NEWS
Nearly 2,000 foreigners have used state-purchased tickets to return home
As of 16 July, 1,819 nonnatives who lost their jobs as a result of the crisis, have made use of the government’s offer of ticket to return to their home countries, according to the Interior Ministry. The offer, which includes airfare and 500 EUR, has been mostly taken up by Mongolians since its launch on 16 February.
ČTK
Canada insists on issuing visas for Czechs from Vienna
Canadian ambassador Michael Calcott said yesterday that Canada wants to continue issuing visas for Czechs in Vienna. A total of 342 Czechs has so far applied for visas at the Canadian consulate in Vienna since the visa requirement came into effect.
most Czech press
Romani exodus raises questions
Activists say that most of the Roma who have applied for refugee status in Canada are educated and well-integrated into Czech society. Their reason for leaving is fear for their own safety due to growing rightwing extremism, they say. But the state has no official statistics on why Roma are leaving and from which parts of the country.
ČTK
LN: Fischer wants to become Commissioner
Prime Minister Jan Fischer would like to become an EU Commissioner representing the Czech Republic after his mandate expires in the autumn, unnamed political sources told Lidové noviny. However, Fischer is not likely to have enough support from the two leading political parties, LN reported.
LN 1, 3
PM Fischer in StB database
Prime Minister Jan Fischer is included in the database of people kept under watch by the StB, or communist-era secret police, the news site Aktuálně.cz reported yesterday. It is unclear from the database why the StB was interested in the PM. Fischer said it was due to the fact he was dealing with a state secret and worked as a director at the Statistical Office.
ČTK
StB database website fully operational
Nine days after its launch, www.svazky.cz, the online database of StB files, is back in service again. The website collapsed due to too much visitor traffic after being launched 7 July by former dissident Stanislav Penc.
ČTK
Volume of trains at Prague’s main station to increase
Nearly 900 trains a day will pass through Hlavní nádraží at the end of the year, following track reconstruction completed yesterday. Some 600 trains pass through the station today. The additional trains will mainly be those diverted from other Prague stations.
MfD B2, Právo 10
Ecologists: Govt wants to approve controversial building
Ecologists, as well as some municipalities are criticising the Regional Development Ministry’s proposal for zoning changes, which is to be passed to the cabinet for approval next week. The environmentalists say that the changes will enable the construction of motorways, a new runway at Ruzyně airport and nuclear storage facilities.
ČTK
Taxi drivers clash with police
Cabbies and cops battled yesterday afternoon on Old Town Square after the police attempted to tow a taxi blocking a taxi stand in protest of the pickup spots having been remodelled into parking lots for disabled persons earlier this week by City Hall. Four policemen were hurt and three taxi drivers arrested, according to Lidové noviny.
most Czech press
ČSSD promises to fight illegal profits through extreme taxes
If the Social Democrats win the elections this year, they will introduce 76% tax for people who cannot prove how they obtained money for purchase of a flat worth over CZK 10 million, or other assets worth over CZK 2 million in the respective year, and 100% for persons convicted of crimes that cannot explain the origins of their assets. The law should fight tax evasion and money laundering, shadow Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said.
HN 1-3
Zahradil will no longer be on ODS board
MEP Jan Zahradil was not re-elected head of the ODS MEPs and therefore lost his position on the ODS board. He was replaced by MEP Miroslav Ouzký. Zahradil reportedly withdrew his candidacy for the post, saying he had already been elected the vice-chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists, a new faction in the EP.
LN 1, 4
Governor: Liechtensteins will not demand property from ČR
South Moravian Governor Michal Hašek says the Liechtenstein family will likely not demand the return of large properties lost after the second world war, in accordance with the Beneš Decree. Hašek has met with members of the Liechtenstein family on the day that the Czech government opened diplomatic ties with Liechtenstein.
ČTK
BUSINESS
ČNB against EC proposal for financial market reforms
The Czech National Bank opposes the European Commission’s proposal to introduce an EU-wide system of surveillance over financial institutions in the EU. The ČNB fears the proposed reform would weaken national surveillance mechanisms.
ČTK
Hotels see 11% drop in foreign guests
The number of visitors abroad staying at Czech lodgers in the first five months of the year dropped 11% year on year, according to the Czech Statistical Office and the Mag Consulting company. The number of Czech guests remains unchanged. The number of foreign tourists is expected to drop 14% this year.
ČTK
AB Inbev still looking to sell Staropramen
The beer giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev is still looking for an investor to buy Staropramen and 10 other breweries in central and eastern Europe, with a total value estimated at some EUR 2 billion. The deadline has been prolonged until the end of July, the Wall Street Journal reported.
HN 15, 18
Analysts cut ČEZ share forecasts
One-year forecasts for ČEZ shares have fallen in the past two days, as the brokerage BH Securities cut the estimated value from CZK 1,460 to CZK 1,165, Credit Suisse dropped its guess by CZK 130 to CZK 1,100, and the Australian bank Macquire even speculated as low as CZK 850, which is CZK 36 less than the current share value at the Prague Stock Exchange. “Worsening economic conditions in the CEE region could slow down or stop electric consumption and prices,” Petr Hlinomaz of BH Securities explained.
HN 23, E15 11
Survey: 71% of companies don’t know govt crisis plan
According to a poll conducted by the Czech Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Crafts, 71% of Czech businesses owners are unfamiliar with the content of the government’s crisis plan. Some 95% of SMEs that have tried to apply for subsidies from EU structural funds evaluate the system of drawing money as problematic. The survey polled 438 business owners in the Czech Republic.
ČTK, LN 13
Trade Ministry to cut administration demands for firms
The Industry and Trade Ministry is preparing to update several laws, including those governing trade inspections, technical requirements and trade licences, which should decrease paperwork for companies and save them up to CZK 514 million, Karel Machotka of the section for entrepreneurship said. The adjustments could be valid as of next year.
LN 13
Beran to return Vítkovice shares
Billionaire David Beran must sell 45% of his shares in the Vítkovice Holding steel company to his business partner Jan Světlík, in accordance with an arbitration court ruling made last January. The Prague High Court rejected Beran’s appeal yesterday.
HN 1, 16, 17, MfD A8
McCafé opens on D1 motorway
McDonald’s opened its first Czech McCafé near Průhonice yesterday. The coffee chain sells 18 different brews, six types of tea and 18 types of dessert.
E15 6, MfD A8, ČTK
Ticketpro opens Chilean branch
The Czech company Ticketpro, which leads the market in event presales, has begun operations in Chile. The company has branches in 17 countries and is planning to open at least two more by the end of this year, with the first of them to be in business on 15 August in Europe, CEO Serge Grimaux said without specifying the country.
HN 15, 22
