The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences joins the Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences and other research institutions in their disagreement with the sudden reduction in science funding in the state budget for 2025 and shares their concerns about the consequences of this step.
"The outgoing government's cuts to research funding, including a significant financial cut to the Czech Academy of Sciences, is a move that is completely unprecedented, incomprehensible, and unsystematic. Any government that considers science and research a priority should not allow such a thing to happen. Making such cuts in order to plug the gap in the salaries of non-teaching staff just before the end of the year, in the second half of November, is irresponsible and foolish," says Michael Prouza, director of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
According to Resolution No. 914/2025 of the Government of the Czech Republic dated November 19, 2025, the government decided to reduce funds allocated for research, development, and innovation by CZK 790 million and to transfer part of the funds originally earmarked for research to the salaries of non-teaching staff at schools. The budget of the Czech Science Foundation (GA ČR), which is a key pillar of basic research funding, was reduced by CZK 160 million. Additional funds were also taken from the Czech Academy of Sciences (CZK 141 million), the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (CZK 100 million), and universities. Thanks to the active approach of the management of the Czech Academy of Sciences and intensive negotiations with the Czech Ministry of Finance, the amount of money that the Czech Academy of Sciences must return was ultimately reduced to CZK 91 million.
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