NERV member: Church property return to benefit Czech state

Prague, Aug 30 (CTK) - The Czech state-church property settlement will markedly boost the economy and bring 28 billion crowns to the state budget in the next 50 years, Jiri Schwarz, a member of the government's National Economic Council (NERV), told reporters Thursday.

The opposition Social Democrats (CSSD) have criticised Schwarz's statements.

Government spokesman Michal Schuster said this was Schwarz's opinion only and not a stance of the whole NERV.

"The property settlement with churches is a very significant pro-growth factor for the Czech economy in view of the investments in the property," Schwarz said.

He pointed to the fact that the churches would pay taxes on the plots and real estate returned to them. Moreover, they will invest in their operation, he added.

The churches can, for instance, operate hospices and special health care facilities in the buildings. Consequently, they would focus on the services that are strongly demanded in society but the state does not have enough finances for them, Schwarz said.

"Mr Schwarz is making fun of us completely and he even has the gall to present it at the NERV. Since the NERV has never debated it," CSSD shadow finance minister Jan Mladek told reporters in the afternoon.

A number of the NERV members do not share Schwarz's opinions, he added.

Schwarz, who was preparing the property settlement with churches under culture minister Pavel Dostal (CSSD, in office 1998-2005), recalled that the current centre-right government offered about 550 million crowns less to the churches than the sum calculated by the previous CSSD government.

He also stressed that the state would not fund churches from the budget as of 2043 and would have a net profit from the church property return as of 2055.

The Chamber of Deputies passed the bill returning the former property confiscated by the communist regime to 17 churches on July 14. The left-dominated Senate, the upper house, turned it down on August 15 as expected.

The government will need at least an absolute majority of 101 votes in the 200-seat lower house to outvote the senators' veto. Deputies will deal with the bill again in September.

Under the government bill, churches are to be returned land and real estate worth 75 billion and given 59 billion crowns in financial compensation for unreturned property during the following 30 years. The largest sum, 47 billion crowns, would go to the Roman Catholic Church.

The state is to gradually cease financing the churches. The transitional period is to last 17 years.

The CSSD sharply criticises the government-proposed property return to the churches, especially the financial compensation. The CSSD calls the government bill a gift to the churches in its campaign ahead of the autumn Senate and regional elections.

Moreover, several civic groups protest against the church restitution bill. Public opinion polls have showed that a majority of Czechs are also against it.

President Vaclav Klaus also expressed doubts about the bill on the state-church property settlement.

Klaus will not sign it unless Prime Minister Petr Necas guarantees that the law will not break the restitution deadline of the 1948 communist coup and would not be applied to older cases, Klaus wrote in a letter addressed to Necas (Civic Democrats ODS) and the deputy prime ministers, Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) and Karolina Peake (LIDEM).

Necas did not react to Klaus's call Thursday.

He only told journalists that he would definitely tell his response to the president first.

The CSSD wants the government to submit reliable stances of three respected Czech constitutional lawyers who will state that the 1948 deadline will not be violated.