NEWS
Lower chamber might disband next Tuesday
Lower house chairman Miloslav Vlček called for a meeting next Tuesday to vote on the chamber’s dissolution. Today or tomorrow, MPs should endorse the constitutional change and an election law amendment that would enable the disbanding. If endorsed, the changes should also be approved by the senate, which will meet on Friday.
Source: ČTK
Lower house approves cutting budget discussions short
The lower chamber endorsed a programme change yesterday, enabling speedier discussions concerning the state budget. The proposal, presented by ČSSD Shadow Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, should shorten the period from the current 30 days to five. The proposal now goes to the senate.
Source: ČTK, Právo 2
Kocáb: Media to blame for MPs’ lack of interest in muzzle law
Human Rights and Minorities Minister Michael Kocáb said yesterday that MPs have no interest in endorsing the “muzzle law” as the lower house failed to include the bill on its programme on back-to-back days. Kocáb said media play a role in this as they no longer report on the topic. The amendment would enable media to publish secret information when it is in the public interest.
Source: ČTK
Survey: KDU-ČSL would not make it into parliament
An August Median poll shows the ČSSD would win with 34.4%, followed by the ODS with 32.8%. KDU-ČSL would not make it into parliament, with only 3.5%. Median admits that the drop in the KDU-ČSL’s numbers might be due to a statistical error. KDU-ČSL head Cyril Svoboda believes that the statistics do not reflect reality.
Source: ČTK, LN 1, 3, Právo 3
TOP 09 targets Baník fans
TOP 09 approached the head of the Baník Ostrava football team, Martin Lukeš, to run as a candidate in Moravia-Silesia. Political scientists are uncertain whether the candidacy could steer thousands of Baník fans to vote for TOP 09, but won’t rule out that the move could convert some ČSSD voters in the region.
Source: LN 1, 4
Liechtenstein bank account data ready in Berlin
Former Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said yesterday that information on Czech citizens’ bank accounts in Liechtenstein is available for authorities. Finance Ministry spokesman Ondřej Jakob said the data will be picked up in Berlin soon and examined by the tax authority.
Source: most Czech press
Constitutional Court rejects rightist’s complaint
The Constitutional Court rejected the complaint yesterday by one of the 10 alleged neo-Nazis arrested in June. The prisoner claims that no reason exists for his incarceration. Judges did not deal with the complaint but rejected it as unfounded.
Source: ČTK
Czech-Austrian committee to study mutual heritage
The Czech and Austrian foreign ministers, Jan Kohout and Michael Spindelegger, respectively, signed a memorandum to create a historians committee to study the countries’ mutual heritage. Spindelegger said the committee will also examine the Beneš decrees, which enabled the deportation of German-speaking citizens and the confiscation of their property after the second world war.
Source: ČTK
BUSINESS
ODS endorses Janota’s budget savings
The Civic Democrats changed their pre-election strategy yesterday to essentially match Finance Minister Eduard Janota’s budget proposal that plans for a CZK 230 billion deficit in 2010. ODS Deputy Chairman Petr Nečas told HN that the party doesn’t agree with Janota’s proposals, but, due to the postponed elections, the Finance Minister’s package is “better than nothing”.
Source: HN 1, 2, 3
Škoda Auto, ČEZ fourth and fifth in TOP 500 CEE firms
The annual list of the TOP 500 CEE business leaders compiled by Deloitte placed Škoda Auto at fourth and ČEZ at fifth in the region. RWE Transgas ended up at 19th. The Czech Republic had 69 firms in the TOP 500 and moved up one slot from last year to second place among the 18 states. Poland remained first, with 188 firms. PKN Orlen topped the list but also had the most losses, as opposed to ČEZ, the company with the highest market value. Hungary and Ukraine took the third and fourth slots.
Source: HN 1 + special business section
Inflation hits lowest point in six years in August
Inflation grew 0.2% compared to last year in August, the slowest growth in six years and lower than a central bank (ČNB) estimate of 0.5%, according to data from the Czech Statistical Office. Prices fell 0.2% compared to July. ČNB governor Zdeněk Tůma said that despite lower numbers, inflation is expected to return to its 2% target.
Source: HN 15, MfD B4
Chamber of Deputies approves car scrap subsidies
MPs yesterday overturned Václav Klaus’s veto of car scrap subsidies with 101 votes as part of the ČSSD’s anti-crisis package. Although the auto industry welcomed the subsidies, analysts expect a negative economic impact. It is now up to the government to approve implementation and allocate the budget, most likely after the elections.
Source: most Czech press
Lower house endorses ‘blacklist’ amendment
Yesterday, the lower house endorsed an amendment to blacklist applicants for public tenders that falsify information. The cabinet has introduced a plan to enable the Finance Ministry to collect information on people who were legitimately sentenced for selected offences that damaged EU financial interests. Companies represented by such people would be excluded from applying for public tenders.
Source: ČTK
Lower house wants electronic toll chip cards
The lower chamber repeatedly endorsed an amendment that would introduce tolls for vehicles weighing over 3.5 tonnes from January next year. The amendment reintroduces the proposal, rejected in the upper chamber, for electronic chip cards instead of the current stickers.
Source: E15 8
Shell to sell its Česká rafinérská stake
Royal Dutch Shell plans to sell its 16.3% stake in Česká rafinérská. The Polish group PKN Orlen expressed interest but announced that it depends on the price. PKN Oren holds a 63% stake in Unipetrol, which owns 51.2% of Česká rafinérská shares.
Source: ČTK
Skanska to cut 1,200 jobs
The top construction company on the Czech market, Skanska, announced plans to lay off 1,200 of its 6,800 employees this year and next due to a sharp decline in contracts. Skanska has already laid 400 employees off this year. The president of the Association of Building Entrepreneurs, Václav Matyáš, warned that the construction sector could lose up to 37,000 jobs this year due to the recession.
Source: most Czech press
Czech TV announces layoffs
Czech TV has announced that it plans to lay employees off before the end of the year, based on a personnel audit. CEO Jiří Janeček said the changes will affect managerial posts and should take place within the next three months.
Source: ČTK, LN 15
Law will regulate supermarket chains
MPs endorsed a bill regulating grocery stores and introducing a fine of up to CZK 10 million for abuse of market power. Retailers with net revenue of over CZK 5 billion are considered to have abused their market power. Euro.cz reports that all significant players on the Czech retail market record such revenues. The law only applies to supermarkets.
Source: Euro.cz
Komerční banka has new CEO
Henri Bonnet became the new CEO of Komerční banka. Bonnet comes from parent company Société Générale and replaces Laurent Goutard who is leaving after five years in the position.
Source: ČTK
Aero plans to sell Ae-270 project
Aero Vodochody will sell plans for its Ae-270 plane to a German company. Euro.cz reports the plans might go to Grob Aircraft. Aero spokeswoman Jana Studničková said the project has proved unsuccessful and it has no chance without the sale. The plans will fetch a reported EUR 200,000 and enable the new owner to launch production.
Source: Euro.cz
