NEWS
Klaus to miss celebrations marking EU presidency
President Václav Klaus will not attend tonight’s festivities at the National Theatre to mark the Czech Republic’s assumption of the EU presidency. Klaus will meet with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and other EU commissioners at Prague Castle earlier in the day.
LN 1, 3
Most KDU-ČSL regional leaders want Kalousek to stay in govt
Ahead of a Friday Christian Democrat (KDU-ČSL) conference, most party regional leaders think Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek should not leave government in a planned cabinet reshuffle. Yesterday, the KDU-ČSL presidium recommended to remove Kalousek from the cabinet, while PM Mirek Topolánek confirmed he had also proposed the departure of KDU-ČSL chairman and Local Development Minister Jiří Čunek. Topolánek said the cabinet could fall if KDU-ČSL did not respect the proposal. President Václav Klaus said removing a finance minister that achieved the lowest budget gap in years would not be wise.
most Czech press
Three ‘E’s’ mark Czech EU presidency
Three E’s: economics, energy and Europe in the world, sum up the priorities of the Czech EU presidency, PM Mirek Topolánek said Tuesday. He said reinforcing energy security would be the country’s main contribution. Prague would also focus on ways to help Europe recover from the global financial crisis.
Právo 3
Police expect demonstrations during EU meetings
Police will restrict traffic and parking near the Prague Congress Centre as well as the movement of pedestrians near the Vyšehrad metro station during meetings of EU officials. The news portal Aktuálně.cz reported an illegal demonstration is planned for today for the official launch ceremony of the Czech EU presidency.
most Czech press
Radar opponents plan protest in Brussels
The Mayors’ League Against the Radar and the Nonviolence movement have joined forces against a planned US radar base at the Brdy military area and are planning to go to Brussels in February to raise the issue in the European Parliament. The mayors point out that surveys say two-thirds of Czechs oppose the radar.
Právo 4
ČSSD regional chiefs demand Dryml’s resignation
Chairmen of the 13 ČSSD regional authorities have called on ČSSD Senator Vladimír Dryml to resign as deputy governor of the Hradec Králové region. Dryml allegedly hired a detective agency to gather information on fellow party MP Hana Orgoníková. The ČSSD authorities have threatened to terminate Dryml’s party membership if he fails to step down.
ČTK, MfD A2, Právo 5
Half of Czechs want less influence for Communists
Half of all Czechs would like to see the Communists have less influence in society, while nearly two-thirds of people do not want to see the party hold top positions in government, according to a December poll by STEM. More than 51,000 people have signed an online petition calling on ministers on 19 January to back a Senate-sponsored proposal to ban the Communist Party.
ČTK
State planning online map to fight gambling
The Finance Ministry is preparing to launch an online map of casinos and places operating slot machines to gain better control over gambling. Part of the plan would be to link the map with state authorities and the Czech Statistical Office.
HN 15, 18
BUSINESS
Gas supplies to ČR halted
Gas supplies to the Czech Republic were halted completely last night, according to the latest ČTK report. RWE Transgas said existing Czech gas inventories would last about 40 days.
ČTK
Czechs negotiating special route for Russian gas
The Czech Republic is seeking an agreement with Russia to import natural gas via the Jamal pipeline through Poland, thereby averting problems in Ukraine, Deputy Industry Minister Tomáš Hüner confirmed to HN. He said it wasn’t clear the negotiations would succeed. Czech President Václav Klaus is expected today to discuss Russian gas supplies with Russia’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, Alexei Fedotov.
iHned.cz, ČTK
Česká plynárenská signs gas contract in Norway
Czech gas importer Česká plynárenská has signed an extraordinary contract to purchase roughly a million cubic meters of gas a day from Norwegian producer Statoil. The portal iDnes.cz reports the company will sell the gas to RWE Transgas.
iDnes.cz
Hyundai’s Czech plant to cut production
Two months after launching operations, Hyundai’s Nošovice plant has agreed with unions to reduce production to four days a week, the daily E15 reported. Hyundai spokesman Petr Vaněk said the company would give more details at a news conference today. The TPCA car plant in Kolín, by contrast, said it would not reduce output in the near future and would like to raise production this year.
most Czech press
New flats getting cheaper
Real estate companies have confirmed a drop in new flat prices all over the country, mainly due to a fall in demand and fears over the financial crisis. Prices have dropped by as much as CZK 500,000 on properties offered by developers such as Central Group. Other developers such as Skanska or Orco try to lure clients with rebates and reduced garage prices.
HN 16, MfD A1, B2
Currency exchanges prey on Slovaks trying to convert crowns
Hospodářské noviny reports that many currency exchange offices are taking advantage of Slovaks trying to exchange Slovak crowns here after the country adopted the euro on 1 January. The offices are offering exchange rates as low as CZK 500/SK 1000 hoping for quick gains. The fact that only Komerční banka and Česká spořitelna, among banks, will currently accept Slovak crowns plays into the offices’ favour.
HN 1, 6
Czech brokers: more clients, less income in 2008
The number of clients trading on the stock exchange via the four biggest brokers on the Czech market, Atlantik FT, brokerjet, Fio Burzovní and Patria Direct, increased to 54,000 last year from 35,000 despite the huge losses the PSE experienced. The number of shares traded in 2008 also rose from a year earlier in spite of greater investor caution. All four brokers confirmed they expect 2008 net income to fall compared with 2007.
HN 15
Wage growth in industry exceeds productivity
Nominal wage growth in Czech industry has begun to outstrip increases in labour productivity in the past year, with the difference reaching some six percentage points on average, Raiffeisenbank analyst Aleš Michl said. The difference between wages and productivity is greatest in the food, timber and mining sectors.
ČTK
EVCA: ČR worst place for venture capital
The Czech Republic placed last among 27 European countries based on its tax and legal environment for alternative sources of project finance, a 2008 study by the European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (EVCA) has shown.
ČTK
Prague Airport raises profit by a fifth
Prague Airport saw its gross earnings for the period January-November rise by nearly a fifth year-on-year to CZK 1.7 billion, spokeswoman Eva Krejčí said Tuesday. The number of passengers in 2008 increased by 2% to a record 12.7 million.
HN 19, MfD B3
Prazdroj to supply beer for EU presidency events
Plzeňský Prazdroj has won a tender to be the official beer supplier to events of the Czech EU presidency. The brewer is expected to supply 5,000 litres of draught beer and 2,500 litres of bottled beer during the events.
ČTK
J&T plans CZK 2.5bn wind farm
The Czech-Slovak financial group J&T plans to build a CZK 2.5 billion wind farm near the northern Bohemian village of Moldava. The facility will have an output of 75 megawatts and begin operating in 2011, Martin Maňák of J&T said Tuesday.
ČTK
