The Ministry of Regional Development of the Czech Republic, the organiser of the European Habitat Conference in Prague, is one of the central state administration bodies of the Czech Republic and is responsible for areas specified in relevant legal documents. With regard to the scope of its powers, competences and responsibility for funds management, it plays an important role in state administration.
The ministry was established with effect from 1 November, 1996, and is the central state administration body in the following areas:

• Regional policy
• Housing policy
• Development of housing stock
• Lease of residential and commercial premises
• Land use planning
• Building regulations
• Expropriation
• Investment policy
• Tourism
• Public auctions and real estate activities
• Funeral services

• Manages the funds allocated to the state housing and regional policies, and coordinates activities of ministries and other central state administration bodies in implementation of the state housing and regional policies;
• Performs the role of the National Coordination Authority, which sets a single framework for the management and implementation of support provided from the Structural Funds and the Cohesion Fund in the Czech Republic;
• Performs activities associated with the cohesion policy of the EU in the Czech Republic, which focuses on reduction of disparities in the level of development of various regions of the country and on convergence of the economic level of the Czech Republic to the level of the EU;
• Is responsible for participation of the Czech Republic in the Territorial Agenda of the EU, which forms a strategic and action framework of Europe’s territorial development in connection with the national territorial development concepts;
• Provides information and methodology assistance to higher territorial self-governing units, towns, municipalities and their associations, and performs activities linked to the process of inclusion of higher territorial self-governing units in European regional structures.