz/ke-stazeni. 

(5) 
(6)  Ministry of the Environment, Akční plán cirkulární Česko 2040 pro 
2022, 

období 
https://www.mzp.cz/cz/akcni_plan_cirkularni_cesko_2040. 

Stakeholder 

2022–2027, 

Economy 

Platform 

Prague, 

Czechia  5 

Green public procurement 

Public  procurement  accounts  for  a  large  proportion  of 
European 
authorities’ 
consumption,  with  public 
purchasing  power  representing  around  14 %  of  EU  GDP. 
Public  procurement  using  green  or  circular  criteria  (life-
cycle analysis, PaaS (platform as a service), second hand) 
can help drive the demand for sustainable products that 
meet reparability and recyclability standards. 

In  2017,  Czechia  adopted  rules  to  ensure  a  responsible 
approach  to  public  procurement  and  purchasing  by  the 
the  public 
local  governments.  Under 
state  and 
procurement 
law,  from  1 January  2021,  contracting 
authorities  must  comply  with  social,  environmental  and 
innovative  requirements  when  purchasing  goods  and 
services. 

A national strategy of public procurement for 2024–2028 
has been adopted, in which priority is given to socially and 
environmentally responsible public procurement. 

Czechia  has  been  supporting  the  increased  demand  for 
products  made  from  recycled  materials  for  a  long  time 
through  the  operation  programme  environment  2021–
2027.  When  purchasing  products  made  from  recycled 
materials – in so-called green tenders – applicants receive 
a higher level of support in the form of a bonus. 

The EU Ecolabel and the eco-management and audit 
scheme  

The  number  of  EU  Ecolabel  product  groups  and  the 
number  of  eco-management  and  audit  scheme  (EMAS)-
licensed  organisations  in  each  country  provide  some 
indication  of  the  extent  to  which  the  private  sector  and 
national stakeholders in that country are actively engaged 
in the transition to a circular economy. The EU Ecolabel is 
awarded  to  products  with  best-in-class  environmental 
is  a  voluntary  environment 
performance.  EMAS 
management 
the 
scheme 
environmental impacts of organisations. 

reducing 

aimed 

at 

As of September 2024, Czechia had 5 396 products out of 
98 977, and 43 licences out of 2 983 registered in the EU 
Ecolabel  scheme,  showing  a  reasonable  take-up  of  the 
products and licences (7). Moreover, 21 organisations are 
currently registered in EMAS, 3 more than in 2021 (8). 

(7) 

(8) 

European Commission, ‘EU Ecolabel facts and figures’, European 
website, 
Commission 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/eu-
ecolabel/businesses/ecolabel-facts-and-figures_en. 
As  of  October  2024.  European  Commission,  ‘EMAS  Register’, 
European 
website, 
Commission 
https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/emas2/public/registration/list. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
Czechia  has  shown  some  progress  on  fulfilling  the  2022 
priority  action  suggesting  the  implementation  of  the 
country’s  circular  economy  policy  framework.  An  action 
plan  was  adopted  to 
introduce  circular  economy 
initiatives,  but  the  on-the-ground  implementation  still 
needs to happen. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Speed  up  the  transition  to  a  circular  economy  by 
implementing an updated national strategy and the 
EU  framework  and  recommendations,  in  particular 
to  complement 
it  with  upstream  circularity 
measures. 

Waste management 

Turning waste into a resource is supported by: 

(i) 

(ii) 

addressing  the  full  life  cycle  of  products,  from 
conception to end of life, by setting requirements on 
the design of products to ensure that they are more 
sustainable; 
fully 
legislation,  which 
includes  the  waste  hierarchy,  the  obligation  to 
ensure separate collection of waste, landfill diversion 
targets, etc.; 

implementing  EU  waste 

(iii)  reducing waste generation per capita and in absolute 

(iv) 

(v) 

terms; 
increasing  the  recycling  rates  of  waste  containing 
critical raw materials (CRMs), with a view to reducing 
dependencies and building resilient value chains, and 
stimulating  demand  for  recycled  content  in  all 
products; 
limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials; 
and 

(vi)  phasing  out  landfilling  of  recyclable  or  recoverable 

Czechia  6 

since  2016  (Figure 3).  This  trend  is  mainly  driven  by  a 
change in data collection methodology in 2018, when the 
range  of  entities  covered  by  the  Czech  waste  statistics 
widened and thus the coverage of businesses improved, 
leading to higher recorded waste amounts. 

The  slight  increase  in  total  waste  from  2018  to  2020  is 
mainly  driven  by  the  mineral  and  solidified  waste 
category, and within this, excavated soils in particular. The 
amount  of  total  waste  excluding  major  mineral  waste 
showed a decrease from 2018 to 2020, mainly driven by 
recyclable  waste.  Czechia’s  GDP  has  been  continuously 
growing, with the exception of a decrease in 2020, which 
is most likely due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Looking at the 
periods 2010–2016 and 2018–2022 separately due to the 
break in time series, it seems that waste generation largely 
followed economic growth trends. 

Figure 3: Generation of waste (total and excluding major 
mineral wastes), population and GDP, 2010–2022 

accessed 

15 October 

nama_10_gdp, 

Sources: Eurostat, ‘GDP and main components (output, expenditure and 
income)’, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nama_10_gdp__cust
om_9301905/default/table;  Eurostat,  ‘Generation  of  waste  by  waste 
category,  hazardousness  and  NACE  Rev. 2  activity’,  env_wasgen,  last 
updated 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasgen/default/
table?lang=en; Eurostat, ‘Population change – Demographic balance and 
crude  rates  at  national  level’,  demo_grind,  accessed  15 October  2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/t
able?lang=en&category=demo.demo_ind. 

30 September 

22 October 

accessed 

2024, 

waste. 

Critical raw materials 

One of the main objectives of EU waste law is to decouple 
economic growth from its environmental impacts. 

The EU’s approach to waste management is based on the 
waste  treatment  hierarchy:  prevention,  preparing  for 
reuse,  recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred 
landfilling  and 
includes 
option,  disposal 
incineration without energy recovery). 

(which 

All legislative proposals in the field of waste management 
put forward by the Commission since 2021 are intended 
to encourage Member States to promote better product 
design,  to  require  producers  to  cover  the  costs  of 
managing the waste resulting from their products and to 
ensure that waste is managed at the higher levels of the 
waste hierarchy.  

The  total  amount  of  waste  generated  in  Czechia  has 
increased  considerably  over  the  last  12 years,  especially 

Czechia focuses on key products that contain a high level 
of  critical  raw  materials,  such  as  batteries  (extended 
producer  responsibility,  collection  systems,  recovery  of 
critical raw materials), electrical and electronic equipment 
(repair,  refurbish,  extended  producer  responsibility, 
collection 
(extended  producer 
vehicles 
responsibility),  construction  and  demolition  waste 
(recycled  materials)  and  mining  waste  (recycling  critical 
raw materials). The Waste Management Plan with outlook 
to 2035, the Circular Czechia 2040 and New Raw Material 
Policy for Minerals and their Resources integrate issues on 
critical raw materials.  

systems), 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
Construction and demolition waste 

Construction  and  demolition  waste  accounts  for  almost 
40 % of all waste generated in the EU. A recent study (9) by 
the Joint Research Centre shows that preparing for reuse 
and  recycling  operations  are  preferred  over  incineration 
and  landfilling  from  an  environmental  perspective  for 
most  of  the  different  streams  of  construction  and 
demolition  waste.  However,  the  economics  are  often 
unfavourable  for  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling 
compared  with  incineration  and  landfilling.  If  available 
technology  were  to  be  applied,  it  is  estimated  that  the 
increase in preparing for reuse and recycling would lead to 
an  additional  33 Mt  of  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emission 
savings annually (more than, for example, the combined 
annual  GHG  emissions 
from  Estonia,  Latvia  and 
Luxembourg). 

The  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  rate  of  mineral 
construction  and  demolition  waste  in  Czechia  in  2022  is 
72.2 %,  below  the  EU  average  of  79.8 %.  Measures  to 
further increase the preparing for reuse and recycling rate 
of  construction  and  demolition  waste  include  separate 
collection at source, for instance through digitalised pre-
demolition  audits (10)  (so-called  resource  assessments); 
(EPR)  and  other 
extended  producer  responsibility 
economic  instruments;  and  upstream  measures  such  as 
increasing the recycled content  in construction products 
and the circular design (11) of construction works. 

Boosting implementation – the 2023 Waste Early 
Warning Report 

This  section  focuses  on  the  management  of  municipal 
waste,  for  which  EU 
law  sets  mandatory  recycling 
targets (12).  In  June  2023,  the  Commission  published  the 
Waste  Early  Warning  Report (13)  identifying  the  general 
trends in waste management and the Member States at 
risk of missing 2025 waste targets (Figure 4). Czechia is in 
the  category  of  countries  not  at  risk  of  missing  the 
municipal  and  packaging  waste  targets.  On  the  other 
hand, Czechia is at risk of not meeting the 2035 target of a 
maximum of 10 % of municipal waste being landfilled. 

Czechia  7 

Figure 4:  Member  States’  prospects  of  meeting  the 
preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  targets  for  municipal 
waste and packaging waste  

Member  states  not  at  risk  of  missing  the  55 %  preparing  for 
reuse  and  recycling  target  for  municipal  waste  and  the  65 % 
recycling target for packaging waste 

Member  States  at  risk  of  missing  the  preparing  for  reuse  and 
recycling target for municipal waste but not at risk of missing the 
recycling target for packaging waste 

 Member States at risk of missing both targets 
 Outside coverage 

Source: European Environment Agency (EEA), ‘Many EU Member States 
not on track to meet recycling targets for municipal waste and packaging 
waste’, briefing No 28/2022, Copenhagen, 2023. Reference data © ESRI. 

Under  certain  conditions,  EU  waste  legislation  enables 
some  Member  States  to  postpone  the  deadlines  for 
reaching certain waste management targets for municipal 
and packaging waste. Member States that want to use this 
possibility  have  to  notify  the  Commission  24 months  in 
advance  of  the  deadline  and  submit  an  implementation 
plan  laying  down  the  steps  they  envisage  to  reach  the 
postponed targets within a new timeframe. Regarding the 
2025 targets, 11 Member States, including Czechia, have 
used this prerogative. 

(9) 

(10) 

European Commission: Joint Research Centre, Cristobal Garcia, J., 
Caro, D. et al., Techno-economic and environmental assessment of 
construction and demolition waste management in the European 
Union,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2024, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC1354
70. 
European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Market, 
Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  EU  Construction  & 
Demolition Waste Management Protocol including guidelines for 
pre-demolition and pre-renovation audits of construction works – 
Updated edition 2024, Publications Office of the European Union, 
Luxembourg,  2024,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/d63d5a8f-64e8-11ef-a8ba-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en. 

(11) 

European Commission, Circular Economy – Principles for buildings 
design, 
2020, 
Brussels, 
https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/39984.  

(12)  Municipal  waste  consists  of  (i)  mixed  waste  and  separately 
collected waste from households, including paper and cardboard, 
glass, metals, plastics, biowaste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste 
electrical  and  electronic  equipment,  waste  batteries  and 
accumulators,  and  bulky  waste, 
including  mattresses  and 
furniture;  and  (ii)  mixed  waste  and  separately  collected  waste 
from  other  sources,  where  such  waste  is  similar  in  nature  and 
composition  to  waste  from  households  (Directive  2008/98/EC, 
Article 3.2b).  
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/waste-early-
warning-report_en. 

(13) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  8 

Despite a significant decrease since 2010, the landfill rate 
was still 46 % in 2021 (Figure 6) and has stagnated since 
2017,  while  the  incineration  rate  was  12 %  in  2021. 
Additional efforts are needed to further reduce landfilling. 

Figure 5:  Municipal  waste  management  and  recycling 
(including preparation for reuse), 2010–2022 

implementation  plan 

In December 2023, Czechia notified the Commission of its 
intention  to  postpone  the  attainment  of  the  aluminium 
packaging  waste  recycling  targets  for  2025  and  2030 
established  by  the  Packaging  and  Packaging  Waste 
Directive. Attached to the notification, Czechia submitted 
an 
laying  down  the  measures 
necessary  to  attain  the  targets  within  a  postponed 
timeframe (i.e. 2030 instead of 2025, and 2035 instead of 
2030).  According  to  the  implementation  plan,  the  main 
measures  Czechia  will  put  in  place  include  a  mandatory 
deposit-return  system  for  metal  beverage  containers, 
awareness-raising campaigns and the implementation of 
advanced  sorting  technologies.  The  Commission  found 
that  the  plan  submitted  does  not  comply  with  the 
requirements set out in the relevant waste legislation (14). 

In  the  Waste  Early  Warning  Report,  the  Commission 
recommended  that  Member  States  accelerate  their 
efforts  to  improve  their  recycling  performance.  The 
Commission  is,  on  one  hand,  working  together  with  the 
national  authorities  and  stakeholders  to  speed  up  the 
implementation  of  measures  necessary  to  meet  the 
targets,  including  through  dedicated  financing.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  Commission  is  pursuing  enforcement 
actions  against  those  Member  States,  including  Czechia, 
that, based on data submitted to the Commission, do not 
achieve the targets of the Waste Framework Directive (15), 
the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (16) and the 
Directive 
Electronic 
Equipment (17). 

on  Waste 

Electrical 

and 

Municipal waste 

Czechia’s municipal waste generation shows a significant 
increase over the last 10 years (Figure 5). In 2021, Czechia 
generated 570 kg per capita of municipal waste, which is 
slightly above the estimated EU-27 average of 527 kg per 
capita. Figure 5 shows a break in the time series of data in 
2017, due to a  change  in the municipal  waste definition 
extending  it  to  include  waste  from  companies  that  is 
similar to household waste (18). 

The  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  rate  of  municipal 
waste shows a moderate increase, from 32 % in 2017 to 
44 % in 2021, which is slightly below the (estimated) EU-
27 average of 49 % (Figure 6). Both material recycling and 
composting  and  digestion  have  contributed  to  the 
increase. 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Municipal  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_wasmun, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASMUN/defa
ult/table. 

22 October 

accessed 

Figure 6: Recycling (including preparation for reuse) and 
landfill rates (%), 2010–2022 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Municipal  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_wasmun, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASMUN/defa
ult/table. 

22 October 

accessed 

Commission Decision C(2024) 1486.   

(14) 
(15)  Directive  2008/98/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  19  November  2008  on  waste  and  repealing  certain 
Directives, Directive - 2008/98 - EN - Waste framework directive - 
EUR-Lex. 
European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  94/62/EC  of  20 
December  1994  on  packaging  and  packaging  waste  (OJ  L  365, 
31/12/1994, p. 10–23), Directive - 94/62 - EN - EUR-Lex. 

(16) 

(17)  Directive  2012/19/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  4 July  2012  on  waste  electrical  and  electronic 
equipment  (WEEE)  (OJ  L 197,  24.7.2012,  p. 38),  Directive  - 
2012/19 - EN - EUR-Lex. 
EEA,  Early  warning  assessment  related  to  the  2025  targets  for 
municipal  and  packaging  waste –  Czechia,  Copenhagen,  2022, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/many-eu-member-
states/czechia/view.  

(18) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
The  Waste  Framework  Directive (19)  sets  legally  binding 
targets  for  the  preparing  for  reuse  and  recycling  of 
municipal  waste.  Czechia  and  17  other  Member  States 
failed  to  meet  the  target  for  2020  of  preparing  50 %  of 
municipal waste (e.g. paper, metal, plastic and glass) for 
reuse  and  recycling.  Czechia,  along  with  most  Member 
States,  also  failed  to  meet  the  65 %  separate  collection 
target set by Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and 
initiated  an 
electronic  equipment.  The  Commission 
infringement procedure in July 2024 (20). 

Packaging waste 

Packaging  waste  generation  in  Czechia  has  continuously 
and significantly increased since 2010 (Figure 7). Czechia 
generated 137 kg per capita in 2021, which is significantly 
below  the  estimated  European  average  of  189 kg  per 
capita for the same year (21). 

Figure 7: Packaging waste generation, 2010–2022 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Packaging  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_waspac, last updated 23 October 2024, accessed 28 October 2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASPAC__cust
om_842634/default/table?lang=en. 

Czechia’s overall packaging waste recycling rate stagnated 
in 2010–2021, reaching 69 % in 2021 (Figure 8), which is 
above the estimated EU-27 average of 64 % for the same 
year. The overall packaging waste recycling rate is mainly 
driven  by  paper  and  cardboard,  as  this  is  the  largest 
packaging  fraction.  The  recycling  rates  of  paper  and 
cardboard, glass and steel packaging waste are all above 
80 %.  The  plastic  packaging  recycling  rate  shows  a 
significant decrease between 2019 and 2020, which can be 
attributed  to  the  application  of  new  calculation  points 

(19)  Directive 

2008/98/EC 

(https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/98/oj/eng)  as  amended  by  Directive 
(EU) 
(https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2018/851/oj/eng). 
The  Commission  calls  on  all  Member  States  to  meet  waste 
collection and recycling targets. See European Commission, ‘July 
infringement  package:  Key  decisions’,  European  Commission 

2018/851 

(20) 

Czechia  9 

since  the  reference  year  2020.  The  recycling  rate  of 
aluminium  packaging  is  the  lowest  and  needs  to  nearly 
double in order to meet the 2025 recycling target. 

Figure 8: Packaging waste recycling rates (%), 2010–2022 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Packaging  waste  by  waste  management  operations’, 
env_waspac, last updated 23 October 2024, accessed 28 October 2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ENV_WASPAC__cust
om_842634/default/table?lang=en. 

Policies to encourage waste prevention  

Waste  management  plans  and  waste  prevention 
programmes are instrumental to the full implementation 
of  EU  waste  legislation.  They  set  out  key  provisions  and 
investments to ensure compliance with existing and new 
legal requirements (e.g. on waste prevention, on separate 
collection for certain waste streams, on recycling and on 
landfill targets). 

Czechia’s  current  national  waste  prevention  programme 
addresses  2015–2024.  The  programme  includes  reuse 
measures for certain priority product categories, including 
electrical  and  electronic  equipment  and  textiles  and 
furniture. Moreover, the programme aims to prevent the 
generation  of  single-use  plastic  waste,  and  related 
measures  focus  on  education  and  providing  information 
on  the  availability  of  reusable  alternatives  to  single-use 
plastic products and fishing gear. 

Food  waste  is  one  of  the  priority  waste  streams  in  the 
updated  national  waste  management  plan,  with 
prevention  measures  addressing  all  stages  of  the  food 
chain. Czechia is very active in support of food banks and 
food  donation.  There  are  several  mobile  and  web 
applications that offer food leftovers from restaurants. In 

25 July 

website, 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_24_
3228. 
The  EU  average  might  have  been  influenced by  not  all  Member 
States fully  applying  the  reporting  rules for  packaging  waste  set 
out in the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/665. 

(21) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
Czechia  10 

2023  there  was  also  a  change  in  food  legislation  that 
enabled  the  donation  of  uneaten  meals  from  canteens 
and  catering  services.  The  waste  management  plan  also 
includes  a  target  for  the  reduction  of  single-use  plastic 
beverage cups and food containers. 

In  the  past  few  years,  many  projects  involving  reuse 
centres,  furniture  banks  and  makerspaces  have  been 
implemented all over Czechia. An online portal called Let’s 
Repair Czechia (22) helps citizens to find repair services in 
their  neighbourhoods 
for  electrical  and  electronic 
equipment,  furniture,  textiles,  sports  equipment  and 
other products. 

Policies to encourage separate collection and recycling  

In Czechia, plastics, paper and cardboard, ferrous metals, 
aluminium, composite packaging, glass and edible oils and 
fats  are  mainly  collected  by  means  of  high-convenience 
drop-off points and civic amenity sites and, in less densely 
populated  areas,  to  some  extent  also  through  door-to-
door collection. 

Hazardous waste from citizens is mainly collected through 
civic amenity sites or mobile  collection  organised by the 
municipalities. 

Biowaste  collection  is  focused  on  garden  waste,  mainly 
collected at civic amenity sites. In towns, suburbs and rural 
areas,  there  are  also  drop-off  points  and  door-to-door 
collection  for  biowaste.  There  are  plans  to  expand  the 
separate  collection  of  food  waste,  wood  and  textiles 
waste, and the plan for implementation is set out in the 
updated waste management plan. The separate collection 
of food waste (i.e. animal-based kitchen waste) will start 
in 2026. 

The obligation for the separate collection of textile waste 
will  start  in  2025.  The  Ministry  of  the  Environment  has 
prepared a guidance document for municipalities to help 
them in the set-up of separate textile waste collection (23). 

Policies to discourage landfilling or incineration 

Since  2021,  Czechia  has  had  a  landfill  tax  that  increases 
each  year.  The  landfill  tax  is  increased  annually  from 
EUR 32/t  in  2021  to  EUR 73/t  in  2029  for  recoverable 
waste  and  will  become  considerably  higher  than  the 
average for Member States applying such taxes. The Czech 
Waste Act also establishes landfill taxes for residual waste, 

(22)

https://www.opravmecesko.cz/#:~:text=Za%20pomoci%20si
lných%20partnerů%20z,a%20přechod%20na%20cirkulární%20ek
onomiku. 

(23)  Ministry  of  the  Environment,  information  provided  during  the 
Eionet  review  of  the  draft  EEA  country  profile  on  waste 
management for Czechia, 2024. 

hazardous  waste,  technological  waste  and  remediation 
waste. 

Municipalities that landfill less than a specific amount of 
recoverable waste (190 kg per inhabitant in 2022, 180 kg 
per inhabitant in 2023 and 170 kg per inhabitant in 2024) 
are exempted from the landfill tax, but this threshold has 
been  decreasing  over  the  years.  The  exemption  aims  to 
landfill  ban  to  be 
prepare  the  municipalities  for  a 
introduced in 2030, in accordance with the Waste Act, for 
waste  that  exceeds  6.5 MJ/kg  in  dry  matter,  waste  that 
exceeds  a  threshold  value  for  the  biological  stability 
parameter AT4, and waste that can be recycled efficiently. 
Additionally,  since  2021,  separately  collected  municipal 
waste suitable for reuse or recycling is no longer allowed 
to be landfilled or incinerated. 

Czechia  does  not  apply  incineration  taxes  and  currently 
has  no  intention  to  introduce  them.  This  is  because  the 
energy  recovery  rate  of  municipal  waste  is  very  low  in 
Czechia and the main aim is to divert municipal waste from 
landfilling rather than from incineration (24). 

In  the  2022  environmental  implementation  review  (EIR) 
Czechia had six priority actions in the field of waste. It has 
made  no  progress  on  shifting  reusable  and  recyclable 
waste  away  from  incineration.  Czechia  has  made  some 
progress  in  improving  the  separate  collection  of  waste. 
Their  waste  management  plan  includes  measures  for 
expanding  the  collection  of  food  waste,  with  a  focus  on 
sending animal-based  kitchen  waste from households to 
biogas  plants.  Czechia  has  evaluated  its  national  waste 
prevention  programme  to  update  and  strengthen  it. 
Czechia has made some progress on incentivising sorting 
at source, as a pay-as-you-throw system is in place, but it 
currently  only  covers  about  20 %  of  the  population. 
Czechia has made progress on the functioning of EPR, with 
an  EPR  scheme  in  place  for  packaging  waste  from 
households  and  non-households.  The  EPR  scheme  could 
still be improved by aligning it with the general minimum 
requirements on EPR. Czechia is planning to introduce EPR 
schemes for textiles, furniture, sports equipment, plastic 
toys and some other product groups. 

2025 priority actions  

• 

• 

(24) 

Invest  in waste prevention measures to reduce the 
total amount of waste generated. 
Implement,  harmonise,  and  gradually 
increase 
landfill  taxes  to  phase  out  landfilling  of  recyclable 
and recoverable waste. 

EEA,  ‘Technical  note  accompanying  the  EEA  briefing  “Economic 
instruments and separate collection – Key instruments to increase 
recycling”’, 
2023, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/economic-instruments-
and-separate-collection/technical-note-accompanying-the-
eea/view. 

Copenhagen, 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
Czechia  11 

• 

• 

• 

incineration, 

Further  shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away 
from 
including  through  economic 
instruments.  
Improve  separate  collection  at  source  e.g.  through 
economic instruments, investing in infrastructure for 
separate  collection,  sorting  and  recycling,  and 
increasing public awareness. 
Increase the recycling rates of packaging waste. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Improve municipal waste preparation for reuse and 
recycling. 
Increase  the  collection  and  recycling  rate  of  waste 
electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). 
Implement and expand the pay-as-you-throw system 
for businesses and households. 
Develop  EPR  schemes  for  problematic  waste  and 
introduce fee modulation. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
Global and EU biodiversity frameworks 

Green Deal. 

2. Biodiversity and natural capital 

Czechia  12 

Biological  diversity  and  healthy  ecosystems  are  critical 
for our societies, underpin our economies and well-being 
and  are  essential  for  climate  change  adaptation  and 
mitigation.  The  Kunming–Montreal  global  biodiversity 
framework  (GBF),  adopted  in  December  2022,  sets 
comprehensive  and  measurable  targets  to  tackle 
biodiversity  loss  by  2030.  To  implement  this  global 
framework and integrate biodiversity considerations into 
national decision-making, the EU – as well as all Member 
States –  had  to  submit  national  biodiversity  strategies 
and action plans (NBSAPs), or to communicate national 
targets  aligned  with  the  global  targets,  by  the  end  of 
2024. 

The EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (BDS) aims to put 
EU  biodiversity  on  a  path  to  recovery  by  2030.  It  sets 
quantified targets intended to protect and restore nature 
and manage ecosystems in a sustainable manner, as well 
as  measures 
and 
commitments  to  support  global  biodiversity.  A  BDS 
actions  tracker (25)  and  a  dashboard  of  indicators (26) 
provide information on implementation progress. 

implementation 

enable 

to 

recently 

adopted 

The 
EU  Nature  Restoration 
Regulation (27) is the first EU-wide, comprehensive law of 
its kind and a key instrument for the EU to deliver on the 
global  biodiversity  targets  for  2030.  It  lays  down  an 
overarching  objective  at  the  EU  level  to  put  in  place 
effective  restoration  measures  on  20 %  of  EU  land  and 
sea by 2030 and for all ecosystems in need of restoration 
by  2050.  To  achieve  this,  it  sets  binding  targets  for 
Member States to restore and maintain ecosystems, as 
well as an effective implementation framework based on 
national restoration plans. 

The BDS is the main instrument used by the EU to deliver 
on  its  obligation  under  the  GBF.  The  Commission  has 
submitted  to  the  Convention  on  Biological  Diversity  its 
report on GBF-aligned EU targets that stem from the BDS 
and from other policy instruments under the European 

(25) 

(26) 

(27) 

Actions 

Tracker 

Strategy 

Strategy 

Dashboard 

Biodiversity 

Biodiversity 

EU 
(https://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/kcbd/actions-tracker/). 
EU 
(https://dopa.jrc.ec.europa.eu/kcbd/EUBDS2030-
dashboard/?version=1). 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and amending 
Regulation  (EU)  2022/869  (OJ  L  2024/1991,  29.7.2024), 
see  also 
the 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1991/oj; 
Commission 
law 
the 
on 
(https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-
biodiversity/nature-restoration-law_en). 

page 

web 

Member  States’  NBSAPs  need  to  provide  coherent 
frameworks  for  national  delivery  on  the  global  and  EU 
2030  biodiversity  targets. 
line  with  the  global 
obligations,  NBSAPs  should  also  include  a  biodiversity 
financing  plan  and  a  capacity-building  plan,  based  on 
needs  assessments,  as  well  as  an  overview  of  the 
national indicators used to measure progress. 

In 

Czechia’s  most  recent  biodiversity  strategy  (for  2016–
2025) was adopted in 2016. It sets out four priorities for 
the  protection  and  sustainable  use  of  biodiversity (28). 
Czechia  is  in  the  process  of  updating  its NBSAP.  In  July 
2024, Czechia uploaded to the Convention on Biological 
Diversity’s online reporting tool (29) two preliminary new 
national  targets  (on  protected  areas and  on  ecosystem 
integrity, connectivity and management), pending their 
integration into a revised NBSAP. 

The EU aims to allocate to biodiversity objectives at least 
7.5 % of annual spending under the EU budget in 2024, 
rising to 10 % in 2026 and 2027. 

For details on biodiversity financing and investments for 
Czechia, see Chapter 5. 

Nature  protection  and  restoration –  Natura 
2000 

Natura  2000 (30),  the  largest  coordinated  network  of 
protected areas in the world, is key to the achievement 
of  the  objectives  set  out  in  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives. These objectives are to ensure the long-term 
protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe’s  most 
valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and  the 
ecosystems  they  underpin.  Key  milestones  towards 
meeting  the  objectives  of  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  are  (i)  the  setting  up  of  a  complete  and 
coherent  Natura  2000  network;  (ii)  the  designation  of 
sites of community importance (SCIs) as special areas of 

(28)

https://www.mzp.cz/web/edice.nsf/4A46CA81084E521FC1

258050002DAE0C/$file/SOBR_CR_2016-2025.pdf. 
https://ort.cbd.int/national-targets?countries=cz. 

(29) 
(30)  Natura  2000  comprises  sites  of  community  importance  (SCIs), 
designated pursuant to the Habitats Directive, as well as special 
protection  areas  (SPAs),  classified  pursuant  to  the  Birds 
Directive. Numbers of protected areas in Figure 9 do not add up 
to  the  total  of  SCIs  plus  SPAs,  because  some  SCIs  and  SPAs 
overlap. A special area of conservation (SAC) is an SCI designated 
by a Member State. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
conservation (SACs) (31); and (iii) effective management 
of  all  Natura  2000  sites  through  the  setting  of  site-
specific conservation objectives and measures. 

Setting up a complete and coherent network of Natura 
2000 sites 

The  setting  up  of  a  complete  and  coherent  network  of 
Natura  2000  sites 
is  a  cornerstone  of  the  EU’s 
international commitments, under the BDS and GBF, to 
legally  protect  a  minimum  of  30 %  of  its  land  area  and 
30 % of its sea area. 

the 

these 

requires 

commitments 

Meeting 
full 
implementation of Article 3 of the Habitats Directive. The 
Natura 2000 network should represent a complete and 
coherent  ecological network composed of sites hosting 
natural habitat types and species of community interest. 
The  Natura  2000  network  enables  the  natural  habitat 
types  and  the  habitats  of  species  concerned  to  be 
maintained  or,  where  appropriate,  restored  to  a 
favourable conservation status in their natural range. 

Czechia  hosts  60  habitat  types (32)  and  173  species (33) 
covered by the Habitats Directive. The country also hosts 
populations of 85 bird taxa listed in the Birds Directive 
Annex I (34). 

As  shown  in  Figure 9,  in  2023,  14.1 %  of  the  national 
territory of Czechia was covered by Natura 2000 sites (EU 
average:  18.6 %).  Special  protection  areas 
(SPAs) 
classified  under  the  Birds  Directive  covered  8.9 %  (EU 
average: 12.8 %) and SCIs designated under the Habitats 
Directive covered 10.1 % (EU average: 14.3 %) of  Czech 
territory. 

Czechia  13 

Figure 9:  Natura  2000  terrestrial  protected  area 
coverage per Member State (%), 2023 

Source: European Environment Agency (EEA), ‘Natura 2000 Barometer’, 
2023  data,  accessed  March  2025,  https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-
and-maps/dashboards/natura-2000-barometer. 

Considering  both  areas  covered  by  Natura  2000  and 
other  nationally  designated  protected  areas,  Czechia 
legally  protects  21.8 %  of  its  land  area  (EU-27  average: 
26.1 %) (35). 

The latest assessment of the SCI part of the Czech Natura 
2000  network  shows  that  there  are  a  few  remaining 
insufficiencies,  which  Czechia 
in  the  process  of 
resolving.  There  is  an  ongoing  infringement  against 
Czechia related to these insufficiencies (36). 

is 

Designating  special  areas  of  conservation  and  setting 
site-specific conservation objectives and measures 

To  ensure  that  SCIs  contribute  to  the  objectives  of  the 
Habitats Directive, Member States must designate them 
as  SACs,  setting  site-specific  conservation  objectives 
based on the ecological needs of the species and habitats 
present  on  the  sites.  Such  site-specific  conservation 
should  define  attributes  and  targets  that  describe  the 
favourable  or 
habitats  or  species’  condition  as 

(31) 

(32) 

(33) 

(34) 

SCIs are designated pursuant to the Habitats Directive, whereas 
SPAs are designated pursuant to the Birds Directive. Figures of 
coverage do not add up because some SCIs and SPAs overlap. 
EEA,  ‘Number  of  habitats  and  species  per  Member  State’, 
Article 17  dashboard,  Annex I 
total,  19 December  2019, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-
nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-
dashboards/general-information-on-habitats-and-species. 
EEA,  ‘Number  of  habitats  and  species  per  Member  State’, 
Article 17 
2019, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-
nature-in-the-eu/article-17-national-summary-
dashboards/general-information-on-habitats-and-species. 
EEA,  ‘Number  of  bird  species/populations  per  Member  State’, 
Article 12 dashboard, Annex I total, last updated 11 May 2023, 

19 December 

dashboard, 

(35) 

(36) 

https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity/state-of-
nature-in-the-eu/article-12-national-summary-
dashboards/general-information-on-bird-species-populations. 
This  counting  only  takes  into  account  bird  taxa  for  which 
information was requested. 
Eurostat dataset env_bio4, terrestrial protected area percentage 
for 
2025, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_bio4/def
ault/table?lang=en. 
European  Commission,  ‘November  infringements package:  Key 
decisions’,  European  Commission website,  27 November  2019, 
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_19
_6304. 

March 

2022, 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  14 

assessed  as  having  good  conservation  status  was  over 
19 %.  The  share  of  species  assessed  as  having  good 
conservation  status  was  over  30 %.  Regarding  birds, 
about  44 % of the breeding species showed short-term 
increasing  or  stable  population  trends  while  the  same 
figure for wintering species was 51 %. 

Between the two reporting periods, the share of habitats 
assessed  as  having  bad  conservation  status  also 
increased  slightly  to  30 %  while  the  same  figure  for 
species decreased to 26 %. 

Figure 10:  Assessments  of  conservation  status  of 
habitats  for  the  2007–2012  and  2013–2018  reporting 
periods 

NB: The values shown for 2007–2012 with those for 2013–2018 are not 
necessarily directly comparable because changes in area conservation 
status in a Member State may result from changes to methods or use 
of better data, rather than reflecting genuine changes. 
Source: EEA, ‘Conservation status and trends of habitats and species’, 
19 December 
2025, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-
charts/conservation-status-and-trends-article-17-national-summary-
dashboards-archived. 

February 

accessed 

2019, 

unfavourable,  addressing  key  pressures  and  threats. 
Under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive Member States 
must establish and implement measures to achieve these 
objectives.  

The  six-year  deadline  set  by  the  Habitats  Directive  to 
designate  SCIs  as  SACs  and  establish  site-specific 
conservation objectives and measures has expired for all 
1 060  sites 
in  Czechia.  Site-specific  conservation 
objectives  and  measures  have  been  put  in  place  for  all 
these  sites.  As  of  May  2024,  1 014  sites  have  been 
designated as national protected areas and Czechia has 
committed  itself  to  continuing  the  designation  process 
for the remaining sites.  

Recovery of species 

One  objective  set  by  the  BDS  is  that,  by  2030,  there 
should be no further deterioration in conservation trends 
or  the  status  of  any  protected  species.  The  BDS  also 
states  that  Member  States  should  ensure  that  at  least 
30 % of species not currently in favourable conservation 
status  achieve  that  status  or  show  progress  towards 
doing so (e.g. by exhibiting positive population dynamics 
or stable or increasing range and habitat size), by 2030. 
According  to  the  European  Environment  Agency  (EEA), 
based  on  reporting  required  under  Article 17  of  the 
Habitats Directive, a quarter of species in the EU were of 
good conservation status as of 2018 (37). 

One of the primary objectives of the Habitats Directive is 
the  maintenance  of  or  restoration  to  favourable 
conservation status of all species of community interest. 
Moreover, the Birds Directive also aims to ensure that all 
wild  birds  in  the  EU  enjoy  a  secure  status.  To  achieve 
these  objectives,  it  will  be  necessary  to  address  key 
pressures  and  threats.  The  two  directives  lay  down  a 
framework of species protection rules and rules on the 
conservation  of  habitats  and  species  to  combat  these 
threats. 

Under  Article 17  of  the  Habitats  Directive,  Member 
States are required to report on the conservation status 
of habitats and species every six years.  Reports for the 
current  reporting cycle, covering 2019–2024, is due for 
submission  in  July  2025.  Figures 10  and  11  show  the 
latest available conservation status data. 

According  to  Czechia’s  report  for  2013–2018  on  the 
conservation  status  of  habitats  and  species  covered  by 
Article 17 of the Habitats Directive, the share of habitats 

(37) 

EEA, State of Nature in the EU: Results from reporting under the 
Nature  Directives  2013–2018,  Publications  Office  of  the 
2020, 
European 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-
the-eu-2020. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 11:  Assessments  of  conservation  status  of 
species  for  the  2007–2012  and  2013–2018  reporting 
periods 

Czechia  15 

ongoing,  dealing  with  the  restoration  of  mires  in  the 
transboundary  Šumava–Bavarian  Forest  area, 
the 
conservation  of  thermophile  habitats  in  the  České 
středohoří hills 39 or the protection of priority grasslands 
in South Moravia (40). 

Czechia  made  progress  in  implementing  the  priority 
actions  set  out  in  the  2022  EIR.  The  Natura  2000 
designation  process 
is  nearing  completion  while 
conservation  measures  defined  in  the  Natura  2000 
management plans have been implemented in the sites, 
supported  by  the  integrated  LIFE  project  One  Nature. 
Czechia  has  also  made  efforts  to  integrate  biodiversity 
considerations  into  other  policies  such  as  those  on 
agriculture, forestry and fish farming; these efforts need 
to continue. 

2025 priority action 

NB: The values shown for 2007–2012 with those for 2013–2018 are not 
necessarily directly comparable because changes in area conservation 
status in a Member State may result from changes to methods or use 
of better data, rather than reflecting genuine changes. 
Source: EEA, ‘Conservation status and trends of habitats and species’, 
2025, 
19 December 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-
charts/conservation-status-and-trends-article-17-national-summary-
dashboards-archived. 

February 

accessed 

2019, 

As mentioned above, the share of habitats and species 
with  good  conservation  status 
increased  slightly 
between the two reporting periods. Although the share 
of habitats with bad conservation status also increased, 
the  share  of  species  with  bad  conservation  status 
decreased.  Natural  processes  were  by  far  the  main 
pressure  for  habitats,  while  for  species  the  main 
pressures  were  agriculture,  natural  processes  and 
forestry.  With  regard  to  forestry,  cases  of  massive 
logging  were  reported  in  Natura  2000  sites  such  as 
Východní Krušnohoří or Ždánický Forest to be destroying 
the habitats of protected saproxylic beetles and birds. 

Czechia  is  implementing  One  Nature,  an  integrated 
financial  instrument  for  the  environment  (LIFE)  project 
for  2019–2026  focusing  on  the  management  of  the 
Natura 2000 network. With a project budget of  around 
CZK 500 million  (EUR 20.4 million),  the  objective  of  the 
project  is  to  introduce  the  most  appropriate  form  of 
management  for  the  sites  and  thus  conserve  them  for 
the benefit of both nature and the people (38). 

Several other LIFE nature and biodiversity projects have 
been implemented in Czechia in recent years or are still 

• 

Strengthen  the  integration  of  biodiversity  actions 
into  other  policies  (e.g.  on  energy,  agriculture, 
fisheries, forestry, urban and infrastructure planning 
and 
promote 
and 
communication between stakeholders.  

sustainable 

tourism) 

Recovery of ecosystems 

Agricultural ecosystems 

The BDS works alongside the common agricultural policy 
(CAP) to support the transition to sustainable agriculture. 

The  strategy  has  set  five  common  agriculture-related 
targets for 2030, namely to: 

—  reduce by 50 % the overall use of – and risk from – 

chemical pesticides; 

—  reduce  by  50 %  the  use  of  more  hazardous 

pesticides; 

—  reduce  by  50 %  losses  of  nutrients  from  fertilisers 
(which  will result in a  20 % reduction in the use of 
fertilisers)  while  ensuring 
is  no 
deterioration of soil fertility; 

there 

that 

—  restore  at  least  10 %  of  agricultural  area  to  have 

— 

high-diversity landscape features; and 
increase the area under organic farming to at least 
25 %.  

(38) 

https://www.jednapriroda.cz/en/. 

(40) 

https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
03/Czechia_Update_EN_Final_Feb23_Rev.pdf. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  16 

In 2024, the CAP basic regulations were amended (43) to 
simplify certain rules, inter alia, the standards for good 
agricultural  and  environmental  conditions  (GAECs)  of 
land. These changes removed the obligation for farmers 
benefiting  from  CAP  area-related  support  to  have  a 
minimum  share  of  3–4 %  of  non-productive  area  or 
in  their  farms.  The  amended 
landscape  features 
regulation does not remove the obligation under GAEC 8 
to  retain  existing  landscape  features,  however.  It  also 
sets out an obligation for Member States to establish and 
provide support for eco-schemes covering practices for 
the maintenance of non-productive areas, such as land 
lying fallow, and for the establishment of new landscape 
features, on arable land. 

The recently adopted Nature Restoration Regulation (44) 
focuses on the restoration of agricultural ecosystems and 
requires  Member  States  to  put  in  place  measures  that 
aim to achieve an increasing trend at the national level 
of  at  least  two  out  of  three  indicators  for  agricultural 
ecosystems (45). One of these indicators is the ‘share of 
agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features’. 

Organic  farming  practices  are  highly  beneficial  to 
biodiversity. As shown in  Figure 12, it is estimated that 
15.97 %  of  Czechia’s  land  area  is  used  for  organic 
farming. Czechia is contributing above the EU-average of 
10.50%  to  achieving  the  target  of  25 %  of  the  EU’s 
agricultural land being used for organic farming by 2030. 

The “Vision for agriculture and food” (41), adopted by the 
European Commission in February 2025, sets a roadmap 
to  an  agri-food  system  that  is  attractive,  competitive, 
sustainable and fair for current and future generations. 
To  ensure  a  sustainable  future  for  EU  agriculture,  it  is 
crucial  that  these  four  priority  areas  are  pursued 
together,  and  that  public  and  private  support  are 
adequately targeted toward this objective.  

CAP  and  the  national  CAP  strategic  plans  are  key 
instruments  to  facilitate  and  strengthen  the  efforts  of 
European  farmers  to  protect  biodiversity  and  the 
environment  at 
large.  The  Commission  approved 
Member  States’  CAP  strategic  plans  in  2022  for  the 
programming  period  2023–2027.  CAP  is  the  largest 
source  of  funding  for  the 
implementation  of  EU 
environment  policy, 
including  that  on  biodiversity. 
Strategic plans should continue playing a key role in the 
protection of soil, water, air quality and biodiversity. 

indicators 

certain  CAP 

While 
focus  on 
result 
interventions favouring sustainable agriculture practices 
that  regenerate  ecosystems,  the 
impact  of  these 
measures  is  difficult  to  assess.  The  uptake  of  eco-
schemes is voluntary for farmers. 

The utilised agricultural area in Czechia decreased from 
3 524 890 ha  in  2012  to  3 488 790 ha  in  2016  and  then 
increased to 3 530 420 ha in 2022 (42). 

Landscape  features  are  small  fragments  of  non-
productive  and  typically –  but  not  exclusively –  semi-
natural vegetation present in, or adjacent to, agricultural 
land.  They  provide  ecosystem  services  and  support  for 
biodiversity.  The  indicator  ‘share  of  agricultural  land 
covered  with  landscape  features’  is  the  ratio  between 
the  area  covered  by  landscape  features  and  the  area 
land.  Based  on  the  Land 
covered  by  agricultural 
Use/Cover  Area  Frame  Survey 
landscape  features 
estimates, the share of agricultural land covered by non-
productive landscape features in Czechia is 4.7 %, below 
the EU average. At the EU level, landscape features cover 
5.6 % of agricultural land. 

(41) 

(42) 

(43) 

5 December 

https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/overview-vision-agriculture-
food/vision-agriculture-and-food_en. 
Eurostat,  ‘Utilised  agricultural  area  by  categories’,  tag00025, 
2024, 
accessed 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tag00025/de
fault/table?lang=en. 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1468 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  14 May  2024  amending  Regulations  (EU) 
2021/2115 and (EU) 2021/2116 as regards good agricultural and 
environmental  condition  standards,  schemes  for  climate, 
environment  and  animal  welfare,  amendment  of  the  CAP 

strategic plans, review of the CAP strategic plans and exemptions 
from  controls  and  penalties  (OJ  L,  2024/1468,  24.5.2024), 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1468/oj. 
Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 24 June 2024 on nature restoration and amending 
Regulation  (EU)  2022/869  (OJ  L,  2024/1991,  29.7.2024), 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1991/oj. 
The  three  indicators  are  ‘grassland  butterfly  index’,  ‘stock  of 
‘share  of 
organic  carbon 
agricultural land with high-diversity landscape features’. 

in  cropland  mineral  soils’  and 

(44) 

(45) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
Czechia  17 

Figure 12:  Share  of  total  utilised  agricultural  area 
occupied  by  organic  farming  per  Member  State  (%), 
2022 

support  soil  protection,  sustainable  soil  management 
and  the  restoration  of  degraded  soils  to  achieve  the 
Green  Deal  objectives  as  well  as  land  degradation 
neutrality by 2030. 

This entails: 

—  preventing further soil degradation; 
—  making  sustainable  soil  management  the  new 

normal; 

—  taking action for ecosystem restoration. 

The  proposed  directive  on  soil  monitoring  and 
resilience (46) aims to introduce the first comprehensive 
legislation on the protection of all soils in the EU. Should 
the  directive  be  adopted,  Member  States  will  have  to 
transpose  it  into  national  legislation  and  implement  it, 
starting  with  putting  in  place  the  governance  systems 
and a sound monitoring framework building on existing 
national  soil  monitoring  frameworks.  The  objective  of 
the  proposed  directive  is  to  provide  better  and  more 
comparable  soil  health  data  with  the  view  of  attaining 
healthy soils by 2050. 

Degradation  of  soil  ecosystems  encompasses  several 
aspects. The proposed Directive requires Member States 
to  assess  soil  health  according  to  a  set  of  common 
indicators  and  to  define  the  necessary  regeneration 
measures. The area of soil that is sealed is an important 
factor in monitoring land-use change and represents an 
important pressure on nature and biodiversity. Other soil 
issues  related  to  land degradation  are  soil  erosion,  soil 
compaction, 
soil 
contamination, soil salinisation and the presence in soil 
of  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  in  excess.  The  impact 
assessment accompanying the proposal, which builds on 
the data available in the EU Soil Observatory, points to 
the following soil degradation issues in Czechia (47). 

soil  organic 

loss  of 

carbon, 

Source:  Eurostat,  ‘Area  under  organic  farming’,  sdg_02_40,  accessed 
5 December 
2024, 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/sdg_02_40/default/
table?lang=en. 

In  the  2022  EIR,  Czechia  received  priority  actions  to 
reduce pressure from the agricultural sector on natural 
resources,  and  to  improve  incentives  for  farmers  to 
better  protect  the  landscape.  Czechia’s  CAP  strategic 
plan  has  since  advanced  environmental  goals  by 
expanding  organic  farming,  reducing  pesticide  use, 
enhancing biodiversity on over 40 000 ha and supporting 
sustainable practices through targeted funding for small 
and medium-sized farms. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Implement  eco-schemes  and  agri-environmental 
measures 
the 
environmental needs of Czechia. 

practices 

address 

and 

to 

Soil ecosystems 

Soil is an essential, finite and extremely fragile resource. 
Its  increasing  degradation  poses  a  threat  to  EU  food 
security  and  climate 
resilience,  adaptation  and 
mitigation. 

The EU soil strategy, adopted in November 2021, aims to 

land  area 

A  quarter  of  Czechia’s 
is  affected  by 
unsustainable  soil  erosion  by  water,  wind,  tillage  and 
harvest,  representing  64 %  of  croplands.  22 %  of  the 
national territory experiences loss of soil organic carbon 
in  mineral  soils (48),  and  10 %  has  a  high  or  very  high 
susceptibility to topsoil compaction. 

(46) 

(47) 

final 

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the 
Council on soil monitoring and resilience (Soil Monitoring Law), 
COM(2023) 416 
https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex:52023PC0416. 
Commission  staff  working  document –  Impact  assessment 
report: Annexes – Accompanying the proposal for a directive of 
the European Parliament and of the Council on soil monitoring 
and  resilience  (Soil  Monitoring  Law),  SWD(2023) 417  final  of 

2023, 

5 July 

of 

5 July 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
07/IMPACT 
REPORT_ANNEXES_SWD_2023_417_part4.pdf.  

2023, 

ASSESSMENT 

(48)  De  Rosa,  D.,  Ballabio,  C.,  Lugato,  E.  et  al.,  ‘Soil  organic  carbon 
stocks in European croplands and grasslands: How much have we 
lost in the past decade?’, Global Change Biology, Vol. 30, No 1, 
2024, e16992, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16992. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Grasslands 

Grasslands  are  among  the  most  diverse  ecosystems  in 
the EU; they can contain as many as 80 different  plant 
species per square metre and are home to a large variety 
of animals, ranging from small insects, birds and rodents 
for 
large  herbivores.  Grasslands  are  essential 
to 
agriculture and livestock herding. Natural grasslands also 
play  an  important  role  in  storing  carbon.  However, 
changes  in  agricultural  practices  and  land  uses  have 
caused  grasslands  to  disappear  at  an  alarming  rate, 
making  them  one  of  Europe’s  most  threatened 
ecosystems. 

Czechia protects 13 grassland habitat types listed Annex I 
to  the  Habitats  Directive.  Of  these,  12  have  an 
unfavourable  (U1  or  U2)  status  in  at  least  one  of  the 
country’s two biogeographical regions. The main threats 
to grasslands include reseeding, conversion to other land 
uses,  overgrazing  and  the  application  of  natural 
fertilisers. 

Wetlands/peatlands 

Wetlands act as water sources and purifiers; they are the 
planet’s  greatest  natural  carbon  stores  and  they  are 
crucial  to  agriculture  and  fisheries.  Peatlands  are  a 
special  type  of  wetlands  dominated  by  peat-forming 
plants such as Sphagnum mosses. Nearly all peatlands in 
the EU are habitat types listed in Annex I to the Habitats 
Directive. Drained peatlands under intensive agricultural 
use  constitute  only  3 %  of  the  EU’s  utilised  agricultural 
area. At the same time, they are responsible for 25 % of 
the  greenhouse  gas  (GHG)  emissions  from  the  EU’s 
agricultural  sector.  Restoring  peatlands  brings  multiple 
benefits,  as  peatlands  improve  water  retention  and 
quality,  store  carbon,  reduce  GHG  emissions  and 
increase biodiversity. 

As  in  the  rest  of  Europe,  bogs,  mires  and  fens  are  not 
doing well in Czechia. Of the seven habitat types in this 
group  that  Czechia  protects, only  one has  a  favourable 
conservation status. Furthermore, four of the seven also 
show  a  trend  of  deterioration.  Droughts,  natural 

22 

COM(2023)728, 

(49)   Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  on  a  monitoring  framework  for  resilient  European 
2023, 
forests, 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-
register/detail?ref=COM(2023)728&lang=en 
EEA, State of Nature in the EU: Results from reporting under the 
Nature  Directives  2013–2018,  Publications  Office  of  the 
2020, 
European 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/state-of-nature-in-
the-eu-2020. 

Luxembourg, 

November 

Union, 

(50) 

Czechia  18 

succession,  air  pollution  and  drainage  are  among  the 
main threats to these habitats. 

Forest ecosystems 

Forests are important carbon sinks, and conserving them 
is vital if the EU is to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. 
The EU forest strategy for 2030, adopted in July 2021, is 
a  plan  of  actions  to  promote  the  many  services  that 
forests  provide.  Its  key  objective  is  to  ensure  healthy, 
forests  that  contribute 
diverse  and  resilient  EU 
significantly to the achievement of the EU’s biodiversity 
and climate ambitions. About 27 % of the forest area in 
the EU is covered by habitat types listed in Annex I to the 
Habitats  Directive.  Moreover,  forests  host  several 
species  protected  under  the  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives, 
is  a 
requirement  to  designate  Natura  2000  sites  and  to 
protect breeding sites and resting places. 

including  those  for  which  there 

Several Commission guidelines on forestry management 
were  published  in  2023.  They  covered  biodiversity-
friendly  afforestation,  reforestation  and  tree  planting; 
closer-to-nature  forest  management;  and  defining, 
mapping, monitoring and strictly protecting primary and 
old-growth  forests.  Further  guidance  on  payment 
schemes 
for  ecosystems  services  has  also  been 
published. 

In  2023,  the  Commission  proposed  a  new  forest 
monitoring law (49) that aims to create a comprehensive 
forest  knowledge  base,  address  information  gaps  and 
enable  a  better  response  to  growing  pressures  on 
forests. 

Assessments  show  that,  of  the  27 %  of  EU  forest  area 
protected under the Habitats Directive, less than 15 % is 
of  favourable  conservation  status (50).  The  share  of 
forested areas in the EU with a bad conservation status 
increased from 27 % in 2015 to 31 % in 2018. 

In Czechia, forests covered 34.7 % of the territory in 2020 
(51) and more than 90 % of the assessments reveal a bad 
to poor status. In total, 10 000 ha in Czechia is covered 
by primary forests (52). 

(51) 

(52) 

EEA  forest  information  system  for  Europe,  ‘Countries –  FISE 
country  factsheets’,  forest  information  system  for  Europe 
website, https://forest.eea.europa.eu/countries.  
European  Commission:  Joint  Research  Centre,  Mapping  and 
assessment  of  primary  and  old-growth  forests  in  Europe, 
Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2021, 
p. 13, 
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC124
671. According to Czech authorities, Czech legislation defines the 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  19 

Figure  13:  Conservation  status  of  forests  protected 
under  the  Habitats  Directive  per  Member  State  (%  of 
assessments), 2013–2018 

Commission  received  a  complaint  regarding  the  lack  of 
assessment of forest management measures in Východní 
Krušnohoří.  

In  the  2022  EIR,  Czechia  received  a  priority  action  to 
improve incentives for foresters to better protect forests, 
and  to  ensure  sustainable  forest  management  through 
effective  planning,  taking  into  consideration  ecosystem 
services provided by forests. Due to lack of data, progress 
cannot be assessed. 

2025 priority action 

• 

sustainable  management  of 

forests, 
Ensure 
forest 
including  by  adopting 
programme 
the 
post-2020, 
conservation objectives of Natura 2000 forest sites 
when  developing  the  national  forest  management 
plan. 

the  national 
and 

consider 

Prevention and management of invasive alien 
species 

Invasive  alien  species  (IAS)  are  a  major  cause  of 
biodiversity  loss  in  the  EU.  Besides  inflicting  direct  and 
indirect damage on nature and the economy, some IAS 
also carry and spread infectious diseases, posing a threat 
to  humans  and  wildlife.  Regulation  (EU)  No 1143/2014 
(the  IAS  Regulation)  aims  to  prevent,  minimise  and 
mitigate  the  adverse  impacts  of  IAS  on  biodiversity.  It 
focuses action on a list of IAS of EU concern (the ‘Union 
list’), which is regularly updated (56). 

The third update of the Union list (57) entered into force 
on 2 August 2022. The fourth update is in preparation. 

The IAS Regulation (58) currently lists 88 species subject 

(56) 

(57) 

(58) 

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 of 13 July 
2016 adopting a list of  invasive alien species of Union concern 
pursuant  to  Regulation  (EU)  No 1143/2014  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  (OJ  L 189,  14.7.2016,  p. 4),  as 
amended  by  Commission 
Implementing  Regulations  (EU) 
2017/1263,  (EU)  2019/1262  and  (EU)  2022/1203,  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:02016R1141-
20220802&from=EN. 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1203 of 12 July 
2022  amending  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  2016/1141  to 
update  the  list  of  invasive  alien  species  of  Union  concern  (OJ 
L 186,  13.7.2022,  p. 10),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32022R1203. 
Regulation (EU) No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  of  22 October  2014  on  the  prevention  and 
management  of  the  introduction  and  spread  of  invasive  alien 
species (OJ L 317, 4.11.2014, p. 35). 

Source:  Commission staff working document – New EU forest strategy 
final  of  16 July  2021,  p. 24,  eur-
for  2030,  SWD(2021) 652 
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52021SC0652. 

The  EU  Timber  Regulation  (EUTR) (53)  prohibits  the 
placing  on  the  EU  market  of  illegally  harvested  timber. 
According  to  the  EUTR,  Member  States’  competent 
authorities  must  conduct  regular  checks  on  operators 
and traders and apply penalties for non-compliance. 

(EUDR) (54)  entered 

On  29 June  2023,  the  Regulation  on  Deforestation-free 
(55).  The 
Products 
regulation  seeks  to  guarantee  that  products  in  the  EU 
that are produced using any of list of seven commodities 
have  no  links  to  deforestation.  The  EUDR  repeals  the 
EUTR.  

force 

into 

Except  for  rare  isolated  cases,  forest  management  is 
subject to the assessment of its impacts on Natura 2000 
sites as required by the Habitats Directive. However, the 

highest  level  of  naturality  as  ‘native  forest’,  which  can  be 
understood as ‘primary forest’. Nevertheless, it is defined on a 
narrower scale than in JRC study. 
Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  20 October  2010  laying  down the  obligations  of 
operators who place timber and timber products on the market 
(OJ  L 295,  12.11.2010,  p. 23),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32010R0995. 
Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 31 May 2023 on the making available on the Union 
market and the export  from the Union of certain commodities 
forest 
and  products  associated  with  deforestation  and 
degradation  and  repealing  Regulation  (EU)  No 995/2010  (OJ 
L 150,  9.6.2023,  p. 206),  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32023R1115&qid=1687867231
461.  
The law will apply to large and medium-sized companies starting 
on  December  30,  2025,  and  to  micro  and  small  enterprises 
starting on June 30, 2026. 

(53) 

(54) 

(55) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
to  restrictions  on  keeping,  importing,  selling,  breeding, 
growing  and  releasing  into  the  environment.  Member 
States are required to take measures to (i) prevent the 
introduction of IAS, (ii) ensure early detection and rapid 
eradication  of  IAS  and  (iii)  manage  species  that  are 
already widespread on their territory. 

This  aligns  with  target 6  of  the  GBF  to  reduce  the 
introduction of IAS by at least 50 % by 2030 and minimise 
their impact. 

Preventing  the  introduction  and  spread  of  IAS,  and 
managing  them, 
including  through  eradication  and 
control,  can  result  in  a  substantial  cost  saving.  Studies 
estimate  that  the  total  cost  of  IAS  in  Europe  (damages 
and  management)  amounted  to  EUR 116.61 billion 
between  1960  and  2020 (59).  More  recent  studies  have 
put  this  cost  at  USD 28 billion  per  year  in  the  EU, 
increasing  to  USD 148.2 billion  by  2040 (60),  and  at 
USD 423 billion annually at the global level (61). 

The total number of IAS of Union concern in the country 
is 32. This includes 17 species recorded in the previous 
EIR (2021) and 15 additions. Of these additions, 10 were 
already  on  the  Union  concern  list  in  2021,  and  5  were 
added later under Commission Implementing Regulation 
(EU) 2022/1203. 

(59)  Haubrock, P. J., Turbelin, A. J., Cuthbert, R. N. et al., ‘Economic 
costs of invasive alien species across Europe’, NeoBiota, Vol. 63, 
2021, pp. 153–190. 

(60)  Henry, M., Leung, B., Cuthbert, R. N. et al., ‘Unveiling the hidden 
economic  toll  of  biological  invasions  in  the  European  Union’, 
Environmental Sciences Europe, Vol. 35, No 1, 2023, p. 43. 
Platform 
IPBES 
Summary 
Biodiversity 

Science-Policy 
Services), 

(Intergovernmental 

Ecosystem 

on 
for 

and 

(61) 

Czechia  20 

Figure  14:  Number  of  IAS  of  EU  concern,  based  on 
available georeferenced information for Czechia, 2024 

In  the  2022  EIR,  Czechia  received  a  priority  action  to 
ensure compliance with the IAS Regulation. Czechia has 
since ensured compliance, and the related infringement 
proceeding was closed. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

Step  up  implementation  of  the  IAS  Regulation, 
including  with  regard  to  enforcement  and  the 
capacity of inspection authorities. 

•  Ratify the International Convention for the Control 
and  Management  of  Ships’  Ballast  Water  and 
Sediments of 2004 (BWM Convention). 

Ecosystem assessment and accounting 

The  BDS  calls  on  Member  States  to  better  integrate 
biodiversity  considerations  into  public  and  business 
decision-making  at  all  levels  and  to  develop  natural 
capital accounting. 

Similarly, target 14 of the GBF (62) aims to ensure the full 
integration  of  biodiversity  and  its  multiple  values  into 
policy  and  planning  and,  as  appropriate,  national 
accounting.  This  requires  effective  and  coherent 

Invasive  alien  species  assessment,  2023, 

Policymakers – 
https://www.ipbes.net/document-library-catalogue/summary-
policymakers-invasive-alien-species-assessment. 

(62)  Decision 15/4 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the 
Convention  on  Biological  Diversity:  Kunming–Montreal  Global 
Framework 
Biodiversity 
(https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-
en.pdf). 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  21 

biodiversity  observation  and  reporting  on  ecosystem 
condition in the EU (63). 

assessments  among  businesses  and  financial  services 
providers. 

The  amended  Regulation  (EU) 691/2011  on  European 
environmental  economic  accounts (64)  introduces  new 
requirements  for  Member  States  to  report  on  the 
condition  of  ecosystems  including  urban  ecosystems, 
croplands,  grasslands,  forest  and  woodlands,  coastal 
beaches,  dunes  and  wetlands.  Data  reported  by  the 
Member  States  will  feed  into  the  second  European 
ecosystem assessment, due in 2027, and can also be used 
to support policy decisions. 

An ecosystem assessment is an analysis of the condition 
of ecosystems and the pressures acting on them, as well 
as  the  benefits  that  they  provide  to  people,  either 
directly or indirectly through the economy. 

An 
increasing  number  of  platforms,  networks  and 
communities of practice involve businesses in protecting 
biodiversity,  including  the  EU  Business  &  Biodiversity 
Platform (65). These platforms and communities are key 
tools  for  promoting  and  facilitating  natural  capital 

Natural  capital  assessments  help  private  businesses  to 
better  understand  both  the  negative  and  positive 
impacts that they have on nature, and to appreciate how 
nature contributes to their success. Such understanding 
contributes to the implementation of the EU’s BDS. 

In 2022, Czechia received priority actions on supporting 
the  mapping  and  assessment  of  ecosystems  and 
ecosystem services; ecosystem accounting development; 
and  supporting  the  development  of  national  business 
and  biodiversity  platforms.  The  first  priority  action 
cannot be assessed due to a lack of data. On the second 
there has been no progress as there is no Czech business 
and biodiversity network member of the EU Business & 
Biodiversity Platform. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Support the development of the national business 
and biodiversity network. 

(63) 

(64) 

for 

Summary 

Assessment – 

European  Commission:  Joint  Research  Centre  and  EEA,  EU 
Ecosystem 
policymakers, 
Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2021, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/81ff1498-b91d-11eb-8aca-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 
Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No 691/2011  as  regards 

(65) 

of 

final 

2022, 

11 July 

introducing  new  environmental  economic  accounts  modules, 
COM(2022) 329 
https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2022:329:FIN. 
The  EU  Business  &  Biodiversity  Platform  (https://green-
business.ec.europa.eu/business-and-biodiversity_en)  aims  to 
promote  the  business  case  for  biodiversity  to  businesses  and 
financial institutions through workshops, seminars, reports and 
a cross-media communication strategy.  

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  22 

3. Zero pollution 

Clean air 

EU  clean  air  policies  and  legislation  have  successfully 
reduced  emissions  of  key  air  pollutants  and  significantly 
improved  air  quality,  which  is  now  moving  towards  the 
levels  recommended  by  the  World  Health  Organization 
(WHO).  This  has  resulted  in  clear  health  benefits  and 
reduced adverse impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity. 
However, to achieve the WHO-recommended levels, more 
efforts  are  needed,  including  full  compliance  with  EU 
legislation.  To  guide  these  efforts,  the  EU  zero  pollution 
action plan sets targets for 2030 relative to  2005.  These 
are to reduce the health impacts of air pollution by 55 % 
and  to  reduce  the  EU  ecosystems  threatened  by  air 
pollution by 25 %. 

The EU has developed a comprehensive suite of air quality 
policies (66).  These  set  health-based  EU  air  quality 
standards (67)  and  stipulate  Member  States’  national 
emission  reduction  commitments (68)  for  several  air 
pollutants.  

The  air  quality  in  Czechia  is  generally  good,  with  some 
exceptions. 

The  latest  available  annual  estimates  (for  2022)  by  the 
EEA (69)  for  Czechia  attribute  6 900  deaths  each  year  (or 
70 700 years  of  life  lost  (YLL))  to  fine  particulate  matter 
(PM2.5) (70);  730  deaths  each  year  (or  7 500 YLL)  to 
nitrogen dioxide (NO2) (71); and 1 800 deaths each year (or 
18 500 YLL) to ozone (72). 

The  emissions  of  several  air  pollutants  have  decreased 
significantly in Czechia since 2005, while GDP growth has 
continued  (see  Figure 15).  According  to  the  inventories 
submitted  under  Article 10(2)  of  the  National  Emission 
Reduction  Commitments  Directive  (NECD) (73)  in  2024, 

Czechia has met its emission reduction commitments for 
2020–2029  for  air  pollutants  NOx,  non-methane  volatile 
organic  compounds  (NMVOC),  sulphur  dioxide  (SO2), 
ammonia  (NH3)  and  PM2.5.  According  to  the  projections 
submitted  under  Article 10(2)  of  the  NECD  in  2023, 
Czechia  is  projected  to  meet  its  emission  reduction 
commitments  for  2030  onwards  for  NOx,  NMVOC,  SO2, 
NH3 and PM2.5. 

Czechia  submitted  its  updated  national  air  pollution 
control  programme  (NAPCP)  to  the  Commission  on 
21 December 2023. 

Figure 15: Emission trends of main pollutants / GDP in 
Czechia (%), 2005–2022 

200%

150%

100%

50%

0%

NH₃

PM2.5
PM2.5

NMVOC

SO₂

NOₓ

GDP

Source: EEA, ‘National air pollutant emissions data viewer 2005–2022’, 
25 June 2024, https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-
pollution/national-air-pollutant-emissions-data-viewer-2005-2022. 

(66) 

(67) 

(68) 

(69) 

(70) 

European  Commission,  ‘Air’,  European  Commission  website, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air_en. 
European  Commission,  ‘EU  air  quality  standards’,  European 
Commission 
website, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/air-quality/eu-air-
quality-standards_en.  
European  Commission,  ‘Reducing  emissions  of  air  pollutants’, 
European 
website, 
Commission 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/reducing-
emissions-air-pollutants_en. 
EEA, Harm to human health from air pollution in Europe: Burden of 
disease  2024,  briefing  No 21/2024,  Copenhagen,  2024, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/harm-to-
human-health-from-air-pollution-2024. 
Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and 
liquid) covering a wide range of sizes and chemical compositions. 
PM10  refers  to  particles  with  a  diameter  of  10 µm  or  less.  PM2.5 

refers to particles with a diameter of 2.5 µm or less. PM is emitted 
from many human sources, including combustion. 

(71)  Nitrogen  dioxide  (NO2)  here  pertains  to  a  group  of  gases  called 
NOx, which also comprises nitrogen monoxide (NO). NOx is emitted 
during fuel combustion – for example, from industrial facilities and 
the road transport sector. 
Low-level  ozone 
is  produced  by  photochemical  action  on 
pollution.  This  year,  for  the  first  time,  the  impact  of  long-term 
exposure to ozone has also been taken into account. In previous 
analysis by the EEA, only the impact of short-term exposure was 
estimated. 

(72) 

(73)  Directive (EU) 2016/2284 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  14 December  2016  on  the  reduction  of  national 
emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 
2003/35/EC  and  repealing  Directive  2001/81/EC  (OJ  L 344, 
17.12.2016, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2016.344.01.0001.01.ENG. 

p. 1), 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
Figure 16: PM2.5 and NOx emissions by sector in Czechia 
(%), 2022 

appropriate  measures  be  put  in  place  to  bring  all  air 
quality zones into compliance. 

Czechia  23 

In the 2022 EIR, Czechia received two priority actions. The 
first priority action was to further reduce emissions in the 
context  of  the  NAPCP.  Czechia  has  made  substantial 
progress on this, as the latest reported data shows that the 
2020–2029  emission  reduction  commitments  have  been 
met  and  that  the  emission  reduction  commitments  for 
2030  onwards  are  projected  to  be  reached.  The  second 
priority action was to ensure full compliance with EU air 
quality  standards  and  maintain  downward  emission 
trends. Based on the latest data, Czechia has made some 
progress  in  this  regard.  Since  2019,  downward  emission 
trends  have  been  reported  for  all  main  air  pollutants. 
However,  exceedances  above  target  values  remain  for 
ozone and benzo(a)pyrene, requiring further action. 

2025 priority actions 

•  As part of the NAPCP, take action to reduce emissions 

PM2.5
PM2.5
1,85%

6,13%

NOₓ

0,31%

41,75%

83,38%

12,26%

• 

of air pollutants. 
Ensure  full  compliance  with  the  current  AAQD 
standards, also in light of future stricter requirements 
under the revised AAQD. 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

Waste

Transport

Residential,
commercial &
institutional

Manufacturing
and extractive
industry

Energy supply

Agriculture

5,35%

13,63%

1,83%

1,47%

20,90%

11,15%

Source: EEA, ‘National air pollutant  emissions data viewer 2005–2022’, 
25 June 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-
pollution/national-air-pollutant-emissions-data-viewer-2005-2022. 

2024, 

limit  values 
In  2023,  no  exceedances  above  the 
established  by  the  Ambient  Air  Quality  Directive 
(AAQD) (74)  were  registered  in  Czechia.  However,  the 
target values for ozone concentrations have not been met 
in  several  air  quality  zones,  nor  has  the  target  value  for 
benzo(a)pyrene  concentration 
three  air  quality 
zones (75). 

in 

Persistent  breaches  of  air  quality  requirements,  which 
have  severe  negative  effects  on  health  and  the 
environment,  are  being  followed  up  by  the  European 
Commission through infringement procedures covering all 
Member  States  concerned, 
for 
limit  values.  The  aim  is  that 
exceedances  of  PM10 

including  Czechia 

(74)  Directive  2008/50/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 21 May 2008 on ambient air quality and cleaner air for 
Europe 
https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0050. 
EEA, 
Repository 
Eionet 
(https://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/). 

11.6.2008, 

Central 

L 152, 

p. 1), 

Data 

(OJ 

(75) 

(76)  Directive  2010/75/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial and livestock rearing 
emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (OJ L 334, 

Industrial emissions 

The  main objectives of EU policy on industrial emissions 
are to: 

(i)  protect  air,  water  and  soil  and  to  prevent  harmful 

effects on human health and the environment; 

(ii)  prevent and manage waste; 
(iii) improve  energy  and  resource  efficiency,  including 

water; 

(iv) contribute to decarbonisation. 

The  cornerstone  of  the  policy  is  the  Industrial  Emissions 
Directive (IED), which was revised in 2024 (76). The revision 
improves the directive’s contribution to the zero pollution 
objective. It has a strong focus on innovation, and builds 
solid  links  between  depollution,  decarbonisation  and 
circularity, making it a key regulatory tool to accompany 
the green transformation of EU industry by 2050. 

The overview of industrial activities regulated by the IED 
below  is  based  on  data  reported  to  the  EU  Registry  in 
2022 (77). 

17.12.2010, p. 17), as amended by Directive (EU) 2024/1785 of the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24 April  2024, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02010L0075-
20240804&qid=1725983863299. 
Portal, 
Industrial 
European 
EEA, 
https://industry.eea.europa.eu/, 2022 being the baseline year for 
all reports. 

Emissions 

(77) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
In Czechia, there  were about  1 800 installations covered 
by the IED in 2022, around a quarter of them (26 %) being 
installations  for  intensive  rearing  of  poultry  or  pigs.  The 
other  main  sectors  are  waste  management  (19 %),  the 
metals sector (15 %) and the chemical sector (15 %). 

Figure 17  shows  the  damage  to  health  and 
the 
environment due to the main industrial air pollutants. As 
this  depends  on,  among  other  factors,  the  size  of  the 
industrial  sector  in  each  Member  State,  the  figure  also 
shows  the  ratio  between  the  damage  and  the  industrial 
activity  (expressed  in  gross  value  added  (GVA)),  which 
gives an indication of the emissions ‘intensity’. Czechia has 
the sixth highest level of damage in the EU, and it comes 
fourth  for  emissions  intensity,  above  the  EU  average  of 
EUR 27.5/EUR 1 000  GVA. 
industrial 
contributors to emissions to air (78) are the energy sector 
for  nitric  oxide  (NOX),  sulphur  dioxide  (SO2)  and  heavy 
metals, and the waste sector for dioxins. 

The  main 

Figure 17:  Industrial  air  pollution  damage  and  intensity 
per Member State, 2021 

Source: EEA, ‘Industrial pollution intensity indicators – EU large industry 
air  pollution  damage  costs  intensity’,  European  Industrial  Emissions 
Portal, 
https://industry.eea.europa.eu/analyse/industrial-
emissions-indicator. 

2024, 

Overall, the industrial emissions to water in the EU have 
decreased  over  time  for  all  the  main  pollutants.  On 
average in the EU, they appear to be decoupled from the 
industrial  activity,  which  has  increased  over  the  same 
period (expressed in GVA), as shown in Figure 18. 

Czechia  24 

Figure 18: Industrial releases of pollutants to water and 
industrial activity in the EU-27 

NB: Cd, cadmium; Hg, mercury; Ni, nickel; Pb, lead; total N, total nitrogen; 
total P, total phosphorous. 

Source:  EEA,  ‘Industrial  pollutant  releases to  water  in  Europe’,  30 May 
2024, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/industrial-
pollutant-releases-to-water. 

Concerning  Czechia  in  particular,  Figure 19  shows  the 
industrial emissions of heavy metals to water, taking into 
account the human toxicity of each metal, as well as  the 
emissions  intensity,  based  on  its  ratio  with  industrial 
activity (expressed in GVA). Czechia has the 10th highest 
amount  of  emissions  of  heavy  metals  to  water  and  is  in 
10th position for emission intensity (above the EU average 
intensity  of  0.864 kg/EUR 1 billion  GVA).  As  shown  in 
Figure 20, the main industrial contributors to emissions to 
water in Czechia are the energy sector for heavy metals, 
the pulp, paper and wood sector for total phosphorus and 
total  organic  carbon,  and  the  chemical  sector  for  total 
nitrogen. 

Figure 19:  Industrial  releases  and  intensity  of  heavy 
metals to water per Member State, 2022 

Source: EEA, ‘Industrial pollution intensity indicators – EU large industry 
water  pollution  intensity’,  European  Industrial  Emissions  Portal,  2024, 
https://industry.eea.europa.eu/analyse/industrial-emissions-indicator. 

(78) 
European  Environment  Agency,  LRTAP,  Air  pollutant 
emissions data viewer (Gothenburg Protocol, LRTAP Convention) 1990-

2022,  https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/air-pollution/air-
pollutant-emissions-data-viewer-1990-2022. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 20:  Relative  releases  to  water  from  industry  in 
Czechia (%), 2022 

Source: EEA, ‘Industrial reporting under the Industrial Emissions Directive 
2010/75/EU  and  European  Pollutant  Release  and  Transfer  Register 
Regulation (EC)  No 166/2006 –  ver. 12.0  Sep.  2024  (tabular  data)’,  EEA 
Geospatial 
2024, 
Catalogue, 
https://doi.org/10.2909/cf5e54c1-be99-4426-bcad-baa26c4f27a0. 

13 September 

Data 

Czechia has been subject to an infringement procedure for 
not  conforming  with  the  transposition  of  the  IED  since 
2021. 

IED  provisions  on  public  information  and  participation 
require Member States to adopt transposition legislation 
enabling members of the public to have access to relevant 
information  and  participate  in  the  approval  process  for 
potentially  polluting  installations.  Thus,  the  public  and 
non-governmental  organisations 
(NGOs),  alongside 
competent authorities, play a role in ensuring compliance 
of  these  permits  with  EU  legislation.  The  IED  contains 
mandatory  requirements  on  environmental  inspections, 
requiring  a  site  visit  to  take  place  at  least  every  one  to 
three  years,  using  risk-based  criteria  In  addition,  IED 
enforcement  provisions  require  Member  States  to 
determine  effective,  proportionate,  and  dissuasive 
penalties  applicable  to 
IED-based 
national provisions. In the revised directive, the provisions 
set that worst infringements can be sanctioned by fines of 
at least 3% of the annual EU turnover of the legal person. 
The  revised  IED  also  introduces  a  right  to  compensation 
for  people  whose  health  has  been  harmed  by  such 
infringements. 

infringements  of 

The development of best available techniques (BATs), BAT 
reference  documents  and  BAT  conclusions  ensures 
effective collaboration between stakeholders and enables 
better implementation of the IED. 

Czechia  25 

Since  the  2022  EIR,  the  Commission  has  adopted  BAT 
conclusions on (i) ferrous metal processing, (ii) the textiles 
industry,  (iii)  common  waste  gas  management  and 
treatment  systems 
in  the  chemical  sector  and  (iv) 
smitheries and foundries. 

The  Commission  relies  on  the  efforts  of  national 
competent  authorities  to  implement  the  legally  binding 
BAT  conclusions  and  associated  BAT  emission  levels  in 
environmental permits. This should result in considerable 
and continuous reductions in pollution. 

In 2022, Czechia received priority actions on addressing air 
pollution,  in  particular  from  the  energy  sector.  Data  are 
not yet available to assess progress on this priority action. 
However,  the  energy  sector  remains  among  the  main 
sources of industrial emissions. 

2025 priority actions 

• 
Complete the correct transposition of the IED 1.0. 
•  Reduce industrial air pollution damage and intensity. 
•  Reduce 
industrial  releases  to  water  and  their 

• 

• 

intensity. 
Engage  with  industry  and  environmental  NGOs  to 
ensure proper contribution to and implementation of 
BAT conclusions and ensure timely updates to permits 
following the publication of BAT conclusions. 
Ensure  effective  public  participation  and  access  to 
justice in relation to the IED. 

Major industrial accidents prevention – Seveso 

The  main  objectives  of  EU  policy  on  the  prevention  of 
major industrial accidents are to: 

(i)  control  major-accident  hazards  involving  dangerous 

substances, especially chemicals; 

(ii)  limit  the  consequences  of  such  accidents  for  human 

health and the environment; 

(iii) continuously improve the prevention of, preparedness 

for and response to major accidents. 

The cornerstone of the policy is Directive 2012/18/EU (the 
Seveso III Directive (79). 

The overview below of industrial plants regulated by the 
Seveso III Directive (‘Seveso establishments’) is based on 
data  reported  on  eSPIRS  (e-Seveso  Plants  Information 
Retrieval System) for 2022 (80) and the report by Czechia 
on the implementation of the Seveso III D (81). 

In 2024, of Czechia’s 214 Seveso establishments, 100 are 
categorised  as  lower-tier  establishments  and  114  as 

(79)  Directive  2012/18/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  4 July  2012  on  the  control  of  major-accident  hazards 
involving  dangerous  substances,  amending  and  subsequently 
repealing  Council  Directive  96/82/EC  (OJ  L 197,  24.7.2012,  p. 1), 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2012/18/oj. 

(80) 

(81) 

https://espirs.jrc.ec.europa.eu/en/espirs/content; data extracted 
in September 2024.  
As provided for by Article 21(2) of the Seveso III Directive. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
upper-tier establishments (UTEs) based on the quantity of 
hazardous substances likely to be present. The UTEs are 
subject to more stringent requirements. The evolution of 
the  number  of  Seveso  establishments  is  presented  in 
Figure 21. 

Figure 21: Number of Seveso establishments in Czechia, 
2018, 2022 and 2024 

NB: LTE, lower-tier establishment. 

2022, 

Sources:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Assessment and summary of Member States’ implementation reports for 
(implementing  Directive 
Implementing  Decision 
2014/896/EU 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident  hazards 
involving 
dangerous  substances),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/94d57d74-735b-11ec-9136-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF/source-search;  eSPIRS  data,  extractions  from  2022  and 
2024;  Analysis  and  summary  of  Member  States' 
reports  on 
implementation  of  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances according to the format 
established  by  Commission  Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU  - 
Publications  Office  of  the  EU,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/9bd73087-e9b8-11ef-b5e9-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

In  2022,  Czechia  required  an  external  emergency  plan 
(EEP)  for  85  UTEs  out  of  the  total  114,  as  shown  in 
Figure 22.  These  EEPs  are  essential  to  allow  proper 
the 
preparation  and  effective 
necessary  actions  to  protect  the  environment  and  the 
population should a major industrial accident occur. 

implementation  of 

Figure 22: Situation regarding EEPs in Czechia, 2022 

Sources:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Assessment and summary of Member States’ implementation reports for 
(implementing  Directive 
Implementing  Decision 
2014/896/EU 
involving 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident  hazards 

Czechia  26 

2022, 

dangerous  substances),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
Luxembourg, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/94d57d74-735b-11ec-9136-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF/source-search;  eSPIRS  data,  extractions  from  2022  and 
2024;  Analysis  and  summary  of  Member  States'  reports  on 
implementation  of  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances according to the format 
established  by  Commission  Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU  - 
Publications  Office  of  the  EU,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/9bd73087-e9b8-11ef-b5e9-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

The information  for  the public referred to in  Annex V to 
the Seveso III Directive – especially about how the public 
concerned will be warned in the case of a major accident; 
the  appropriate  behaviour  in  the  event  of  a  major 
accident; and the date of the last site visit – is permanently 
available for all Seveso establishments in Czechia. 

The  shares  of  UTEs  for  which  information  on  safety 
measures  and  requisite  behaviours  was  actively  made 
available to the public in 2022 in the EU-27 are presented 
in Figure 23. This provision on knowledge is an important 
provision of the Seveso III Directive, as awareness by the 
public  of 
the 
consequences of a major industrial accident. 

information  may  ameliorate 

this 

Figure 23: Share of UTEs for which information on safety 
measures  and  requisite  behaviours  were  actively  made 
available to the public per Member State (%), 2022 

N.B. No data available for Greece. 

2022, 

Sources:  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Assessment and summary of Member States’ implementation reports for 
(implementing  Directive 
Implementing  Decision 
2014/896/EU 
2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major  accident  hazards 
involving 
dangerous  substances),  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
Luxembourg, 
/publication/94d57d74-735b-11ec-9136-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF/source-search;  eSPIRS  data,  extractions  from  2022  and 
2024;  Analysis  and  summary  of  Member  States'  reports  on 
implementation  of  Directive  2012/18/EU  on  the  control  of  major 
accident hazards involving dangerous substances according to the format 
established  by  Commission  Implementing  Decision  2014/896/EU  - 
Publications  Office  of  the  EU,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-
detail/-/publication/9bd73087-e9b8-11ef-b5e9-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

Czechia has had some issues with the transposition of the 
Seveso III Directive into national legislation, identified by 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  27 

the Commission in 2021 (82). The infringement procedure 
is still ongoing. 

In  2022,  Czechia  received  priority  actions  to  strengthen 
control and enforcement  to  ensure compliance with  the 
Seveso III  Directive,  especially  the  provisions  on  EEPs. 
Significant improvements have been made in that regard. 

national  laws  and  reimbursement  regulations,  launching 
awareness and prevention campaigns, offering training for 
dental  professionals  and  monitoring  implementation. 
Czechia will also need to ensure that the manufacture and 
export of mercury-containing lamps are prohibited by the 
deadlines required by the Mercury Regulation. 

2025 priority action 

Noise 

• 

Ensure full and correct transposition of the Seveso III 
Directive. 

Mercury Regulation 

The  Mercury  Regulation  establishes  measures  and 
conditions concerning the use and storage of and trade in 
mercury,  mercury  compounds  and  mixtures  of  mercury, 
the manufacture and use of and trade in mercury-added 
products and the management of mercury waste, in order 
to ensure a high level of protection of human health and 
the  environment  from  anthropogenic  emissions  and 
releases of mercury and mercury compounds. The revision 
of the Mercury Regulation adopted in 2024 sets out rules 
to address the last intentional uses of mercury in the EU 
by  phasing  out  the  use  of  dental  amalgam  by  1 January 
2025 except when deemed strictly necessary by the dental 
practitioner  based  on  the  specific  medical  needs  of  the 
patient,  and  prohibiting  the  manufacture  and  export  of 
additional mercury-containing lamps from 1 January 2026 
or 1 January 2027 (depending on the lamp category). 

The biggest challenge for Czechia in this area is likely to be 
the phase-out of dental amalgam. Czechia made use of the 
the  Mercury 
derogation  under  Article 10(2a)  of 
Regulation,  so  the  deadline  for  the  phase-out  is  30 June 
2026.  It  will  be  important  to  quickly  put  in  place  the 
measures set out in the notification on the derogation to 
ensure  a  socially  and  economically  sound  phase-out, 
including  adapting  current  healthcare  systems  by 
establishing a comprehensive reimbursement framework 
including  mercury-free  dental  materials,  amending 

(82) 

‘June 

European  Commission, 
infringements  package:  Key 
decisions’,  European  Commission  website,  9 June  2021, 
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_21_
2743. 

(83)  Directive  2002/49/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  25 June  2002  relating  to  the  assessment  and 
management  of  environmental  noise –  Declaration  by  the 
Commission  in  the  Conciliation  Committee  on  the  directive 
relating  to  the  assessment  and  management  of  environmental 
noise (OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32002L0049. 

(84)  WHO, Environmental Noise Guidelines for the European Region, 
Copenhagen, 
2018, 
https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/978928905356
3. 
These figures are an estimation by the EEA based on: (i) the data 
reported  by  Member  States  on  noise  exposure  covered  by 

(85) 

The Environmental Noise Directive (83) requires a common 
approach to avoid, prevent and reduce the harmful effects 
of  noise.  The  designated  authorities  are  responsible  for 
making  and  approving  noise  maps  and  action  plans  for 
agglomerations,  major  roads,  major  railways  and  major 
airports.  Member  States  decide  on  noise  limits  that  are 
not  set  at  the  EU  level.  Nevertheless,  the  zero  pollution 
action  plan  sets  as  a  2030  target  a  30 %  reduction 
compared  with  2017  in  the  share  of  people  chronically 
disturbed by transport noise. 

Excessive noise from aircraft, railways and roads is one of 
the main causes of environmental health‐related issues in 
the  EU.  It  can  cause  ischaemic  heart  disease,  stroke, 
interrupted sleep, cognitive impairment and stress (84). 

In Czechia, environmental noise is estimated to cause at 
least  around  900  cases  of 
ischaemic  heart  disease 
annually (85)  and  some  92 000  people  to  suffer  from 
disturbed sleep (86). 

Based on the latest  set  of information analysed, Czechia 
has  completed  its  noise  mapping  of  agglomerations, 
roads, railways and airports. 

Action  plans  for  noise  management  for  agglomerations, 
roads,  railways  and  airports  must  be  updated  and 
submitted  to  the  Commission  every  five  years.  The 
deadline for reporting noise action plans under the most 
recent  reporting  cycle  was  18 January  2025;  these  plans 
have not been assessed yet. 

Directive 2002/49/EC for the round of noise mapping of 2022 ; (ii) 
European  Topic  Centre  on  Air  Pollution,  Transport,  Noise  and 
Indicators  under  the 
Industrial  Pollution  (ETC/ATNI),  Noise 
Environmental Noise Directive 2021: Methodology for estimating 
missing  data,  Eionet  report  ETC/ATNI  No 2021/06, Kjeller,  2021; 
and  (iii)  the  methodology  for  health  impact  calculations  in 
European  Topic  Centre  on  Air  Pollution  and  Climate  Change 
Mitigation  (ETC/ACM),  Implications  of  environmental  noise  on 
in  Europe,  Eionet  report  ETC/ACM 
health  and  wellbeing 
No 2018/10, 
2018, 
https://www.eionet.europa.eu/etcs/etc-atni/products/etc-atni-
reports/eionet_rep_etcacm_2018_10_healthimplicationsnoise.  

Bilthoven, 

(86)  More information on the adverse health effects of noise pollution 

is available at: 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/human/noise/noise-2 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Czechia  28 

will report its findings to the European Parliament and to 
the Council in the first quarter of 2025. The Commission 
has assessed the third cycle of RBMPs, which were to be 
submitted by March 2022, and reported its findings to the 
European  Parliament  and  to the  Council  on  4th  February 
2025 (90). 

Czechia’s  three  river  basin  districts  (Danube,  Elbe  and 
international)  count  1 118  surface 
Oder,  all  three 
waterbodies  (1 045  rivers  and  73 
lakes)  and  174 
groundwater  bodies.  9.4 %  of  all  rivers  and  94.5 %  of  all 
lakes  are  designated  as  ‘heavily  modified’,  and  0.5 %  of 
rivers and 5.5 % of lakes are designated as ‘artificial’. 

in 

the 

show 

change 

Figures 24–27 
ecological 
status/potential and of chemical status of surface waters, 
and the quantitative and chemical status of groundwaters 
in  2010,  2015  and  2021.  Heavily  modified  and  artificial 
waterbodies must reach good ecological potential rather 
than  good  ecological  status,  which  means  that  all 
measures must be taken to mitigate the adverse impact of 
the sustainable human development activities causing the 
waterbody  to  be  heavily  modified /  artificial,  while  not 
significantly affecting these activities. 

(e.g.  nutrients)  and 

is  partly  due  to  changes 

The  assessment  of  the  third  cycle  of  RBMPs  shows  a 
decrease in the number of surface waterbodies with good 
(or better) ecological status/potential from 18.8 % (in the 
second RBMP) to only 5.9 % (in the third RBMP). Even if 
the  deterioration 
in  the 
delineation  of  waterbodies,  stricter  limits  for  physico-
chemical  elements 
improved 
monitoring, it is also clear that Czechia’s lakes in particular 
severely  struggle  with  eutrophication  due  to  the  high 
amount  of  nutrients  therein.  With  regard  to  chemical 
status,  the  deterioration  between  the  second  and  third 
RBMPs  is  even  more  significant,  as  surface  waterbodies 
with  good  chemical  status  decreased  from  70 %  to  only 
38.9 %.  Again,  this  is  partly  due  to  better  monitoring  of 
more  substances,  but  also  due  to  ubiquitous  persistent 
bioaccumulative and toxic substances (uPBTs), which are 
difficult to address. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Complete  and  implement  action  plans  on  noise 
management. 

Water quality and management 

EU  legislation  and  policy  requires  that  the  impact  of 
pressures on transitional waters, coastal waters and fresh 
water  (including  surface  waters  and  groundwater)  be 
significantly reduced. Achieving, maintaining or enhancing 
a  good  status  of  waterbodies  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive will ensure that EU citizens and the 
environment benefit from good-quality and safe drinking 
and bathing water. It will further ensure that the nutrient 
cycle  (nitrogen  and  phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more 
sustainable and resource-efficient way. 

Water Framework Directive 

Directive 

The Water Framework Directive (87) is the cornerstone of 
EU  water  policy  in  the  21st  century (88).  The  Water 
Framework 
other  water-related 
and 
directives (89) form the basis of sustainable and integrated 
water management in the EU. They aim to achieve a high 
level  of  protection  of  water  resources,  prevention  of 
further  deterioration  and  restoration  to  good  status. 
These  objectives  are  very 
important  for  the  EU’s 
competitiveness,  strategic  autonomy  and  security,  yet 
have become even more challenging in the face of climate 
change affecting our precious water resources. 

The Water Framework Directive establishes a procedural 
framework for reaching good surface water ecological and 
chemical  status  and  good  groundwater  quantitative  and 
chemical status. This implies monitoring and classification 
of all water bodies, assessment of pressures and impacts 
and identification of the most cost-effective measures to 
achieve the objectives of the directive. The directive dates 
from 2000 and set an initial deadline of 2015 for achieving 
its objectives, with the option to extend the deadline to 
the  end  of  2027.  Every  six  years,  Member  States  must 
report their river basin management plans (RBMPs) to the 
Commission. They should cover river basin districts in their 
countries,  some  of  which  may  be  shared  with  other 
countries. The Commission has assessed the third cycle of 
RBMPs, which were to be submitted by March 2022, and 

(87) 

(88) 
(89) 

include 

the  Groundwater  Directive 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32000L0060. 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water_en. 
These 
(https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006L0118), 
the  Environmental  Quality  Standards  Directive  (https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2008/105/oj), 
Directive 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32007L0060), the Bathing Water 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Directive 
UWWTD 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32006L0007), 

Floods 

the 

the 

Directive 

(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A31991L0271),  the  new  Drinking 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Water 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32020L2184), 
Nitrates 
Directive 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A31991L0676), the Marine Strategy 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Framework 
Directive 
IED 
content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0056) 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32010L0075). 
ENV - Bibliothèque 

and 

the 

the 

(90) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 24:  Ecological 
waterbodies in each RBMP cycle (%) 

status/potential  of 

surface 

The  main  pressures  are 
large-scale 
agriculture heavily relying on fertilisers, and waste water 
polluting  rivers  and 
lakes  with  nutrients  causing 
eutrophication. 

industrialised 

Figure 25: Chemical status of surface waterbodies in each 
RBMP cycle (%) 

The main pressures on chemical status are discharges not 
connected  to  the  sewerage  network,  pollution  from 
agriculture,  and  urban  waste  water.  The  primary 
substances  causing  failure  are  uPBTs  that  have  high 
resistance  to  degradation.  Other  pollutants  affecting 
water  bodies  are  pesticides  (cybutryne  and  dichlorvos) 
and fluoranthene. 

Figure 26: Quantitative status of groundwater bodies  in 
each RBMP cycle (%) 

Czechia  29 

In  the  third  RBMP,  93.7 %  groundwater  bodies  were 
reported  to  have  good  quantitative  status,  a  significant 
increase from only 69 % in the second RBMP, mostly as a 
result  of  the  reclassification  of  21 %  of  groundwater 
bodies  previously  assigned  ‘unknown’  status  as  having 
‘good’ status. Pressures are caused by water abstraction 
for the public water supply and industrial and agricultural 
uses. 13 % of groundwater bodies have been reported to 
be at risk of failing to achieve good quantitative status by 
2027. 

Figure 27: Chemical status of groundwater bodies in each 
RBMP cycle (%) 

Czechia  is  among  the  Member  States  with  the  highest 
portion  of  groundwater  bodies  (72.4 %)  failing  to  reach 
good  chemical  status.  Only  26.4 %  have  good  chemical 
status and 1.1 % have unknown status. This is mainly due 
to  pollution  from  agriculture  (pesticides,  nitrates  and 
ammonium).  Non-agricultural 
showing 
sustained  upward  trends  are  arsenic,  nickel,  cadmium, 
nitrate (from the burning of fossil fuels) and aluminium. 

pollutants 

To  improve  the  situation,  Czechia  needs  to  increase 
resources to clean up historic industrial pollution (making 
polluters  pay)  and  step  up  investments  in  wastewater 
treatment,  including  by  connecting  the  remaining  urban 
and  industrial  wastewater  discharges  to  sewers  and 
wastewater treatment plants in line with the applicable EU 
environmental acquis. 

Until end of 2027, Member States can still apply for time-
related  exemptions,  subject  to  providing  evidence  of 
compliance  with  the  strict  criteria  set  out  in  the  Water 
Framework  Directive.  After  2027,  the  possibilities  for 
applying for exemptions will be much more limited. 

The 2022 EIR identified the following priority actions: 

•  Assess new physical modifications of waterbodies in 
line  with  Article 4(7)  of  the  Water  Framework 
Directive. Consider alternative options and adequate 
mitigation measures in these assessments. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  Boost investments to improve the water status of the 
remaining waterbodies in all river basin districts. 
Improve the coordination between water and nature 
policies. 

• 

The  Commission  assessed  the  FRMPs  and  reported  its 
findings to the European Parliament and to the Council on 
4th  February  2025,  together  with  the  assessment  of  the 
RBMPs. 

Czechia  30 

In this context, some progress has been made: Czechia has 
mapped out the cost of measures, but only estimated the 
potential  sources  of  funding.  Czechia’s  strategic  plan  for 
the  CAP  also  pays  some  attention  to  improving  water 
quality. This includes incentivising farmers to apply wide 
buffer  strips  for  pesticides  around  watercourses,  and 
increasing  the  area  used  for  organic  farming  from  16 % 
(above the EU average of around 10 % in 2021) to 21.3 % 
of agricultural land by 2030 (the Green Deal target being 
25 %). 

2025 priority actions 

Without prejudice to the list of recommended actions in 
the Commission report to the European Parliament and to 
the  Council  on  the  assessment  of  the  third  RBMPs,  the 
following priority actions can be highlighted: 

•  Reduce  pollution  from  nutrients,  chemicals,  metals 

and saline discharges. 

•  Develop  more  robust  programmes  of  measures, 
tackle  obstacles  identified  in  the  implementation  of 
measures  and  ensure  adequate 
for 
implementation, including through better use of cost 
recovery and the polluter-pays principle. 
Improve  river  continuity  and  ecological 
flows, 
boosting efforts on nature-based solutions to reduce 
hydromorphological pressures. 

financing 

• 

•  Better justify exemptions to the achievement of good 

• 

status. 
Improve  the  classification  of  water  bodies  and 
strengthen monitoring systems. 

Floods Directive 

Every six years, following the same reporting cycle as the 
RBMPs,  all  Member  States  also  report  their  flood  risk 
management  plans  (FRMPs),  based  on  the  flood  hazard 
and risk maps and the preliminary flood risk assessments 
drawn up during the second cycle (2016–2021). 

(91) 

(92) 

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/implementing-
decision-drinking-water-directive-watch-list_en. 
Commission Delegated Decision (EU) 2024/1441 of 11 March 2024 
supplementing  Directive  (EU)  2020/2184  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council by laying down a methodology to 
measure microplastics in water intended for human consumption 
(notified  under  document  C(2024) 1459)  (OJ  L,  2024/1441, 
21.5.2024), http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_del/2024/1441/oj. 
2024/365, 

23.4.2024, 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2024/365/oj; OJ L, 2024/367, 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2024/367/oj; 
23.4.2024, 

(93)  OJ L, 

Czechia’s second FRMP identifies indicators for monitoring 
progress. In addition, the second FRMP has addressed, at 
least partly, three recommendations arising from the first 
FRMP  by  providing  a  method  for  the  prioritisation  of 
measures, including cost estimates, an overall budget and 
timetables for structural measures. While most measures 
were  reported  as  ‘not  started’  in  the  first  FRMP,  all  the 
measures  in  the  second  FRMP  are  either  ongoing  or  in 
preparation. The second FRMP also includes nature-based 
solutions  and  cross-references  to  work  on  floods  within 
the  updated  Czech  climate  change  adaptation  strategy. 
However, Czechia needs to further step up its efforts. 

2025 priority actions 

• 
• 

Consider future climate scenarios in the FRMPs. 
FRMPs  should  provide  details  on  how  the  FHRMs 
were  used  in  the  choice  of  measures  and  how  to 
consider pluvial flooding. 

•  Better explain the choice and implementation of flood 
prevention  and  protection  measures  (prioritisation, 
monitoring, costs of measures). 
Improve  public 
involvement. 

consultation  and 

stakeholder 

• 

Drinking Water Directive 

The recast Drinking Water Directive is now applicable, and 
Member States were required to transpose its provisions 
into their national legal systems by 12 January 2023. Since 
into  force  of  the  recast  directive,  the 
the  entry 
several  delegated  and 
Commission  has  adopted 
implementing  acts  establishing  (i)  a  watch 
list  of 
substances  and  compounds  of  concern  for  drinking 
water (91), (ii) a methodology for measuring microplastics 
in drinking water (92) and (iii) an EU system for testing and 
approving materials that will be allowed to be in contact 
with drinking water (93). Member States will have to take 
these  various  Commission  acts 
into  account  when 
implementing the recast directive. 

2024/369, 

OJ L, 
23.4.2024, 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/369/oj;  OJ L,  2024/368, 
23.4.2024, http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2024/368/oj; OJ L, 
2024/370, 
23.4.2024, 
http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/370/oj;  OJ L,  2024/371, 
23.4.2024,  http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/371/oj;  see 
the  Commission  web  page  on  all  six  delegated  acts  for  more 
information 
(https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/delegated-acts-
drinking-water-directive_en). 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Finally,  the  Commission  has  now  received  data  from 
Member States on the quality of drinking water in 2017–
2019.  The  quality  of  drinking  water  (supplied  by  large 
water suppliers) in Czechia does not give rise to concern. 
The compliance for all parameter groups in Czechia was at 
least  99.47 %  in  2017,  99.44 %  in  2018  and  99.41 %  in 
2019. 

From  January  2026,  the  European  quality  standards  for 
per-  and  polyfluoroalkyl  substances  (PFAS)  in  drinking 
water  will  apply,  ensuring  harmonised  Member  States’ 
reporting of PFAS monitoring data in the future. 

Bathing Water Directive 

The  Bathing  Water  Directive  requires  Member  States  to 
monitor and assess bathing water. It requires that, during 
the  bathing  season,  Member  States  disseminate  to  the 
public information on bathing water  quality actively and 
promptly. In particular, notices banning or advising against 
bathing should be rapidly and easily identifiable. 

Figure 28  shows  that  in  2023,  out  of  the  153  bathing 
waters in Czechia, 121 (79.1 %) were of excellent quality, 
21  (13.7 %)  were  of  good  quality  and  2  (1.3 %)  were  of 
sufficient quality. No bathing waters were found to be of 
poor  quality.  Detailed  information  on  Czechia’s  bathing 
waters  is  available  on  a  national  portal  and  through  an 
interactive map viewer of the EEA. 

Figure 28: Bathing water quality per Member State, 
Albania and Switzerland (%), 2023 

Source:  EEA,  European  Bathing  Water  Quality 
No 04/2024, 
https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/european-bathing-water-
quality-in-2023/. 

in  2023,  briefing 
2024, 

Copenhagen, 

Nitrates Directive 

The  Nitrates  Directive (94)  aims  to  protect  water  quality 
across  Europe  by  preventing  nitrates  from  agricultural 

Czechia  31 

sources that can pollute groundwater and surface waters 
and by promoting the use of good farming practices. 

The  latest  Commission  report  on  the  implementation  of 
the Nitrates Directive (95), dating back to 2021, warns that 
nitrates are still causing harmful pollution to water in the 
EU. Excessive nitrates in water are harmful to both human 
health  and  ecosystems,  causing  oxygen  depletion  and 
eutrophication. Cleaning of waters by national authorities 
or  farmers,  where  it  has  been  undertaken,  has  had  a 
positive  impact  on  the  drinking  water  supply  and  on 
biodiversity.  It  has  also  benefited  the  sectors –  such  as 
fisheries and tourism – that depend on biodiversity and on 
a good supply of drinking water. Nevertheless, excessive 
fertilisation  remains  a  problem  in  many parts  of  the EU. 
The report on the implementation of the Nitrates Directive 
covering 2020–2023 will be available in 2025. 

Despite  the  quality  of  the  Common  agriculture  policy 
strategic  plan  to  incentivize  buffer  strips  for  pesticides 
around water courses, the analysis of Czechia’s RBMPs has 
identified  nutrients  from  agriculture  as  an  important 
pressure for groundwater / surface waters that is affecting 
these waters’ good status and as one of the main factors 
in not meeting the Water Framework Directive objectives. 

2025 priority action 

•  Tackle  nutrient  pollution,  especially  nitrates  from 
implementation  of  the 

agriculture,  through  the 
Nitrates Directive. 

Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive 

The  Urban  Wastewater  Treatment  Directive  (UWWTD) 
aims to protect human health and the environment from 
the effects of untreated urban waste water. It therefore 
requires Member States to collect and treat (secondary or 
biological  treatment)  waste  water  in  all  urban  areas  of 
more  than  2 000  people,  and  to  apply  a  more  stringent 
treatment 
than  secondary,  with  nitrogen  and/or 
phosphorus  removal,  to  the  waste  water  generated  in 
urban areas, also known as agglomerations, of more than 
10 000 people, before they are discharged into waters and 
their  catchments,  when  they  are  sensitive  to  nitrogen 
and/or phosphorus (i.e. eutrophic or tending to become 
eutrophic). 

Overall, in Czechia, the compliance rate was 78 % in 2020. 
Twenty-two 
2 038 828 
population equivalent of waste water, did not comply with 
the requirements of the directive. 

agglomerations, 

generating 

(94) 

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1561542776070&uri=CELEX:01991L0676-
20081211. 

(95) 

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/nitrates_en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 29: Proportion of urban waste water that fully 
complies with the UWWTD (%), 2020 

Czechia  32 

sanitation,  especially  for  vulnerable  and  marginalised 
groups.  Czechia  has  until  31 July  2027  to  transpose  the 
new directive into its national legal system. 

In  the  2022  EIR,  Czechia  received  a  priority  action  to 
ensure  UWWTD  compliance  in  all  agglomerations  by 
building  up  the  necessary  infrastructure.  Despite  some 
progress,  Czechia  has  not  yet  fully  implemented  the 
UWWTD.  

2025 priority action 

Source:  European  Commission,  12th  UWWTD  Implementation  Report, 
implementation  - 
2024.  12th  technical  assessment  of  UWWTD 
Publications Office of the EU 

requirements  of 

An  infringement  proceeding  is  open  against  Czechia  for 
non-compliance  with 
the 
the 
directive (96). The reasoned opinion  from  2020 identified 
425 agglomerations failing to provide a collecting system, 
62 agglomerations failing to provide secondary treatment 
and  41  agglomerations  failing  to  ensure  more  stringent 
treatment. It is essential that Czechia take the necessary 
measures  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the 
directive. 

This  is  all  the  more  important  as  the  directive  has  been 
revised  (97).  The  revised  directive  builds  on  the  current 
acquis,  strengthening  existing  treatment  standards  and 
establishing 
of 
a 
in  urban  waste  water.  Other  new 
micropollutants 
requirements relate to moving towards energy neutrality 
in  the  sector;  establishing  an  EPR  system  to  ensure  the 
sustainable financing of micropollutant treatment by the 
industries;  and  ensuring  access  to 
most  polluting 

treatment 

additional 

new 

to 

(98) 

from 

INFR(2016)2141. 

the  Commission 

(96) 
(97)  Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  27  November  2024  concerning  urban  wastewater 
treatment (recast). 
Communication 
the  European 
Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions –  Chemicals 
strategy  for  sustainability:  Towards  a  toxic-free  environment, 
COM(2020) 667 
final  of  14 October  2020,  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2020%3A667%3AFIN;  Regulation 
(EC) No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 16 December 2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of 
substances  and  mixtures,  amending  and  repealing  Directives 
67/548/EEC  and  1999/45/EC,  and  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1907/2006 
p. 1), 
L 353, 
https://publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/c6b6a31d-8359-
11ee-99ba-01aa75ed71a1.0004.02/DOC_2. 

31.12.2008, 

(OJ 

(99)  Namely,  Regulation 

(EC)  No 1907/2006  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  18 December  2006  concerning 
the  registration,  evaluation,  authorisation  and  restriction  of 

• 

the  necessary  measures 

full 
Take 
implementation  of  the  current  UWWTD,  taking  into 
account the new requirements of the recast directive. 

to  ensure 

Chemicals 

The EU seeks to ensure that chemicals are produced and 
used  in  a  way  that  minimises  any  significant  adverse 
effects on human health and the environment. In October 
2020, the Commission published its chemicals strategy for 
sustainability towards a toxic-free environment (98), which 
led to some systemic changes in EU chemicals legislation. 
The strategy is part of the EU’s zero pollution ambition – a 
key commitment of the European Green Deal. 

The  EU’s  chemicals  legislation (99)  provides  a  baseline 
protection for human health and the environment. It also 
for  businesses 
ensures  stability  and  predictability 
operating in the internal market. 

Since 2007, the Commission has gathered information on 
the  enforcement  of 
the  Registration,  Evaluation, 
Authorisation  and  Restriction  of  Chemicals  (REACH) 
Regulation and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging 
(CLP)  Regulation.  In  December  2020,  the  Commission 
assessed  the  Member  States’  reports (100)  on  the 
these 
implementation 

enforcement 

and 

of 

p. 1), 

chemicals  (REACH),  establishing  a  European  Chemicals  Agency, 
amending Directive 1999/45/EC and repealing Council Regulation 
(EEC) No 793/93 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/94 as 
well as Council Directive 76/769/EEC and Commission Directives 
91/155/EEC,  93/67/EEC,  93/105/EC  and  2000/21/EC  (OJ  L 396, 
30/12/2006, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/en/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32006R1907; and Regulation (EC) 
No 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
16 December  2008  on  classification,  labelling  and  packaging  of 
substances  and  mixtures,  amending  and  repealing  Directives 
67/548/EEC  and  1999/45/EC,  and  amending  Regulation  (EC) 
No 1907/2006 
L 353,  31.12.2008,  p. 1),  https://eur-
(OJ 
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008R1272-20221217. 
(100)  European Commission, Technical assistance to review the existing 
Member  States  reporting  questionnaire  under  Articles 117(1)  of 
REACH and 46(2) of CLP – Final report, Publications Office of the 
2020, 
European 
https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/8ee3c69a-bccb-4f22-89ca-
277e35de7c63/library/a4abce8c-8425-455f-b7e6-
0ead917bde6b/details. 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in  the  area  of 

regulations (101).  It  is  apparent  from  the  Commission’s 
report  that  there  are  still  many  disparities 
in  the 
implementation  of  the  REACH  and  CLP  Regulations, 
notably 
law  enforcement.  Recorded 
compliance levels in Member States, generally quite stable 
over time, appear to be getting slightly worse. This may be 
because: (i) enforcement authorities  are becoming more 
effective in detecting non-compliant products/companies; 
and (ii) more non-compliant products are being placed on 
the EU market. 

In August 2021, the Commission published a measurable 
assessment  of the enforcement (102) of the two main EU 
regulations  on  chemicals  using  a  set  of  indicators  on 
different  aspects  of  enforcement.  Since  2021,  the  list  of 
chemicals  subject  to  restrictions  has  been  expanded  as 
new entries have been added to Annex XVII to the REACH 
Regulation (103). 

In  2023,  new  hazard  classes  were  added  to  the  CLP 
Regulation, and the revision of the regulation was tabled 
(published  on  20 November  2024)  (104).  The  new  hazard 
classes  cover  endocrine  disruptors  and  persistence-
related  hazards  while  the  revision  of  the  regulation 
encompasses  new  rules  on  online  sales  to  better  tackle 
non-compliances  observed  over  the  years.  Also  in  2023, 
the  Conference  of  the  Parties  of  the  Stockholm 
Convention (COP) decided to include, in its Annex A (which 
lists  banned  substances),  three  new  chemicals (105).  The 
Commission  is  working  on  the  delegated  acts  to  include 
these  substances  in  Annex I  to  the  Persistent  Organic 
Pollutants Regulation by 2025 at the latest. 

(101) 

line  with  Article 117(1)  of  the  REACH  Regulation  and 

In 
Article 46(2) of the CLP Regulation. 

the 

European 

(102)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Internal  Market, 
Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs,  REACH  and  CLP 
Enforcement: EU level enforcement indicators, Publications Office 
2021, 
Union, 
of 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/e5c3e461-0f85-11ec-9151-01aa75ed71a1/. 
(103)  These are substances in tattoo inks and permanent make-up, N,N-
dimethylformamide, formaldehyde (and formaldehyde releasers), 
lead in PVC (polyvinyl chloride), siloxanes (D4, D5, D6) and, finally, 
microplastics. 

Luxembourg, 

(104)  Regulation (EU) 2024/2865 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  23  October  2024  amending  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1272/2008 on classification, labelling and packaging of substances 
and mixtures, OJ L, 2024/2865, 20.11.2024, p.1 (Regulation - EU - 
2024/2865 - EN - EUR-Lex) 

(105)  These are methoxychlor, dechlorane plus and UV-328. In the case 
of the pesticide methoxychlor, there are no exemptions from the 
ban. However, for the two plastic additives, dechlorane plus and 
UV-328,  the  COP  decision 
lists  some  time-limited  specific 
exemptions. 

(106)  European Commission, Technical assistance to review the existing 
Member  States  reporting  questionnaire  under  Articles 117(1)  of 
REACH and 46(2) of CLP – Final report, Publications Office of the 

Czechia  33 

Responsibility  for  enforcing  compliance  with  both  the 
REACH  and  CLP  Regulations  in  Czechia  lies  with  the 
following authorities (106): 

• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

Czech Environmental Inspectorate, 
Czech Customs Administration, 
regional public health authorities, 
Central  Institute  for  Supervising  and  Testing 
Agriculture, 
State Labour Inspection Office. 

in 

Czechia has drawn up and fully implemented enforcement 
strategies for both the REACH and CLP Regulations (107). 

The  Member  States’  reporting  exercise  set  out 
in 
Article 117 of the REACH Regulation and Article 46 of the 
CLP Regulation is conducted every five years. The results 
of  the  coming  one  are  expected  in  2025,  hence  the 
absence  of  new  country-specific  data  on  enforcement 
since 2022. 

In  2022,  Czechia  allocated  only  11  staff  members  to  the 
enforcement  of  the  REACH  and  CLP  Regulations (108).  At 
300,  the  number  of  REACH  checks  remained  well  below 
the EU average in the 2019 reporting period.  

In  2020,  Czechia  participated 
in  an  EU-coordinated 
enforcement  project  on  products  sold  online,  called  the 
REACH-EN-FORCE (REF)-8 project (109). The project report 
was completed in November 2021, so it could not be taken 
into account in the previous EIR. 

Union, 

European 
https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/8ee3c69a-bccb-4f22-89ca-
277e35de7c63/library/a4abce8c-8425-455f-b7e6-
0ead917bde6b/details. 

Luxembourg, 

2020, 

p. 68, 

(107)  European Commission, Technical assistance to review the existing 
Member  States  reporting  questionnaire  under  Articles 117(1)  of 
REACH and 46(2) of CLP – Final report, Publications Office of the 
European 
p. 76, 
https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/8ee3c69a-bccb-4f22-89ca-
277e35de7c63/library/a4abce8c-8425-455f-b7e6-
0ead917bde6b/details. 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

2020, 

(108)  European Commission, Technical assistance to review the existing 
Member  States  reporting  questionnaire  under  Articles 117(1)  of 
REACH and 46(2) of CLP – Final report, Publications Office of the 
European 
p. 75, 
https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/8ee3c69a-bccb-4f22-89ca-
277e35de7c63/library/a4abce8c-8425-455f-b7e6-
0ead917bde6b/details. 

Luxembourg, 

Union, 

2020, 

(109)  European Chemicals Agency, REF-8 project report on enforcement 
of the CLP, REACH and BPR duties related to substances, mixtures 
and 
p. 20, 
https://echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/17088/project_report
_ref-8_en.pdf/ccf2c453-da0e-c185-908e-
3a0343b25802?t=1638885422475. 

Helsinki, 

articles 

online, 

2021, 

sold 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 30: Compliances of imported products – results of 
the REF-8 project (%) 

Figure 31:  Number  of  REF-8  checks  performed  per 
100 000 inhabitants (EU average = 1.24) 

Czechia  34 

A risk approach was used for the targeting of controls in 
identifying  non-
order  to  maximise  the  chances  of 
compliance.  Therefore, 
rates 
presented above cannot be considered the average non-
compliance  rates  for  products  in  the  EU.  However,  the 
proportion  of  non-compliance  cases  found  in  the  REF-8 
project are of concern. 

the  non-compliance 

Czechia’s  participation 
the  REF-8  coordinated 
in 
enforcement project was around the EU average, which is 
rather low because of the lack of involvement of certain 
large Member States. 

In  2022,  Czechia  received  a  priority  action  related  to 
upgrading  administrative  capacities  in  implementation 
and  enforcement  to  move  towards  a  policy  of  zero 
tolerance of instances of non-compliance. In the absence 
of reporting since 2022, no progress has been shown and 
this priority action remains valid in 2025, partly because of 
the experience with the REF-8 project. 

2025 priority actions 

•  Upgrade 

the 

capacities 

in 
administrative 
implementation and enforcement to move towards a 
policy of zero tolerance of non-compliance. 
Increase involvement in the activities of the Forum for 
Exchange  of  Information  on  Enforcement  of  the 
the 
European  Chemicals  Agency, 
coordinated  enforcement  projects,  called  REF 
projects. 
Increase customs checks and checks of products sold 
online  with  regard  to  compliance  with  chemicals 
legislation. 

including 

in 

• 

• 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  35 

4. Climate action 

Forestry (111). The package has been fully adopted, and the 
Member States have been implementing the legislation. 

The key strategic document at country level is the National 
Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) (112). Czechia submitted its 
updated plan in December 2024 after the deadline set by 
the  Regulation  on  the  Governance  of  the  Energy  Union 
and  Climate  Action  (113).  The  European  Commission 
assessed  the  plan  and  the  extent  to  which  Czechia  has 
followed the recommendations for the draft version. The 
findings from the assessment are: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Emissions  under  the  Effort  Sharing  Regulation  will 
decrease by 36% in 2030 compared to 2005, which is 
way above the target of 26%. 
The  latest  projections  show  a  gap  to  the  Land  Use, 
Land-Use  Change  and  Forestry  (LULUCF)  Regulation 
target, meaning that current levels of removals have 
been insufficient.  
Czechia  has  a  gap  towards  target  for  the  share  of 
renewable energy. 
Czechia is in line with its targets for energy efficiency. 

To minimise the impacts of climate policies on vulnerable 
people  and  sectors,  Czechia  is  using  the  Just  Transition 
Fund,  Modernisation  Fund  and  will  use  Social  Climate 
Fund  from  2026  (for  more  information,  see  Chapter 5 
(Financing)). 

Figure 32: Total GHG  emissions (excluding international 
aviation) (%), 1990–2022 

The impacts of climate change have continued to increase 
in recent years, inflicting damage and suffering in the EU 
and around the world. Globally, 2023 was the hottest year 
on  record,  while  Europe  has  been  warming  twice  as 
quickly  as  the  global  average,  and  is  now  the  fastest-
warming  continent.  The  frequency  and  severity  of 
extreme  climate  events  are  also  increasing.  Against  this 
backdrop, the EU has demonstrated its determination to 
implement  the  European  Green  Deal  and  to  become 
climate neutral and resilient by 2050, ensuring sustainable 
competitiveness  and  supporting  EU  industry  in  the  net-
zero  transition.  The  European  Climate  Law  is  the  EU’s 
response  to  the  need  for  action.  It  sets  the  objective  of 
achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and a midterm target 
of a reduction in GHG emissions of at least 55 % by 2030, 
and outlines the adaptation efforts necessary to adjust to 
climate  change’s  present  and  future  impacts.  Almost  all 
the  ‘Fit  for  55’  proposals  set  out  in  the  European  Green 
Deal  have  been  agreed 
law,  and  the  European 
in 
Commission  recommended  a  new  intermediate  climate 
target of a 90 % reduction in emissions by 2040. In 2024, 
the  Member  States  submitted  updated  national  energy 
and climate plans for 2021–2030, reflecting the increased 
ambition  of  the  revised  EU  legislation.  In  2024,  the 
European Commission also released, jointly with the EEA, 
the first-ever European climate risk assessment. 

its  Member  States  need 

Over  the  last  three  decades,  since  1990,  the  EU  has 
achieved  steady  decreases  in  its  emissions,  reaching  a 
running  total  in  2022  of – 32.5 % (110).  However,  the  EU 
their 
and 
implementation  efforts  and  accelerate  emissions 
reduction to stay on track to reach their targets of a 55 % 
reduction  in  net  GHG  emissions  by  2030  and  climate 
neutrality  by  2050.  Between  1990  and  2022,  net  GHG 
emissions of Czechia decreased by 37%, making it one of 
the countries with an above-average decrease. 

to  step  up 

The  ‘Fit  for  55’  legislative  package  reflects  the  need  to 
speed up the green transition. It includes (i) strengthening 
and expanding the EU emissions trading system (ETS), with 
the  creation  of  a  new,  second,  ETS  for  transport  and 
buildings together with a dedicated Social Climate Fund to 
help  citizens  during  the  transition;  (ii)  increasing  targets 
under  the  effort  sharing  regulation;  and  (iii)  a  revised 
for  Land  Use,  Land  Use  Change  and 
regulation 

(110)  EU  net  domestic  emissions,  including  the  land  use,  land-use 
change and forestry (LULUCF) sector and excluding international 
aviation. 

(111)  A  full  overview  of  the  Fit  for  55  package  is  available  at 
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-
2019-2024/european-green-deal/delivering-european-green-
deal/fit-55-delivering-proposals_en. 

(112)  More  information  about  NECP  is  on  the  dedicated  website 
https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-strategy/national-
energy-and-climate-plans-necps_en 

(113)  Article  14  of  Regulation  2018/1999  on  the  Governance  of  the 

Energy Union and Climate Action 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  36 

The EU emissions trading system 

The  EU  ETS  is  the  key  tool  for  reducing  GHG  emissions 
cost-effectively across all Member States. It is the world’s 
biggest carbon market, covering around  40% of the EU’s 
total GHG emissions from electricity and heat generation, 
the  manufacturing  industry,  aviation  within  Europe (114) 
and, from 2024, maritime transport also. 

The system sets a limit or cap on the total amount of GHGs 
that  can  be  emitted  at  the  EU  level.  Within  this  limit, 
companies buy emissions allowances (one allowance gives 
the  right  to  emit  1 tonne  of  CO2  eq  (carbon  dioxide 
equivalent)),  in  auctions  or  through  trading  allowances 
with  others.  The  cap  is  reduced  annually  to  ensure  that 
overall  emissions  in  the  sectors  covered  decrease  over 
time. 

The emissions under the ETS decreased by 45% from 2005 
to 2023. 

In  2023,  71 %  of  the  greenhouse  gases  emitted  by 
Czechia’s ETS installations came from power generation, 
much  more  than  the  EU  average  (57 %).  Of  the  total 
emissions  from  all  industry  sectors,  around  20 %  each 
came  from  cement  and  lime  production  and  from  the 
metals  industry,  7 %  from  refineries,  and  only  a  minor 
share  from  the  chemical  industry,  2 %;  about  55 %  was 
classified as coming from  ‘other’ sources. Between 2019 
and  2023,  the  power  sector  registered  a  higher 
greenhouse  gas  emissions  reduction  (27 %)  than  the 
industry sectors (21 %). While greenhouse gas emissions 
from power generation have declined by 35 % since 2013, 
emissions  from  refineries  have 
increased  by  15 %. 
Between 2013 and 2023, greenhouse gas emissions from 
industry sectors decreased by 19 %. 

From 2027, a new emissions trading system, called ETS2, 
for  buildings,  road  transport  and  additional  sectors, 
(mainly  industry  not  covered  by  the  current  ETS)  will 
become  fully  operational (115).  Member  States  should 
have  notified  full  transposition  the  provisions  of  the 
revised  EU  ETS  directive  related  to  the  new  ETS2  into 
national 
law  by  30 June  2024.  Czechia  did  not 
communicate  full  transposition  into  national  law  by  this 
deadline.  The  Commission 
therefore  opened  an 
infringement procedure against  Czechia on 25 July 2024, 
by  sending  a  letter  of  formal  notice  for  failing  to  fully 
transpose the provisions into national law. 

Czechia  had  two  months  to  respond  and  address  the 
shortcomings raised by the Commission. In the absence of 

a  satisfactory  response,  the  Commission  may  decide  to 
issue a reasoned opinion. 

The  Commission  also  opened  infringement  procedures 
against Czechia on 25 January 2024, by sending a letter of 
formal  notice  for  failing  to  fully  transpose  previous 
revisions  of  ETS  directive (116)  into  national  law.  Czechia 
has  since  notified  partial  transposition  of  either  one  or 
both  revisions  to  the  Commission.  In  the  absence  of  a 
complete  transposition,  the  Commission  may  decide  to 
issue a reasoned opinion. 

Effort sharing 

from  domestic  transport 

The  Effort  Sharing  Regulation (ESR) (117)  covers  GHG 
emissions 
(excluding  CO₂ 
emissions  from  aviation),  buildings,  agriculture,  small 
industry and waste. Emissions from these sectors account 
for  around  60 %  of  the  EU’s  domestic  emissions.  The 
regulation  sets  the  EU-wide  target  to  reduce  emissions 
from the effort sharing sectors by 40 % by 2030 compared 
to 2005 levels. This overall target for the EU translates to 
binding  national  emission  reduction  targets  for  each 
Member State. Czechia‘s target is –26%. 

In  addition  to  the  2030  targets,  Member  States  have 
annual GHG emissions limits (annual emission allocations), 
reducing every year until 2030. 

There  is  some  flexibility  to  take  account  of  annual 
in  emissions,  by  trading  emissions  and 
fluctuations 
transfers from the ETS and LULUCF. 

Based  on  historical  emissions  and  the  most  updated 
projections  Czechia  is  on  track  to  achieve  its  2030  ESR 
target. 

Projected  emission  reduction  is  9.8  percentage  points 
above the 2030 target. 

The largest  contributor is the domestic transport  sector, 
which accounted for 31 % of all effort sharing emissions in 
2022. The sector is a very high concern for Czechia because 
emissions have increased by 12 % since 2005. Czechia still 
has  progress  to  make  on  its  transition  to  sustainable 
mobility. In 2022, battery electric vehicles accounted for 
0.2 % of  Czechia’s passenger vehicle fleet  (EU average is 
1.2 %).  The  rate  of  installing  publicly  accessible  charging 
infrastructure also remains slow, with some 4 500 publicly 
accessible  charging  points  in  2023  (one  for  every  five  e-
vehicles, against the EU average of 1:10). In Czechia, 82 % 
of  distances  travelled  are  by  passenger  car,  only  slightly 
below the EU average of 85 %. Three quarters of freight 

(114)  Flights between the EU Member States including departing flights 
to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. 

(115)  Directive 

(EU) 

2023/959 

(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

(116)  Directive - 2023/959 - EN - EUR-Lex and Directive - 2023/958 - EN 

- EUR-Lex 
(117)  Regulation 

(EU) 

2018/842 

(https://eur-

content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2023.130.01.0134.01.ENG) 

lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2018/842). 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  37 

projections show a gap compared to the 2030 target of 0.2 
Mt  of  CO2 equivalent.  Therefore,  Czechia  needs  to apply 
additional measures to reach its 2030 target. 

Adaptation to climate change 

Halting  all  greenhouse  gas  emissions  would  still  not 
prevent  climate  impacts  that  are  already  occurring. 
Therefore,  adaptation  to  climate  change  is  also  a  key 
component of climate policy. 

Czechia has no regions identified as a hotspots of climate 
risks most affected by climate change. (118) 

Climate  change  affects  many  sectors  in  Czechia,  and  a 
particular  challenge is to improve the status of its water 
bodies.  The  effects  of  conventional  agriculture  and 
forestry  on soil  quality and  other  factors  exacerbate  the 
impact  of  intensifying  droughts,  floods  and  land  erosion 
from  wind  and  torrential  rain.  The  risk  of  floods  has 
significantly  increased,  in  particular  by  heavy  rainfall 
combined with low water retention in soils, both in terms 
of  the  number  of  towns  exposed  and  the  expected 
damage.  Between  2000  and  2020,  on  average,  4.5 %  of 
land  in  Czechia  was  affected  by  droughts.  This  rose  to 
27.1 %  in  2022.  Croplands  are  generally  the  ecosystem 
most damaged by droughts in Czechia. 

Czechia adopted its national adaptation strategy in 2015 
and  adaptation  plan  in  2017.  Czechia  updated  both 
documents  in  2021.  There  are  no  sectoral  or  regional 
adaptation plans. 

European Commission identified five priority actions in the 
2022 edition of the review. 

Czechia  demonstrated  progress  in  energy  efficiency  but 
there 
is  still  untapped  potential.  Deployment  of 
renewables  remains  substantially  slow,  but  Czechia  has 
taken some steps in implementing reforms to accelerate 
the deployment of renewables. 

There  is  still  no  progress  in  decarbonising  transport.  All 
parameters remain below the EU average. 

The  share  of  renewables 
is 
substantially below the EU average and it is growing very 
slowly (by just 1.5 percentage point since 2015 compared 
to EU average of 11.5 percentage points). 

in  electricity  sector 

Biomass sustainability criteria are introduced as part of an 
amendment to an indirect measure (implemented in 2004 
until  2035),  which  incentivizes  electricity  produced  from 
renewable energy sources via a feed-in tariff. 

The  LULUCF  sector 
in  Czechia  holds  substantial 
importance  for  the  country’s  greenhouse  gas  emissions 

transport  is  transported  by  road.  Only  34 %  of  Czechia’s 
rail network is electrified (against the EU average of 56 %). 

Buildings accounted for 20 % of all effort sharing emissions 
in 2022. Emissions of the sector have decreased by 19 % 
since  2005.  But  Czechia  needs  to  step  up  its  efforts  to 
achieve  a  meaningful  contribution  to  its  2030  target  for 
building  energy  consumption  reduction.  As  per  its  most 
recent  long  term  renovation  strategy,  Czechia  must 
reduce  building  energy  consumption  by  8 %  in  2030 
compared to 2020. However, between 2020 and 2022, the 
final energy consumption of the residential sector did not 
change. Overall energy performance of buildings is below 
the EU average. The share of renewable energy in heating 
and cooling is growing slowly and remains slightly above 
the EU average. 

Figure 33: Effort-sharing emissions by sector (%), 2022 

Land use, land-use change and forestry 

The  Land  Use,  Land-Use  Change  and  Forestry  (LULUCF) 
sector plays a significant role in achieving the EU’s climate 
neutrality goal. In the EU, this sector absorbs more GHGs 
than it emits, removing significant volumes of carbon from 
the atmosphere. Thus, it is the only sector with negative 
emissions. 

But  that  is  not  the  case  in  Czechia.  Czechia’s  removals 
were  slowly  decreasing  over  past  decades  and  then 
decreased  sharply  and  turned  into  emissions  between 
2017 and 2019. 

Czechia‘s target in 2030 is to enhance land removals by an 
additional  –0.8  Mt  of  CO2  equivalent  compared  to  the 
yearly  average  of  the  period  2016–2018.  The  latest 

(118)  European  Climate  Risk  Assessment  (EUCRA).  2024.  Available  at 

European Climate Risk Assessment (europa.eu) 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
profile, offering the potential to function as a net carbon 
sink. Unfortunately, there is no progress and projections 
show that Czechia will miss its target. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

In  the  next  period  Czechia  should 
focus  on 
implementing  all  polices  and  measures  that  are 

Czechia  38 

needed  to  achieve  targets  defined  by  Effort  Sharing 
Regulation  and  LULUCF  regulation.  More  detailed 
priority actions are set out in the assessment of the 
final national energy and climate plan (NECP)(119). 

(119)   National energy and climate plans. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  39 

Part II: Enabling framework – implementation tools 

5. Financing 

The  EU  budget  supports  climate  investment  in  Czechia 
with  significant  amounts  in  2021–2027,  with  revenues 
from the ETS also feeding into the national budget. During 
2020–2022,  Czechia’s  revenues  from  auctioning  reached 
EUR 2 billion in total, with 35 % of it spent on climate and 
energy, corresponding to EUR 700 million. 

In  addition,  the  annual  investment  needed  to  meet  its 
environmental  objectives 
in  the  areas  of  pollution 
prevention and control, the circular economy and waste, 
water protection and management, and biodiversity and 
ecosystems is estimated to be EUR 6.8 billion per year in 
Czechia. 

These  four  environmental  areas  currently  receive  total 
funding of around EUR 4.5 billion per year; thus, there is a 
gap of EUR 2.3 billion per year. 

Around  half  of  the  environmental  investment  gap  is 
related to tackling pollution (EUR 1 billion per year), with 
a  further  EUR 0.5 billion  per  year  each  related  to  water 
and the circular economy. 

Climate finance landmarks 

EU funding for climate action 

The EU budget supports climate action in the EU-27 with 
EUR 657.8 billion  in  the  2021–2027  budgetary  period 
across  the  various  programmes  and  funds,  representing 
an  overall  34.3 %  contribution  level.  Of  this,  cohesion 
policy provides EUR 120 billion (over half of it through the 
European  Regional  Development  Fund  (ERDF)),  the 
Recovery  and  Resilience  Facility  (RRF)  EUR 275.7 billion 
and CAP EUR 145.9 billion (120). 

In  Czechia,  the  EU  cohesion  policy  (considering  the  EU 
contribution amount) provides EUR 7.8 billion for climate 
action in 2021–2027 (with 40 % of this via the ERDF), with 
a  further  EUR 14.8 million  from  the  European  Maritime, 

Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (121). The RFF contributes 
to  climate  finance  in  Czechia  with  EUR 3.97 billion  up  to 
2026, representing 43 % of its national RRP (122). 

The  European 
(EIB)  provided 
Investment  Bank 
EUR 109.9 billion  in  financing  across  the  EU-27  between 
2021  and  mid  2024  to  support  energy,  transport  and 
industry  projects  that  are  aligned  with  the  EU’s  climate 
objectives. Of this amount, EUR 3.5 billion was assigned to 
Czechia in the reference period (123). 

National financing, including emissions trading system 
revenues 

to  EUR 719 million 

Revenues  from  the  auctioning  of  emission  allowances 
under  the  EU ETS,  which  feed  directly  into  national 
budgets,  amounted 
in  2020, 
EUR 604 million  in  2021  and  EUR 674 million  in  2022  in 
Czechia,  totalling  EUR 2 billion  in  the  three-year  period, 
35 %  of  which  (amounting  to  EUR  700  million)  was 
reported as spent on climate action.  Auctioning revenues 
are not earmarked and the reported spending represents 
the  amounts  allocated  to  climate  change  and  energy 
purposes in the general state budget of each year, with the 
remaining revenues going to the general budget (124). 

From the remaining part of the EU ETS revenues that feed 
into  the  Innovation  Fund  and  the  Modernisation  Fund, 
further  support  is  available  for  climate  action  at  the  EU 
level. 

the  environment 

It should be noted that investment in climate action also 
the 
supports 
environmental  investments  described  in  the  following 
sections  cannot  be  regarded  as  entirely  additional  to 
climate investment (125). 

therefore, 

and, 

Environmental financing and investments 

This section describes Czechia’s investment needs, current 
four 
financing  and  gaps  as 

relate 

they 

the 

to 

(120)  European  Commission,  Statement  of  Estimates  of  the  European 
Commission –  For  the  financial  year  2025,  Publications  Office  of 
pp. 94–96, 
the 
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/7a0420e1-
599e-4246-9131-ccb7d505d6d9_en?filename=DB2025-
Statement-of-Estimates_1.pdf. 

European  Union, 

Luxembourg, 

2024, 

(121)  See 

the 

Cohesion 

Open 

Data 

Platform 

(https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/). 

(122)  EU  Commission  datasets  and  the  Recovery  and  Resilience 
revisions 

Scoreboard, 
(https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/recovery-and-
resilience-scoreboard/index.html). 

2024, 

2025 

prior 

to 

(123)  A  list  of  financed  projects  is  provided  by  the  EIB 

(https://www.eib.org/en/projects/loans/index.htm).  

(124)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General 

for 
Climate Action, Progress Report 2023 – Climate action, 
the  European  Union, 
Publications  Office  of 
Luxembourg, 
2023, 
https://climate.ec.europa.eu/news-your-
voice/news/climate-action-progress-report-2023-
2023-10-24_en. 

(125)  NB:  Indirect  investments  (from  climate  and  other 
policies) in support of the environment are accounted 
for via the tracking. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
environmental  objectives  beyond  climate  objectives, 
namely  tackling  pollution,  the  circular  economy  and 
waste,  water  protection  and  management,  and 
biodiversity and ecosystems (126). 

The environment overall 

Investment needs 

The  overall  environmental 
investment  needs  to  be 
sufficient to enable Czechia to meet its objectives in the 
areas  of  pollution  prevention  and  control,  the  circular 
economy and waste, water protection and management, 
and biodiversity and ecosystems. The required investment 
is estimated to be EUR 6.8 billion per year, in 2022 prices. 

A  significant  part  of  the  estimated  requirement  (up  to 
EUR 2.2 billion  a  year)  can  be  attributed  to  the  need  to 
support pollution prevention and control. The investment 
needs  for  the  circular  economy  were  estimated  at 
EUR 1.7 billion per year, for water EUR 1.6 billion per year 
and  for  biodiversity  and  ecosystems  EUR 1.3 billion  per 
year. 

Current investments 

To implement the environmental investments needed, the 
available  financing  is  estimated  to  currently  reach  an 
annual  EUR 4.5 billion  in  Czechia  from  EU  and  national 
sources combined (in 2022 prices). 

Total  environmental  funding  from  the  multiannual 
financial  framework  (MFF)  is  estimated  to  reach  around 
EUR 6.9 billion  for  Czechia  in total  during  2021–2027  (or 
EUR 985 million per year). 

Table 1: Key environmental allocations from EU funds to 
Czechia (million EUR), 2021–2027 

Instrument 

Cohesion policy 
ERDF 
Cohesion Fund 
Just Transition Fund 

CAP 
European 
Guarantee Fund 

Agricultural 

Allocations  

4 905.7 (a) 
1 985.1 
2 589.9 
330.7 

1 739.4 (b) 
1 322.5 
416.8 

(126)  Research,  development  and  innovation  is  accounted  for  under 
each environmental objective. The financing needs, baselines and 
gap  estimates  are  based  on  the  Directorate-General  for 
Environment’s internal analysis (of 2024). Throughout this finance 
chapter,  specific  references are  provided to  the  most  important 
data sources used. 

(127)  https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life_en. 
(128)  European  Commission,  Horizon  Europe,  https://research-and-
innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-
programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en. 

(129)  The  Connecting  Europe  Facility 

includes 
EUR 11.3 billion  transferred  from  the  Cohesion  Fund,  of  which 
30 % will be made available, on a competitive basis, to all Member 

(Transport)  also 

Czechia  40 

European  Agricultural  Fund 
for Rural Development 

European 
Maritime, 
Fisheries  and  Aquaculture 
Fund 

Other MFF 

RRF (d) (2021–2026) 

10.7 

241.6 (c) 

2 207 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

further 

European  Commission,  2021-2027  cohesion  policy  (planned) 
allocations  in  EU  amount  excluding  national  co-financing,  based 
on the tracking in the Common Provisions Regulation (CPR, 2021) 
Annex I. Please note potential data changes that may have arisen 
between the EIR preparation cut-off date (31 October 2024) and 
information: 
its  publication  date.  Source  and 
https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/2021-2027-
Categorisation/2021-2027-Planned-finances-detailed-
categorisation/hgyj-gyin/about_data. 
Regulation (EU) 2021/2115 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  2 December  2021  establishing  rules  on  support  for 
strategic  plans  to  be  drawn  up  by  Member  States  under  the 
common agricultural policy (CAP strategic plans) and financed by 
the  European  Agricultural  Guarantee  Fund  (EAGF)  and  by  the 
European  Agricultural  Fund  for  Rural  Development  (EAFRD)  and 
repealing Regulations (EU) No 1305/2013 and (EU) No 1307/2013 
(OJ 
https://eur-
p. 1), 
lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/2115. 
Note that 2021-2027 combines factual data for 2021 and 2022 and 
expenditure  under  the  relevant  specific  objectives  (SOs)  of  the 
CAP strategic plans from 2023, using the EU biodiversity tracking 
methodology  (https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
06/Biodiversity%20tracking%20methodology%20for%20each%20
programme%202023.pdf). Source: European Commission.  
Space  Fund,  Horizon  Europe,  financial 
environment and the Connecting Europe Facility. 
Outside  the  MFF.  Note  that  the  RRF  applies  a  similar 
environmental tracking scheme (set in the RRF Regulation, Annex 
VI)  as  the  EU’s  cohesion  policy.  RRF  dataset  version  used:  July 
2024, prior to 2025 revisions. Data source: European Commission. 

instrument  for  the 

6.12.2021, 

Annex XI, 

L 435 

Czechia,  in  addition  to  receiving  EU  funds  earmarked 
specifically  for  it  in  2021–2027,  can  also  benefit  from 
funding programmes that can be accessed at the EU level 
and which are open to all Member States. These include 
the LIFE programme (127) (EUR 5.4 billion), Horizon Europe 
(EUR 95.5 billion) (128), the Connecting Europe Facility (129) 
(EUR 33.7 billion) (130) and funds that be mobilised through 
the InvestEU (131). 

Czechia’s RRP provides EUR 3.97 billion for climate action 
(43 %  of  the  total),  with  an  additional  contribution  of 

States  eligible  for  the  Cohesion  Fund.  The  remaining  70 %  will 
respect  the  national  envelopes  until  31 December  2023.  Any 
amount under national envelopes that is unspent by that date will 
support all the Cohesion Fund’s Member States. 

(130)  Regulation (EU) 2021/1153 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 7 July 2021 establishing the Connecting Europe Facility 
and 
(EU) 
No 283/2014 
(OJ  L  249,  14.7.2021,  p.  38),  https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1153/oj/eng. 

(EU)  No 1316/2013  and 

repealing  Regulations 

(131)  The  InvestEU  Fund  is  set  to  mobilise  over  EUR 372 billion  of 
investment through an EU budget guarantee of EUR 26.2 billion to 
back  the  investment  of  financial  partners such as  the  EIB  group 
and others. 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
EUR 0.17 billion 
objectives. 

(1.8 %  of 

total) 

to  environmental 

Figure 34: Environmental financing, needs and gaps  per 
Member State (% of GDP) 

Czechia  41 

The EIB provided around  EUR 1.4 billion in environment-
related  financial  contributions  to  Czechia  from  2021  to 
mid  2024,  overwhelmingly  linked  to  sustainable  energy, 
transport and industrial projects, which provide significant 
co-benefits for reducing air pollution, environmental noise 
and other pollution. 

The  EU’s  total  national  expenditure  on  environmental 
protection  (operating  plus  capital  expenditure)  was 
EUR 298 billion  in  2020  and  EUR 321 billion  in  2021, 
representing around 2.2 % of EU-27 GDP. In Czechia, the 
total national environmental protection expenditure was 
EUR 1.7 billion 
in  2021, 
representing around 0.8 % and 0.7 % of GDP, respectively. 

in  2020  and  EUR 1.7 billion 

Of  the  total  environmental  expenditure,  the  national 
capital  expenditure 
(investment)  on  environmental 
protection  amounted  to  EUR 54.5 billion  in  2020  and 
EUR 59.9 billion in 2021 in the EU-27, representing around 
In  Czechia,  the  national 
0.4 %  of  the  EU’s  GDP. 
environmental 
reached 
EUR 1.5 billion  in  2020,  rising  to  EUR 2.1 billion  in  2021, 
representing around 0.4–0.5 % of GDP. 

investment 

protection 

Splitting  by 
institutional  sector,  40.1 %  of  Czechia’s 
national  environmental  protection  investment  (capital 
expenditure) comes from the general government budget, 
from  specialist  private-sector 
with  23.3 %  coming 
producers (of environmental protection services, such as 
waste and water companies) and 36.6 % from the general 
business  sector,  whose  environmental  activities  are 
usually ancillary to its main activities. At the EU level, 38 % 
of  environmental  protection  investment  comes  from 
governments,  40 % 
specialist  private-sector 
producers and 22 % from the general business sector (132). 

from 

Czechia’s  total  financing  for  environmental  investment 
reaches  an  estimated  EUR 4.5 billion  per  year  (in  2022 
prices),  including  EU  funding  and  national  public  and 
national private expenditure. Of the total, the share of EU 
funds  (including  EIB  funds)  reaches  around  31 %,  with 
69 % national financing. The total public financing (EU plus 
national public) represents 59 % of the total. 

The gap 

To meet its four environmental objectives beyond climate 
change, the additional investment need over the current 
levels  (i.e.  the  gap)  reaches  an  estimated  EUR 2.3 billion 
per  year  in  Czechia,  representing  around  0.82 %  of  the 
national  GDP,  being  slightly  higher  than  the  EU  average 
(0.77 %). 

(132)  Eurostat, 

‘Environmental  protection  expenditure  accounts’, 

env_ac_epea. 

Source: Analysis of Directorate-General for Environment. 

The following table provides the distributions of Czechia’s 
environmental  investment  gap  (expressed  in  various 
forms) by environmental objective. 

Table 2: Summary of environmental investment gaps in 
Czechia per year, 2021–2027 

Environmental 
objective 

Pollution prevention 
and control 

Circular economy and 
waste 

Water management 
and water industries 

Biodiversity and 
ecosystems 

Investment gap, per year  

% of GDP 

 % of 
total 

Million 
EUR 
(2022 
prices) 

1 044 

46.1 

0.38 

470 

20.8 

0.17 

498 

22.0 

0.18 

251 

11.1 

0.09 

Total 

 2 263 

100.0 

0.82 

Source: Directorate-General for Environment analysis. 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
Pollution prevention and control 

Investment needs 

to 

reduce 

In pollution prevention and control, Czechia’s investment 
needs are estimated to reach  EUR 2.21.9 billion per year 
(including  baseline  investments)  in  2021–2027.  Most  of 
this,  EUR 1.9 billion,  relates  to  air  pollution  control,  to 
comply with the clean air requirements for the five main 
air  pollutants  under  the  NECD  by  2030.  The  estimated 
needs 
reach 
EUR 420 million per year, most of which is delivered by the 
(same) sustainable energy and transport investments that 
also  benefit  clean  air (133).  Industrial  site  remediation 
requires an estimated EUR 82 million per year. Protection 
from  radiation  (nuclear  site  decommissioning,  nuclear 
waste) 
year. 
Microplastics pollution and the chemicals strategy require 
around EUR 30–40 million per year (each) (134). 

around  EUR 200 million  per 

environmental 

noise 

costs 

Current investments 

investment 

The  current 
levels  supporting  pollution 
prevention and control reach an estimated EUR 1.2 billion 
per year in  Czechia  in 2021–2027. Most  of the financing 
concerns clean air (EUR 1 billion per year). Protection from 
environmental noise receives around EUR 382 million per 
year, with  a further EUR 103 million for site remediation 
and EUR 34 million for protection from radiation. 

In Czechia, the EU MFF provides an estimated 34 % of the 
clean  air  financing  (mostly  via  cohesion  policy),  with  a 
further 16.9 % from the RRF, adding up to  50.9 % of the 
total.  EIB  financing  contributes  15.2 %  and  national 
sources reach 33.9 % (135). 

The gap 

To meet its environmental objectives concerning pollution 
prevention and control (towards zero pollution),  Czechia 
needs  to  provide  an  additional  EUR 1 billion  per  year 
(0.38 % of GDP), mostly related to clean air. The adequate 
investments 
implementation  of  the  NECP  with  the 

(133)  2021 

assessment 

Phenomena 

project 
(https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/f4cd7465-a95d-11eb-9585-01aa75ed71a1)  and  the 
Directive 
Commission’s 
implementation 
report 
(https://environment.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-
03/COM_2023_139_1_EN_ACT_part1_v3.pdf). 

Environmental 

Noise 

2023 

(134)  European  Commission,  Third  Clean  Air  Outlook,  Brussels,  2022, 

https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/clean-air-
outlook_en. See also the impact assessment for the revision of the 
AAQD, available from the Commission web page on the proposed 
revision 
(https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/revision-eu-
ambient-air-quality-legislation_en). 

(135)  Through  the  tracking  of  EU  funds,  EIB  projects  and  national 
expenditure  (environmental  protection  expenditure  accounts, 
Eurostat). Note that the bulk of clean air financing is provided as a 
contribution from climate (energy and transport) measures, as per 

Czechia  42 

included  for  sustainable  energy  and  transport  would 
largely  deliver  this,  while 
in  many  Member  States 
additional measures and investments may be required to 
comply with the ammonia reduction requirements. 

According to the latest (2023) NAPCP review report (136), 
Czechia complied with ammonia reduction requirements 
in 2020 and 2021, and it is not at risk of non-compliance 
with  ammonia  concerning  the  NECD’s  2030  emission 
reduction  commitments,  based  on  the  policies  and 
measures  in  its  NAPCP  that  take  into  account  climate, 
energy and CAP plans and financing baselines. 

Circular economy and waste 

Investment needs 

Czechia’s  investment  needs  in  the  circular  economy  and 
waste  reach  EUR 1.7 billion  per  year  (including  baseline 
investments).  Most  of  this,  around  EUR 1.3 billion  per 
year, relates to circular economy measures in the mobility, 
food  and  built  environment  systems,  with  a  further 
EUR 435 million  necessary 
for  waste  management 
(municipal  and  packaging  waste),  covering  waste 
collection,  biowaste  treatment,  recycling  reprocessors, 
waste-sorting  facilities,  and  digitalisation  of  the  waste 
registry. The amount for waste excludes the investments 
needed for the uptake of circularity and waste prevention 
across the economy (137). 

Current investments 

Circular economy investments across the economy reach 
around  EUR 0.9 billion per year in  Czechia in 2021-2027, 
with  a  further  EUR 376 million  provided  for  waste 
management that does not constitute circular economy. 

Around 3.8 % of the combined financing for circularity and 
waste comes from the EU MFF, with a further 1.1 % from 
the  RRF,  adding  up  to  4.9 %  of  the  total.  The  share  of 

the tracking schemes in the Common Provisions Regulation Annex 
I and the RRF Regulation Annex VI. Further information on clean 
air 
tracking: 
https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/0a80484e-
2409-4749-94c6-
3b23bc6bae8f_en?filename=Clean%20air%20methodology_0.pdf 
(136)  European Commission, ‘National air pollution control programmes 
website, 
European 

Commission 

projections’, 

and 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/air/reducing-
emissions-air-pollutants/national-air-pollution-control-
programmes-and-projections_en.  

(137)  See Systemiq and Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Achieving ‘Growth 
Within’, 2017; and European Commission: Directorate-General for 
Environment, Study on investment needs in the waste sector and 
on  the  financing  of  municipal  waste  management  in  Member 
States,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2019, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/4d5f8355-bcad-11e9-9d01-01aa75ed71a1. 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
Czechia  43 

national financing is absolutely dominant, reaching 95 % 
of the total financing (138). 

The gap 

To  meet  its  environmental  objectives  concerning  the 
circular  economy  and  waste,  Czechia  needs  to  increase 
circular  economy 
investments  by  an  estimated 
additional 
EUR 412 million 
EUR 58 million concerning waste management action, not 
belonging  to  the  circular  economy.  Combined,  this 
amounts to EUR 470 million per year, representing 0.17 % 
of Czechia’s GDP. 

year,  with 

per 

an 

Of  the  circular  economy  gap,  EUR 108 million  relates  to 
recent  initiatives,  such  as  eco-design  for  sustainable 
products,  packaging  and  packaging  waste,  labelling  and 
digital  tools,  CRM  recycling,  and  measures  proposed 
under the amendment of the Waste Framework Directive, 
and EUR 304 million constitutes further investment needs 
to unlock Czechia circular economy potential. 

EUR 254 million 
EUR 181 million 
Framework  Directive 
protection). 

drinking 

water 

and 

the  other  aspects  of 

(water  management 

around 
the  Water 
and 

Of the total financing,  11.2 % is provided by the EU MFF 
(mostly  through  cohesion  policy),  with  a  further  4.8 % 
from  the  RRF,  reaching  16 %  combined.  EIB  financing  is 
around  0.7 %  of  the  total,  while  the  bulk  of  financing 
comes from national sources (83.4 %) (140). 

The gap 

To  meet  the  various  environmental  targets  under  the 
Water  Framework  Directive  and  the  Floods  Directive, 
Czechia’s  water  investment  gap  reaches  EUR 498 million 
per year (0.19 % of GDP), with over half related to waste 
water 
(EUR 338 million  per  year).  Drinking  water 
measures  require  an  additional  EUR 72 million  per  year 
and the other aspects of the Water Framework Directive 
around EUR 87 million per year over the existing levels of 
financing. 

Water protection and management 

Biodiversity and ecosystems 

Investment needs 

Investment needs 

The  annual  water  investment  needs  reach  an  estimated 
EUR 1.6 billion (in 2022 prices) in Czechia. This comprises 
investment needs both for the water industry and for the 
protection and management of water. The largest part of 
the  total  annual  need,  EUR 858 million,  relates  to  the 
management  of  waste  water  (also  including  additional 
costs  associated  with  the  revised  UWWTD).  A  further 
EUR 325 million  is  necessary  for  drinking-water-related 
the 
investments  and  around  EUR 268 million 
protection and management of water (139). 

for 

Current investments 

Water investments in Czechia are estimated to be around 
EUR 1.1 billion per year (in 2022 prices) in 2021–2027. Of 
this,  EUR 620 million  supports wastewater  management, 

(138)  Waste management and circular economy expenditure tracking in 
the  EU  funds,  EIB  projects  and  in  the  national  expenditure 
(Eurostat).  Datasets:  environmental  protection  expenditure 
accounts  (env_epi)  and  circular  economy  private  investments 
(cei_cie012). 

(139)  See  European  Commission,  ‘Estimating  investment  needs  and 
financing capacities for water-related investment in EU Member 
States’, 
2020, 
28 May 
https://commission.europa.eu/news/estimating-investment-
needs-and-financing-capacities-water-related-investment-eu-
member-states-2020-05-28_en;  and  OECD,  Financing  Water 
Supply, Sanitation and flood Protection: Challenges in EU Member 
States  and  policy  options,  OECD  Publishing,  Paris,  2020, 
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/environment/financing-water-
supply-sanitation-and-flood-protection_6893cdac-en. 

(140)  Water investment levels are estimated through tracking EU funds, 
EIB projects and national expenditure (environmental protection 
expenditure accounts, Eurostat). 

The investment needs for biodiversity and ecosystems are 
estimated to be EUR 1.3 billion per year (in 2022 prices) in 
Czechia’s 
includes  the  following 
financing needs: 

in  2021–2027.  This 

• 

• 

• 

the 

Natura 

framework (141) 
areas: 
2000 

Czechia’s  prioritised  action 
concerning 
EUR 150 million per year, mostly running costs; 
additional  BDS  costs (142):  EUR 780 million  per 
year on top of the framework; 
sustainable 
EUR 325 million per year. 

soil  management 

costs (143): 

Current investments 

The current level of biodiversity financing is estimated to 
be  EUR 1 billion  per  year  (in  2022  prices)  in  2021–2027. 

(141)  European Commission, ‘Financing Natura 2000 – Prioritised action 
website, 

Commission 

frameworks’, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/nature-and-
biodiversity/natura-2000/financing-natura-2000_en. 

European 

(142)  See European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment, 
Biodiversity  Financing  and  Tracking –  Final  report,  Publications 
Office 
2022, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/793eb6ec-dbd6-11ec-a534-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

European  Union, 

Luxembourg, 

the 

of 

(143)  See Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  on  soil  monitoring  and  resilience  (Soil  Monitoring  Law) 
COM(2023) 416 
2023, 
https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/proposal-
directive-soil-monitoring-and-resilience_en.  

5 July 

final 

of 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
90 % of this is considered direct financing to biodiversity 
and ecosystems, with a 100 % coefficient  in the tracking 
schemes. 

11 % of the total financing is estimated to come from EU 
cohesion  policy  and  23 %  from  the  CAP.  The  EU  MFF 
altogether accounts for 35 % of the financing and the RRF 
for 3 %, adding up to a total of 38 % from the EU budget. 
The rest, 62 %, comes from national sources (144). 

Czechia has programmed 22.9 % of its entire budget under 
the CAP in measures benefiting biodiversity, making it the 
Member State with the third highest share of biodiversity 
support  measures  under  the  CAP  for  2021–2027.  An 
estimated 2.5 % of the RRF funds (above the average), as 
well  as  5.9 %  of  the  cohesion  policy  EU  contribution 
amounts  (corresponding  to  the  average),  contribute  to 
biodiversity (disregarding ESF+). 

Figure 35: 2021–2027 contributions to biodiversity from 
the main EU instruments per Member State (% of policy 
total) 

NB: ESF+, European Social Fund Plus. 

The gap 

To  meet  the  environmental  objectives  concerning  the 
protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems 
and  other  relevant  cross-cutting  measures,  Czechia’s 
investment  gap  is  estimated  to  be  EUR 251 million  per 
year, corresponding to 0.09 % of its GDP. 

Czechia  44 

Public financial management 

Green budgeting practices 

Green  budgeting  refers  to  the  use  of  budgetary  tools to 
achieve climate and environmental goals. Some Member 
States  already  use  green  budgeting  tools  for  identifying 
and  tracking  green  expenditures  and/or  revenues  (145). 
Green budgeting practices provide increased transparency 
on the environmental implications of budgetary policies.  

The  Commission  has  developed  a  non-mandatory  green 
budgeting  reference  framework  that  brings  together 
methodologies  for  assessing  the  impacts  of  budgets  on 
climate and environmental goals (146). 

To help Member States develop national green budgeting 
and  thereby  improve  policy  coherence  and  support  the 
green  transition,  the  Commission  facilitated  a  technical 
support instrument (TSI) project on green budgeting from 
2021  to  2024 (147).  Czechia  participated,  in  particular  by 
refining  plans  for  national  green  budgeting  as  active 
participants in peer-to-peer exchanges. 

Czechia has also been selected for the next round of TSI 
projects on green budgeting, starting in 2025. The country 
will  prioritise  assessing  the  performance  of  public 
expenses  linked  to  green  objectives.  Moreover,  Czechia 
has established a unit focused on green budgeting in the 
Ministry of Finance at the beginning of 2025. 

Beyond green budgeting, to improve policy outcomes, the 
Commission  has  also  drawn  up  climate-proofing  and 
sustainability-proofing  guidance (148),  as  tools  to  assess 
project  eligibility  and  compliance  with  environmental 
legislation and criteria. 

Green taxation and tax reform 

Environmental  taxes  amounted  to  EUR 4.1 billion 
in 
Czechia  in  2022,  representing  1.5 %  of  its  GDP  (EU 
average:  2.0 %).  Energy  taxes 
largest 
component of environmental taxes, accounting for 1.45 % 
of  GDP,  which  is  lower  than  the  EU  average  of  1.6 %. 
Transport  taxes,  at  0.02 %  of  GDP,  were  under  the  EU 
average (0.4 %), as were taxes on pollution and resources, 
at  0.01 %  (EU  average:  0.08 %).  In  2022,  environmental 

formed  the 

(144)  Based  on 

biodiversity 

tracking 

in 

the 

EU 

budget 

(146)  European  Commission, 

(https://circabc.europa.eu/ui/group/3f466d71-92a7-49eb-9c63-
6cb0fadf29dc/library/8e44293a-d97f-496d-8769-50365780acde), 
and national expenditure into biodiversity from the Classification 
of the Functions of Government accounts. 

(145)  European  Commission,  Green  Budgeting  in  the  EU.  Key  Insights 
from the 2023 European Commission Survey of Green Budgeting 
Practices, 
https://economy-
finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-and-fiscal-governance/national-
fiscal-frameworks-eu-member-states/green-budgeting-
eu_en#:~:text=European%20Commission%20Green%20Budgetin
g%20Survey%C2%A0.  

2023, 

‘European  Union  green  budgeting 
https://economy-

2022, 

framework’, 

reference 
finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-and-fiscal-governance/green-
budgeting-eu_en. 

(147)  https://reform-support.ec.europa.eu/what-we-do/revenue-

administration-and-public-financial-management/supporting-
implementation-green-budgeting-practices-eu_en. 

(148)  Commission notice – Technical guidance on the climate proofing 
of infrastructure in the period 2021–2027 (OJ C 373, 16.09.2021, 
p. 1), 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/23a24b21-16d0-11ec-b4fe-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
taxes  in  Czechia  accounted  for  4.2 %  of  total  revenues 
from taxes and social security contributions (under the EU 
average of 5.0 %) (149). 

Figure 36: Environmental taxes per Member State, 2022 

Czechia  45 

served objectives in energy, buildings or transport, while 
5 % supported objectives in water, 5.1 % related to land 
use  (with  links  to  nature  and  ecosystems)  and  3.8 % 
applied  to  waste  management.  By  2023,  the  combined 
share of energy, buildings and transport had decreased to 
73 %, the shares of waste management and land use had 
increased (to 5.9 % and 8.4 %, respectively) and the share 
of water had remained around 5 %. 

In  2021–2023,  31.7 %  of  the  European  green  bonds 
(excluding  those  issued  by  supranational  entities)  was 
issued  by  financial  corporates,  29.1 %  by  sovereign 
governments  and  23.1 %  by  non-financial  corporates. 
8.3 % of the issuances was linked to government-backed 
entities, 6.4 % to developments banks and 1.4 % to local 
governments. 

Figure 37: Value of green bonds issued per Member State 
(billion EUR), 2021, 2022 and 2023  

The EU Green Deal emphasises the role of well-designed 
tax  reforms  (e.g.  shifts  from  taxing  labour  to  taxing 
pollution) to boost economic growth and resilience, and to 
foster  a  fairer  society  and  a  just  transition  through  the 
right price signals. The Green Deal promotes the ‘polluter-
pays  principle’,  which  makes  polluters  bear  the  costs  to 
prevent, control and remedy pollution. 

According to a 2024 study (150), Czechia applies emission 
charges  (various  categories  of  charges  for  emissions  to 
water  and  air,  plus  a  fee  for  solid  waste  disposal  in 
landfills), 
tax 
differentiation) and user charges (volumetric charges for 
water abstraction and water disposal). 

product 

charges 

vehicle 

(green 

Data source: Climatebonds.net, with some additional data from national 
sources (e.g. Croatia, Slovenia). 

Green bonds and sustainable bonds 

Environmentally harmful subsidies 

In 2023, the total value of green bonds issued by Member 
States  was  USD 245 billion  (EUR 227 billion),  up  from 
USD 234 billion (EUR 198 billion) in 2021. 

During 2021–2023 combined, Czechia issued green bonds 
worth USD 3 billion (EUR 2.5 billion). Of this, the issuance 
in 2023 amounted to USD 1.5 billion (EUR 1.4 billion) (151). 

During  2014–2023,  83 %  of  the  green  bonds  issued  by 
European  countries  (excluding  supranational  entities) 

Addressing  and  phasing  out  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies,  in  particular  fossil  fuel  subsidies  (FFS),  is  a 
further  step  towards  achieving  the  eighth  environment 
action  programme  objectives  and 
the  enabling 
conditions (152). FFS are costly for public budgets and make 
it difficult to achieve European Green Deal objectives. 

The overall downward trend of FFS mentioned in past EIRs 
was disrupted from 2022 due to the European response to 

(149)  Eurostat, ‘Environmental taxes accounts’, env_eta.  
(150)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Candidates  for  Taxing  Environmental  Bads  at  National  Level, 
Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2024, 
Annexes 1  and  2,  https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/35c1bbdf-2931-11ef-9290-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en. 

(151)  Climate  Bonds  Initiative  (https://www.climatebonds.net/).  NB. 
Additionally (and not included in this), national sources indicated 
EUR 544.8 million issuance for Croatia, in 2022-2023, and a slightly 
higher  amount  for  Slovenia  (+0.27  billion)  during  2021-2023  in 
total. 

(152)  Article 3(h) and 3(v) of the eighth environment action programme. 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
Czechia  46 

the 2021 energy crisis and subsequent increase in energy 
prices. 

NB: RES, renewable energy source. 
Source : analysis of Directorate-General Energy 

As  a  direct  consequence,  annual  FFS  in  the  EU  have 
increased to EUR 109 billion in 2023 from EUR 57 billion in 
2020. From 2021 to 2023, there was a marked increase in 
annual fossil fuel subsidies of 72 % in the EU (153). 

For the majority of the Member States (16) (154), the year 
2022 saw a peak in the amount of overall FFS. A decline 
was then observed in 2023.  In particular, FFS for coal and 
lignite, natural gas and oil increased in 2022 and a strong 
increase was observed for natural gas subsidies.  

In Czechia, the energy subsidies were stable in 2015–2021. 
As part of this, FFS stayed at EUR 0.5–0.7 billion per year. 
Since 2022, energy subsidies have increased, but mainly in 
the  ‘all  energies’  category,  while  FFS  have  stayed  at 
previous levels. 

As a share of GDP, FFS in 2022 ranged from 1.8 % in Croatia 
to less than 0.1 % in Denmark and Sweden. Czechia’s value 
reached 0.2 %, well below the EU average (0.8 %) (155). 

Figure 38:  Energy  subsidies  by  energy  carrier  (billion 
EUR), 2015–2023 

In 2022, Czechia received the following priority actions. 

• 

• 

Tackle  the  main  environmental  challenges  affecting 
the  country  through  adequate  funding,  including 
through the mobilisation of investments and the use 
of  EU  funds  (30 %  of  which  are  reserved  for 
environmental objectives). 
Enhance  the  use  of  economic  instruments  to  make 
sure polluters pay. 

Czechia still has an overall environmental investment gap 
of around 0.8 % of its GDP (around the EU average), with 
a  significant  share  related  to  pollution  prevention  and 
controls. 

2025 priority action 

•  Use more national funding (for instance by increasing 
taxes  in  favour  of  the  environment  and  reducing 
environmentally  harmful  subsidies),  EU  funding  and 
private funding to help close the investment gap. 

(153)  European  Commission,  2024  Report  on  Energy  Subsidies  in  the 
COM(2025), 

Union, 

European 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-
register/detail?ref=COM(2025)17&lang=en 

(155)  European  Commission,  2024  Report  on  Energy  Subsidies  in  the 
COM(2025), 

Union, 

European 
https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-
register/detail?ref=COM(2025)17&lang=en  

(154)  16 Member States: BE, EE, IE, EL, ES, FR, HR, IT, CY, LT, HU, NL, AT, 

PT, RO and SE. 

 2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Czech Republic  47 

6. Environmental governance 

Information, public participation and access to 
justice 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they rely on the three ‘pillars’ of the Aarhus Convention: 
(i)  access  to  information,  (ii)  public  participation  in 
decision-making and (iii) access to justice in environmental 
matters.  It  is  of  crucial  importance  to  public  authorities, 
the public and businesses that environmental information 
is 
shared  efficiently  and  effectively (156).  Public 
participation  allows  authorities  to  make  decisions  that 
take public concerns into account. Access to justice is a set 
of  guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  NGOs  to  use 
national courts to protect the environment, safeguard the 
citizens  and  ensure  accountability  of 
rights  of 
authorities (157).  It 
legal 
includes  the  right  to  bring 
challenges (‘legal standing’) (158). 

Environmental information 

This  section  focuses  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Infrastructure  for  Spatial  Information  in  the  European 
Community (Inspire) Directive. The Inspire Directive aims 
to set up a European spatial-data infrastructure for sharing 
information  between  public 
environmental  spatial 
authorities across Europe. It is expected that this will help 
policymaking  across  boundaries  and  facilitate  public 
access  to  this  information.  Geographic  information  is 
needed  for  good  governance  at  all  levels  and  should  be 
readily and transparently available. 

Czechia’s  performance 
Inspire 
Directive is substantial and has been reviewed based on its 
2023 country fiche (159) (see Table 3).  

implementing  the 

in 

(156)  The 

Aarhus 

Convention 

(https://unece.org/environment-
policy/public-participation/aarhus-convention/text),  the  Access 
to  Environmental  Information  Directive  (Directive  2003/4/EC) 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Inspire 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32003L0004) 
Directive  (Directive  2007/2/EC)  (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32007L0002) together create a legal 
foundation for the sharing of environmental information between 
public authorities and with the public. 

and 

the 

(157)  These  guarantees  are  explained  in  the  European  Commission’s 
2017  notice  on  access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters 
(https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:52017XC0818(02))  and  a  related 

Table 3: Czechia dashboard on the implementation of the 
Inspire Directive, 2016–2023 

2016  2023 

Legend 

Effective coordination and data 
sharing 

Ensure 
effective 
coordination  

sharing 

Data 
without 
obstacle  

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

Inspire performance indicators 

(i)  Conformity 
of metadata  

■  ■ 

(ii)  Conformity 
of 
spatial 
datasets  

(iii) 
Accessibility  of 
spatial datasets 
through 
view 
and  download 
services 

(iv)  Conformity 
of 
network 
services 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

■  ■ 

■  Implementation  of 

is  well 
this  provision 
advanced  or 
(nearly) 
completed.  Outstanding 
issues are minor and can 
be  addressed  easily. 
Percentage > 89 % 

■  Implementation  of 

this 
has 
provision 
started  and  made  some 
or  substantial  progress 
but is still not close to be 
completed. 
Percentage = 31–89 % 

■  Implementation  of 

this  provision  is  falling 
behind. 
significantly 
Serious 
are 
necessary  to  close  the 
gap. 
implementation 
Percentage < 31 % 

efforts 

Source:  European  Commission,  ‘Czechia’,  Inspire  Knowledge  Base, 
https://knowledge-base.inspire.ec.europa.eu/czechia_en. 

In 2022, Czechia received a priority action on the need to 
make  spatial  data  more  widely  accessible  and  prioritise 
environmental  datasets.  Czechia  has  made  progress  on 
the accessibility of spatial data. However, the accessibility 
of  high-value 
implementing 
spatial  datasets 
environmental legislation (160) still needs improvement. 

for 

2018 citizen’s guide (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/2b362f0a-bfe4-11e8-99ee-01aa75ed71a1/language-
en/format-PDF). 

(158)  This  EIR  focuses  on  the  means  used  by  Member  States  to 
guarantee  rights  of  access  to  justice  and  legal  standing  and  to 
overcome other major barriers to bringing cases on environmental 
protection. 

(159)  European  Commission, 

‘Croatia’, 

Inspire  Knowledge  Base, 

https://knowledge-base.inspire.ec.europa.eu/czechia_en. 

(160)  https://github.com/INSPIRE-MIF/need-driven-data-

prioritisation/blob/main/documents/eReporting_PriorityDataList
_V2.1_final_20201008.xlsx. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  48 

Public participation 

Public  involvement  at  both  the  planning  and  project 
phases maximises transparency and social acceptance of 
programmes  and  projects.  Consultation  with  the  public 
(including  NGOs)  and  environmental,  local  and  regional 
authorities  is  a  key  feature  of  an  effective  impact 
assessment procedure. Such consultation also provides an 
opportunity for public authorities and project promoters 
to  engage  with  the  public  actively  and  meaningfully  by 
making information on the likely significant effects widely 
available. If carried out with due diligence and taking into 
consideration  useful  public  input,  this  process  leads  to 
better-informed decision-making and can promote public 
acceptance.  Making 
increases 
stakeholder  involvement,  thus  lessening  resistance  and 
preventing (or minimising) litigation. On the other hand, it 
is paramount that the procedure is effective. 

information  available 

involvement  and 
This  section  examines  how  public 
transparency are ensured under two instruments, namely 
the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (161) 
and  the  Strategic  Environmental  Assessment 
(SEA) 
Directive (162). 

EU law provides for a flexible framework concerning EIAs. 
The aim of this framework is to ensure the application of 
the  necessary  environmental  safeguards,  while  enabling 
speedy  approval  of  projects.  The  Commission  has 
contributed to simplifying and accelerating permitting for 
renewable energy projects and continues to support the 
Member  States  in  this  regard  (163).  With  effect  from 
1 January 2024, Czechia introduced a simplification of the 
conditions  for  assessing  the  environmental  impacts  of 
wind  power  projects (164).  On  the  same  date,  the  Act  on 
the Single Environmental Opinion came into force, which 
introduced a broad procedural integration of 29 different 

administrative  acts  that  had  previously  been  issued 
separately,  in  particular  with  regard  to  construction 
field  of 
projects, 
environmental protection (165). 

including  RES  projects, 

the 

in 

(screening, 

scoping,  EIA 

The average speed in the EU for issuing permits involving 
an  EIA  procedure 
is  20.6 months,  with  a  minimum 
duration  of  11.4 months  and  a  maximum  duration  of 
75.7 months (166).  The  duration  of  each  step  in  an  EIA 
process 
report,  public 
consultation, reasoned conclusion, development consent) 
varies considerably between Member States and projects. 
As Czechia did not provide data on the duration of the EIA 
process,  it  is  not  possible  to  compare  it  with  the  EU 
average.  Effective  use  of  EU  procedures  can  positively 
influence  the  timely  approval  of  activities  underpinning 
the  decarbonisation  of  the  economy  on  the  way  to  net 
zero by 2050. 

A new report  is not  yet available on the application and 
effectiveness of the SEA Directive in the EU. Nevertheless, 
a  support  study has been published with information by 
Member State (167). 

to 

access 

information 

in  Czechia 

and 
Public 
documentation on  EIAs and SEAs is secured through the 
EIA/SEA  information  system (168).  However,  the  website 
does little to facilitate or encourage public participation. 
This  void  is  to  some  extent  filled  by  Czech  NGOs  that 
disseminate  user-friendly 
to 
participate in EIA and SEA processes (169). 

information  on  how 

As no data are published on participation in EIA and SEA 
decision-making,  it  is  difficult  to  assess  if  the  public  is 
becoming  more  or  less  engaged.  The  Ministry  of  the 
Environment’s  annual  statistical  publication  (the  latest 
available publication concerns the year 2022) (170) includes 
the results of a survey, in which one of the questions asks 

(161)  Directive  2011/92/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of 
certain public and private projects on the environment (OJ L 26, 
28.1.2012, 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
p. 1), 
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32011L0092. 

(162)  Directive  2001/42/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain 
plans and programmes on the environment (OJ L 197, 21.7.2001, 
p. 30), 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32001L0042. 

(163)  Commission Staff Working Document (SWD/2022/0149 final), 18 
May 
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022SC0149&qid=1653034229
953. 

2022, 

(164)  The simplification sets out that only projects consisting of four or 
more wind power plants (units) over 50 m in height are subject to 
the  screening  and  scoping  procedure  under  the  EIA  Directive, 
unless the project is located in a sensitive area (from the point of 
view of nature and landscape protection or noise protection) or is 
located in the vicinity of another planned or existing wind power 
project (to avoid the purposeful and undesirable fragmentation of 
projects), in which case even a single wind power plant is subject 

to  the  screening  and  scoping  procedure 
sbirka.cz/sb/2001/100/2024-01-01). 

(https://www.e-

Impact  Assessment 

(165)  https://www.e-sbirka.cz/sb/2023/148/2024-01-01. 
(166)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Collection of information and data on the implementation of the 
revised  Environmental 
(EIA)  Directive 
(2011/92/EU) as amended by 2014/52/EU), Publications Office of 
the  European  Union,  Luxembourg,  2024,  Tables 5  and  6, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/8349a857-2936-11ef-9290-01aa75ed71a1/. 
(167)  European  Commission:  Directorate-General  for  Environment, 
Lundberg, P., McNeill, A., McGuinn, J., Cantarelli, A. et al., Study 
supporting  the  preparation  of  the  report  on  the  application  and 
effectiveness  of  the  SEA  Directive  (Directive  2001/42/EC)  –  Final 
study,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  2025, 
https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2779/1615072 
(168)  https://portal.cenia.cz/eiasea/view/eia100_cr. 
(169)  For  example,  the  Citizen’s  Guide  through  the  EIA  Process 

(https://arnika.org/obcanuv-pruvodce-po-procesu-eia). 

(170)

https://www.mzp.cz/cz/statisticka_rocenka_zivotniho_prost

redi_publikace. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
respondents if they had tried to influence in any way the 
decisions  of  authorities  on  environmental  issues.  The 
percentage  of  positive  answers  declined  from  10 %  in 
2008 to 7 % in 2018 (171). 

In  the  2022  EIR,  Czechia  received  three  priority  actions 
related to EIAs and SEAs: (i) to supplement the information 
available  on  the  EIA  information  system  with  links  and 
detailed information on how the public can participate; (ii) 
to collect and publish data on public participation in the 
EIA  and  SEA  processes,  and  take  action  to  address  any 
to  complete 
reduction 
transposition  of 
revised  EIA  Directive.  The 
transposition priority action has been resolved. There is no 
information  on  clear  progress  on  the  other  two  priority 
actions. 

in  engagement;  and 

the 

(iii) 

Access to justice 

Access to justice, guaranteed by Article 19(1) of the Treaty 
on  European  Union  and  Article 47  of  the  EU  Charter  of 
Fundamental Rights, is a fundamental right and part of the 
democratic process. It is vital to ensure the full application 
of EU law in all Member States and the legal protection of 
the  rights  of  individuals,  including  in  environmental 
matters.  Access  to  justice  is  essential  to  enable  judicial 
review of the decisions of public authorities and to allow 
the  correction  of  any  wrongdoing  committed  by  these 
authorities. 

This  section  provides  a  snapshot  of  the  state  of  play  of 
access to courts by the public, particularly when it comes 
to challenging plans, or the non-adoption of plans, under 
EU law, in the areas of water, waste, air quality, nature and 
noise,  irrespective  of  the  form  of  the  legal  act  (i.e. 
regulatory act or administrative decision). 

As mentioned in the 2022 EIR, both individuals and NGOs 
have  legal standing only when they can prove that their 
rights  are  concerned.  In  general,  this  threshold  is  easily 
reached. 

There are, however, some difficulties in challenging plans 
and  programmes  and  their  omission  when  these  are 
adopted  as  normative  instruments.  Plans  of  such  legal 
nature  can  only  be  reviewed  before  the  Constitutional 
Court. In these cases, NGOs and individuals do not have 
legal standing. Laws that regulate plans and programmes 
that  are  specifically  required  by  EU  legislation  do  not 
provide for specific rules for an administrative or judicial 
review. 

(171)  More recent survey data are not provided in the publication. 
(172)  The concept is explained in detail in the European Commission’s 
2018  communication  on  EU  actions  to  improve  environmental 
compliance  and  governance  (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-

Czechia  49 

In 2022, Czechia received two priority actions on access to 
justice:  (i)  to  improve  access  to  courts  by  the  public 
concerned when it comes to challenging administrative or 
regulatory  decisions  and  omissions,  and  (ii)  to  better 
inform the public about their access to justice rights. There 
has been no progress on these two priority actions. 

2025 priority actions 

• 

• 

• 

Improve  access  to  courts  in  national  environmental 
cases by the public concerned and eliminate practical 
barriers, such as length of proceedings and excessive 
costs in some Member States. 
Ensure  that  relevant  information  on  EIA  and  SEA 
procedures 
(including  on  public  participation 
opportunities and on publication of final decisions) is 
electronically accessible in a timely manner, through 
at least a central portal or easily accessible points of 
access, at the appropriate administrative level. 
Provide  information  on  the  average  duration  of  all 
steps in the EIA process. 

•  Make  spatial  data  more  widely  accessible  and 
prioritise  environmental  datasets  in  implementing 
the  Inspire  Directive,  especially  those  identified  as 
implementing 
high-value 
environmental legislation. 

spatial  datasets 

for 

Compliance assurance 

Environmental  compliance  assurance  covers  all  work 
undertaken by public authorities to ensure that industries, 
farmers and others fulfil their obligations to protect water, 
air and nature, to manage waste (172) and to remedy any 
environmental  damage.  It  includes  measures  such  as  (i) 
compliance  promotion,  (ii)  compliance  monitoring  (i.e. 
inspections  and  other  checks),  (iii)  enforcement,  that  is, 
steps taken to stop breaches and impose sanctions, and 
(iv)  ensuring  damage  prevention  and  remediation in  line 
with the polluter-pays principle. 

Compliance promotion, monitoring and enforcement 

Non-compliance  with  environmental  obligations  may 
occur for different reasons, including poor understanding 
or  lack  of  acceptance  of  the  rules,  opportunism  or  even 
criminality.  Compliance  promotion  activities  help  duty-
holders to comply by providing information, guidance and 
other  support.  This  is  particularly  important  in  areas 
where new and complex legislation is put in place. 

content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52018DC0010)  and  the  related 
Commission 
(https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52018SC0010). 

document 

working 

staff 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
When  inspections  and  other  control  activities  identify 
problems,  a  range  of  responses  may  be  appropriate, 
the  use  of  administrative  and  criminal 
including 
enforcement tools. 

The  Environmental  Inspectorate  is  working  to  improve 
coordination with law enforcement authorities in the fight 
against  criminal  activity  related  to  waste  management, 
international  biodiversity  protection  and  nature,  and 
landscape and forest protection. To this end, agreements 
have  been  signed  between  the  Czech  Environmental 
Inspectorate and the relevant authorities. As noted in the 
2022 EIR, the Czech Environmental Inspectorate publishes 
yearly  inspection  plans (173)  and  annual  reports (174)  that 
contain  summary  data  on 
inspections  performed, 
including the list and descriptions of the most significant 
instances of non-compliance with national law. 

on 

The 2022 EIR recommended that Czechia (i) improve the 
material  available  to  farmers  and  land  managers  on 
measures to help them implement the Nature Directives 
and  the  Nitrates  Directive;  (ii)  provide  public  access  to 
detailed  information  on  the  follow-up  to  breaches  or 
repeated  cases  of  non-compliance 
identified  during 
inspections; (iii)  follow through on measures to improve 
coordination  among  public  authorities  responsible  for 
tackling  environmental  crime  and  publish  relevant 
information 
coordination 
agreements 
arrangements  in  a  timely  manner;  and  (iv)  facilitate  the 
right  to  complain  about  environmental  damages  or 
problems  of  compliance  by  providing  visible  and  user-
friendly  information  on  relevant  authorities’  websites. 
Concerning  compliance  promotion,  monitoring,  and 
criminal  and  administrative  enforcement,  the  2022 
priority  actions  are  not  assessed  here  due  to  lack  of 
systematic  information.  Similarly,  the  Commission  is  not 
aware of whether information is easily available online at 
the national level for farmers regarding compliance with 
the  Nitrates  and  Nature  Directives,  and  hence  the  2022 
priority action is not assessed. 

and 

The new EU Environmental Crime Directive 

The EU has recently strengthened its legal framework on 
tackling  the  most  serious  breaches  of  environmental 
obligations,  notably  by  the  adoption  of  the  new 
Environmental  Crime  Directive  (ECD)  (175)  and  new 
sectoral 
stronger  provisions  on 
compliance  monitoring,  enforcement  and  penalties. 

legislation  with 

(173)  https://www.cizp.cz/Plany-cinnosti. 
(174)  https://www-cizp-cz.translate.goog/cizp/vyrocni-

zpravy?_x_tr_sl=cs&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=it&_x_tr_pto=wapp. 

(175)  Directive  2024/1203/EU  on  the  protection  of  the  environment 
https://eur-

criminal 

law 

through 
lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2024/1203/oj/eng. 

(176)  https://www.impel.eu/en. 

Czechia  50 

for 

important 

transposition  and 

Issues 
the 
the 
implementation  of  the  relevant  new  instruments  are 
highlighted below; a detailed assessment of these topics 
will be included in the next EIR once more implementation 
measures  are  put 
in  place  and  more  systematic 
information is available. 

The  new  ECD  replaced  the  2008  ECD  and  introduced 
several  new  offence  categories,  such  as  unlawful  ship 
recycling,  unlawful  water  abstraction,  and  serious 
breaches  of  EU 
legislation  on  chemicals,  mercury, 
fluorinated GHG and IAS of EU concern. It also covered the 
establishment  of  qualified  offences,  subject  to  more 
severe penalties where one of the offences defined in the 
directive  leads  to  serious  widespread  and  substantial 
damage  or  destruction  of  the  environment.  Concrete 
provisions on the types and levels of penalties for natural 
and  legal  persons  who  commit  an  offence  were  also 
introduced.  Other  provisions  will  help  considerably  to 
improve  the  effectiveness  in  combating  environmental 
crime  of  all  actors  along  the  enforcement  chain.  These 
include  obligations  to  ensure  adequate  resources  and 
investigative  tools,  specialised  regular  training  and  the 
establishment  of  cooperation  mechanisms  within  and 
between Member States as well as national strategies on 
combating environmental crime. 

including  by 

Member  States  are  required  to  transpose  the  new  ECD 
into national law by 21 May 2026 and to take additional 
measures  to  more  effectively  combat  environmental 
crime, 
in  particular  through  training,  coordination, 
cooperation  and  strategic  approaches.  The  Commission 
facilitating  the 
will  provide  support, 
identification  and  sharing  of  good  practices.  Member 
States are expected to ensure the necessary resources and 
specialised  skills  required  and  they  are 
invited  to 
encourage their authorities to support and cooperate with 
the  recognised  EU-level  networks  of  environmental 
enforcement practitioners, such as the EU Network for the 
Implementation  and  Enforcement  of  Environmental 
Law (176),  EnviCrimeNet (177),  the  European  Network  of 
Prosecutors for the Environment (178) or the  EU Forum of 
Judges  for  the  Environment (179).  The  European  Union 
Agency for Law Enforcement  Cooperation and European 
Justice  Cooperation 
Union  Agency 
mechanisms for cooperation on cross-border cases should 
be used more systematically for environmental offences. 

for  Criminal 

(177) 

LIFE+SATEC 
(https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/life/publicWebsite/project/LIFE2
0-PRE-ES-000001/fight-against-environmental-crime-at-a-
strategic-level-through-the-strengthening-of-envicrimenet-
network-of-experts-in-environmental-criminal-investigations). 

project 

(178)  https://www.environmentalprosecutors.eu. 
(179)  https://www.eufje.org/index.php?lang=en. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
Czechia  51 

Environmental Liability Directive 

The  Environmental  Liability  Directive  (ELD)  (180)  aims  to 
ensure that environmental damage is remediated in kind 
at the expense of those who have caused it, in line with 
the polluter-pays principle. It helps to halt the net loss in 
biodiversity,  as  well  as  reducing  the  number  of 
contaminated  sites  and  protecting  the  environmental 
quality of groundwater and surface waters. The ELD is a 
cross-cutting 
for  better 
tool  and  a  key  enabler 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

The  ELD  addresses  cases  of  significant  environmental 
damage  to  protected  species  and  natural  habitats,  and, 
when caused by operators carrying out certain potentially 
hazardous  activities,  also  damages  to  water  and  to  soil. 
The  Commission  has  the  legal  obligation  to  periodically 
evaluate  the  ELD.  The  ELD  has  undergone  the  second 
evaluation (181),  which  was  finalised  in  2025,  and  which 
was  supported  by  an  external  study  (182),  containing, 
among  other  things,  evidence,  views,  reports  and  other 
relevant information gathered from different stakeholder 
groups, including Member States. 

indicators 

in  assessing 
One  of  the  most  relevant 
implementation  and  enforcement  of  the  ELD  is  the 
number  of  environmental  damage  cases  handled  under 
the  ELD,  especially  when  this  number  is  compared  with 
the previous reporting period. Fewer ELD cases have been 
reported in the second reporting period (2013–2022) than 
in  the  first  one  (2007–2013).  However,  the  downward 
tendency  in  the  number  of  ELD  occurrences  and  their 
overall low number do not necessarily mean that the ELD 
has  achieved  its  objectives,  as  it  needs  to  be  compared 
with the overall number of environmental damage cases, 
some  of  which  may  have  been  handled under  the  other 
liability instruments. 

The ELD has not always been effective in ensuring that the 
polluter  pays,  because  the  liable  operators  often  lack 
financial  capacity  to  carry  out  remediation  measures. 
While the ELD does not provide for a mandatory financial 
security  system,  it  explicitly  calls  for  Member  States  to 
encourage 
financial  security 
instruments  and  markets,  with  the  aim  of  enabling 
operators  to  use  financial  guarantees  to  cover  their 
responsibilities under this directive. 

the  development  of 

From 1 May 2013 to 31 December 2021, Czechia did not 
identify any occurrences of environmental damage under 
the  ELD.  However,  Czechia  reported  eight  cases  of 
environmental damage that were initially considered ELD 
occurrences,  but  finally  were  managed  under  other 
national  environmental 
In  the  previous 
reporting period, no environmental damage occurrences 
were reported under the ELD. 

legislation. 

In its national legislation transposing the ELD, adopted in 
2008, Czechia introduced mandatory financial security for 
ELD liabilities for some categories of economic operators. 
Environmental  insurance  policies  are  widely  available. 
However, only a few insurers provide coverage for gradual 
(in  addition  to  sudden  and  accidental)  environmental 
damage.  Some  insurers  either  limit  or  do  not  provide 
coverage  for  biodiversity  damage  under  the  ELD.  While 
environmental extensions to general liability policies are 
also widely available, they most typically cover claims only 
for  bodily  injury,  property  damage  and  the  cost  of 
remediating off-site land or soil pollution resulting from a 
sudden and accidental incident at an insured site. Thus the 
only  type  of  insurance  that  satisfies  the  mandatory 
in 
financial  security  requirements  for  ELD 
Czechia is an environmental insurance policy. 

liabilities 

The  2022  EIR  recommended  that  Czechia  provide  more 
detailed  and  up-to-date  information  on  environmental 
damages  through  a  central  database  or  registry,  and 
encourage citizens to report environmental damages. 

There is limited information available about the progress 
on this. The efforts to implement the 2022 priority action 
should continue along with the 2025 priority action. 

2025 priority action 

• 

Encourage the use of training programmes provided 
by  the  Commission  (or  developed  at  the  national 
level) covering the ELD and its interaction with other 
national liability-related instruments, to ensure more 
efficient ELD implementation, improve  the expertise 
of  the  competent  authorities  and  raise  awareness 
among all stakeholder groups. 

EU-supported environmental capacity building 

The Commission’s 2023 Compact (183) initiative to enhance 

(180)  Directive 2004/35/EC on environmental liability with regard to the 
prevention and remedying of environmental damage https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02004L0035-20190626. 

(181)  Commission  staff  working  document  -  Evaluation  of  the 

Environmental Liability Directive, forthcoming 2025. 

(182)  European Commission: Directorate-General for Environment and 
Fogleman,  V.,  Study 
in  support  of  the  evaluation  of  the 
Environmental  Liability  Directive  and  its  implementation –  Final 

report,  Publications  Office  of  the  European  Union,  Luxembourg, 
2024, 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-
/publication/006d90e5-980a-11ef-a130-
01aa75ed71a1/language-en. 

(183)  See 

the  European  Commission  web  page  on  Compact 
(https://reform-support.ec.europa.eu/public-administration-and-
governance-coordination/enhancing-european-administrative-
space-compact_en). 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
the administrative space identifies the capacity to lead the 
green transition as one of three key pillars, along with the 
public  administration  skills  agenda  and  the  capacity  for 
Europe’s Digital Decade. Compact also recognises the role 
of  the  EIR  reporting  tool  in  improving  environmental 
governance. The two main capacity-building opportunities 
the  European 
for 
Commission  are  the  TSI (184)  and  the  TAIEX-EIR  PEER  2 
PEER tool (185). The technical assistance available through 
the cohesion policy is subject to shared management and 
is not dealt with in this subsection. 

the  environment  provided  by 

The Commission’s technical support instrument  

The  TSI  provides  Member  States  with  tailor-made 
technical expertise on the design and implementation of 
reforms.  The  support  is  demand  driven  and  does  not 
require national co-financing. 

The  TSI  had  annual  calls  in  2021,  2022,  2023,  2024  and 
2025.  The  following  environment-related  projects  have 
been selected for Czechia: 

• 

•  Methodology  for  the  application  of  the  DNSH 
principle  at  the  national  level,  beneficiary:  Office  of 
the Government of the Czech Republic (2022); 
Supporting  evidence-based  regulatory  practice  and 
policy coherence for implementing the 2030  agenda 
for sustainable development  in Czechia, beneficiary: 
Office  of  the  Government  of  the  Czech  Republic 
(2023); 

•  Climate adaptation: wildfire prevention and capacity 

building in the Czech Republic (2023); 

• 

•  Mid-term  evaluation  to  the  SME  support  strategy 
2021+,  beneficiary:  Ministry  of  Industry  and  Trade 
(2024); 
Support  for  the  preparation  of  social  climate  plans, 
beneficiary: Ministry of the Environment (2024); 
•  Comparison  of  water  management  policy  and 
drought management in the Czech Republic with the 
Public. 
countries 

Southern 

Europe 

of 

(a 

(184)  See 

the  European  Commission  web  page  on 

the  TSI 

(https://commission.europa.eu/funding-tenders/find-
funding/eu-funding-programmes/technical-support-
instrument/technical-support-instrument-tsi_en). 

(185)  See the European Commission web page on the TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 
(https://environment.ec.europa.eu/law-and-

PEER 
governance/environmental-implementation-review/peer-2-
peer_en).  

tool 

(186)  Flagship  multi-country  workshops  in  the  reporting  period  are 
Recast  Drinking    Water  Directive  (3  April  2025);  Environmental 
compliance  and  governance  (18  March  2025);  Planning  of 
Renewable  Energy  Projects  (20  February  2025);  Air  Quality: 
Implementation  of  the  revised  Air  Quality  Directive  (16  January 
2025); Industrial safety: awareness raising of emerging risks linked 
with climate change and decarbonation (12 December 2024): Air 
Quality:  Implementation  of  the  NECD  to  further  mainstream  air 
in  agricultural  policy 
reduction 
and  broader  pollution 

Czechia  52 

Administration  Cooperation 
beneficiary: Ministry of Agriculture (2024). 

Exchange  project,  

The Commission’s TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER tool 

The Commission launched the TAIEX-EIR PEER 2 PEER tool 
in 2017. It aims to facilitate peer-to-peer learning among 
Member  States’  environmental  authorities  through 
workshops  (single  or  multi-country),  expert  missions 
(where  a  delegation  of  experts  travels  to  the  requesting 
institution) and study visits (where a delegation from the 
requesting institution travels to a host country). Flagship 
multi-country  workshops  are  those  requested  by  the 
Commission to present new and upcoming environmental 
legislation and policy in all Member States (186).  

Workshops involving Czechia are as follows: 

•  Climate adaptation and blue infrastructures (30 May–

1 June 2022); 
•  Circular  economy 

in  the  Midlands  (4–6 October 

• 

2022); 
Future  challenges  in  the  air  protection  in  Europe 
(24 November  2022),  in  collaboration  with  the  EU 
Czech Presidency; 

•  Make  space  for  biodiversity:  Regional  action  to 
mainstream  biodiversity  and  empower  stakeholders 
(21–23 March 2023); 

•  Decentralised  biowaste  recycling 

in  Austria  (9–

11 October 2023); 

•  Biodiversity, nature conservation and large predators: 

Examples across European regions (4–6 June 2024); 

•  Online  platforms:  EU  Batteries,  Packaging  and 
Packaging Waste Regulation (28–29 October 2024); 
•  New aspects in the cross-border cooperation against 
environmental crime (19–20 November 2024); 
Freight  transport  by  rail  (in  relation  to  waste 
transport) (17 - 18 March 2025). 

• 

2025 priority action 

(25 September  2024);  Industrial  emissions  transposition  and 
implementation  of  the  revised  directive  (12 September  2024); 
Noise:  progress  towards  meeting  Member  States’  noise  limit 
values and EU reduction targets (5 June 2024); Best practice use 
of  environmental  footprint  methods  on  the  EU  market  (30 May 
2024);  Sustainable  finance  (9 November  2023);  Textile  waste 
separate collection, treatment and markets (3 October 2023); EU 
environmental  funding  and  support  (13 June  2023);  Advisory 
service for businesses to go circular (24 April 2023); Digital product 
passport implementation (6 December 2022); Public involvement 
in  planning  and  approval  of  renewable  energy  projects 
(17 November 2022); Environmental compliance and governance 
(14 November  2022);  Biowaste  management  (19-20 September 
2022);  and  Renewable  energy  projects:  permitting  granting 
processes (13 June 2022). NB: The first flagship workshop on zero 
pollution for air, water and soil took place on 9 February 2022. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  53 

• 

Improve overall national environmental governance, 
in  particular  administrative  capacity  to  support  the 
green transition and coordination at the regional and 
local levels. 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  54 

Annex 

2025 priority actions 
Circular economy and waste management 
Transitioning to a circular economy 

• 

Speed up the transition to a circular economy by implementing an updated national strategy and the 
EU  framework  and  recommendations,  in  particular  to  complement  it  with  upstream  circularity 
measures. 

• 
• 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Waste management 

Invest in waste prevention measures to reduce the total amount of waste generated. 
Implement, harmonise, and gradually increase landfill taxes to phase out landfilling of recyclable and 
recoverable waste. 
Further  shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away  from  incineration,  including  through  economic 
instruments.  
Improve separate collection at source e.g. through economic instruments, investing in infrastructure 
for separate collection, sorting and recycling, and increasing public awareness. 
Increase the recycling rates of packaging waste. 
Improve municipal waste preparation for reuse and recycling. 
Increase the collection and recycling rate of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). 
Implement and expand the pay-as-you-throw system for businesses and households. 
Develop EPR schemes for problematic waste and introduce fee modulation. 

Biodiversity and natural capital 
Recovery of species  

Strengthen the integration of biodiversity actions into other policies (e.g. on energy, agriculture, 
fisheries, forestry, urban and infrastructure planning and sustainable tourism) and promote 
communication between stakeholders. 

Recovery of ecosystems 

Implement eco-schemes and agri-environmental measures and practices to address the environmental 
needs of Czechia. 
Ensure sustainable management of forests, including by adopting the national forest programme post-
2020, and consider the conservation objectives of Natura 2000 forest sites when developing the national 
forest management plan. 

Prevention and management of invasive alien species  

Step up implementation of the IAS Regulation, including with regard to enforcement and the capacity of 
inspection authorities. 

•  Ratify  the  International  Convention  for  the  Control  and  Management  of  Ships’  Ballast  Water  and 

Sediments of 2004 (BWM Convention). 

• 

Support the development of the national business and biodiversity network. 

Ecosystem assessment and accounting  

Zero pollution 
Clean air 

•  As part of the NAPCP, take action to reduce emissions of air pollutants. 
• 

Ensure full compliance with the current AAQD standards, also in light of future stricter requirements 
under the revised AAQD. 

Industrial emissions 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Czechia  55 

•  Complete the correct transposition of the IED 1.0. 
•  Reduce industrial air pollution damage and intensity. 
•  Reduce industrial releases to water and their intensity. 
• 

Engage with industry and environmental NGOs to ensure proper contribution to and implementation of 
BAT conclusions and ensure timely updates to permits following the publication of BAT conclusions. 
Ensure effective public participation and access to justice in relation to the IED. 

Ensure full and correct transposition of the Seveso III Directive. 

Major industrial accidents prevention – Seveso 

• 

• 

•  Complete and implement action plans on noise management. 

Water quality and management 

Noise 

•  Reduce pollution from nutrients, chemicals, metals and saline discharges. 
•  Develop  more  robust  programmes  of  measures,  tackle  obstacles  identified  in  the  implementation  of 
measures  and  ensure  adequate  financing  for  implementation,  including  through  better  use  of  cost 
recovery and the polluter-pays principle. 
Improve  river  continuity  and  ecological  flows,  boosting  efforts  on  nature-based  solutions  to  reduce 
hydromorphological pressures. 

• 

Improve the classification of water bodies and strengthen monitoring systems. 

•  Better justify exemptions to the achievement of good status. 
• 
•  Consider future climate scenarios in the FRMPs. 
• 

FRMPs  should  provide  details  on  how  the  FHRMs  were  used  in  the  choice  of  measures  and  how  to 
consider pluvial flooding. 

•  Better  explain  the  choice  and  implementation  of  flood  prevention  and  protection  measures 

• 
• 

• 

(prioritisation, monitoring, costs of measures). 
Improve public consultation and stakeholder involvement. 
Tackle  nutrient  pollution,  especially  nitrates  from  agriculture,  through  the  implementation  of  the 
Nitrates Directive. 
Take the necessary measures to ensure full implementation of the current UWWTD, taking into account 
the new requirements of the recast directive. 

Chemicals 
•  Upgrade the administrative capacities in implementation and enforcement to move towards a policy of 

• 

• 

• 

zero tolerance of non-compliance. 
Increase involvement in the activities of the Forum for Exchange of Information on Enforcement of the 
European Chemicals Agency, including in the coordinated enforcement projects, called REF projects. 
Increase customs checks and checks of products sold online with regard to compliance with chemicals 
legislation. 

Climate action 

In the next period Czechia should focus on implementing all polices and measures that are needed to 
achieve  targets  defined  by  Effort  Sharing  Regulation  and  LULUCF  regulation.  More  detailed  priority 
actions are identified in the assessment of the final national energy and climate plan (NECP). 

Financing 
•  Use more national funding (for instance by increasing taxes in favour of the environment and reducing 

environmentally harmful subsidies), EU funding and private funding to help close the investment gap. 
Environmental governance 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Czechia  56 

• 

• 

Improve  access  to  courts  in  national  environmental  cases  by  the  public  concerned  and  eliminate 
practical barriers, such as length of proceedings and excessive costs in some Member States. 
Ensure  that  relevant  information  on  EIA  and  SEA  procedures  (including  on  public  participation 
opportunities  and  on  publication  of  final  decisions)  is  electronically  accessible  in  a  timely  manner, 
through at least a central portal or easily accessible points of access, at the appropriate administrative 
level. 
Provide information on the average duration of all steps in the EIA process. 

• 
•  Make spatial data  more widely accessible and prioritise environmental datasets in implementing the 
implementing 

Inspire  Directive,  especially  those 
environmental legislation. 
Encourage the use of training programmes provided by the Commission (or developed at the national 
level) covering the ELD and its interaction with other national liability-related instruments, to ensure 
more  efficient  ELD  implementation,  improve  the  expertise  of  the  competent  authorities  and  raise 
awareness among all stakeholder groups. 
Improve overall national environmental governance, in particular administrative capacity to support the 
green transition and coordination at the regional and local levels. 

identified  as  high-value  spatial  datasets  for 

• 

• 

2025 Environmental Implementation Review – Czechia