Today, the government approved the conditions for applicants for artist status

Proposal according to the Minister of Culture Martin Baxa it is based on practice in other EU countries, it reflects the specific position of artists who do not have employment relationships. It also includes a mechanism to help artists get support in emergency situations, Baxa told reporters.

According to the proposal, a person who has been performing an artistic activity for at least two of the last three years could be entered in the register on the basis of a submitted application. In order to receive the allowance, he must not be a student and must not be in an employment relationship that exceeds half of the weekly working time at the time of application. At the same time, his income from artistic activities for the last two years should constitute at least half of his total income and should not exceed the average salary. According to the proposal, which will now be considered by the House of Representatives, the Ministry will announce a selection procedure for the provision of scholarships at least once a year, including the rules and deadline for applying for a scholarship.

According to the authors, the standard is mainly intended to help people who are engaged in artistic activities mainly outside of employment relations. “From the collected background analysis, it follows that this is the most endangered group of artists who face a number of disadvantages and obstacles in the performance of their profession,” it stands in the documents of the law. The introduction of artist status is part of the National Recovery Plan, which defines reforms and investments for the implementation of which money will be provided by the European Union.

The National Recovery Plan was created to mitigate the effects of the covid-19 epidemic and restart the economy with the use of European money from the EU Recovery and Resilience Instrument between 2021 and 2027. Last September, the European Commission approved its revised form and at the same time an increase in the amount of money intended Czech Republic by 2.2 billion euros to 9.2 billion euros (232.5 billion crowns).