NEWS
Party leaders: Budget yes, new fiscal laws no
Meeting yesterday with PM Jan Fischer, ČSSD chair Jiří Paroubek and ODS head Mirek Topolánek said they would not reject a state budget draft proposed by Fischer’s interim government, but they oppose legislative changes to budget policy before October’s early elections. Finance Minister Eduard Janota, who also attended the meeting, has warned that without new legislation next year’s deficit could reach CZK 230 billion.
Source: most Czech press
Bém: Permit ruling will not jeopardise Blanka
Prague Mayor Pavel Bém told iDnes.cz that cancellation of the building permit for the Blanka tunnel between the capital’s Troja and Letná districts will not jeopardise the project. Hospodářské noviny reported yesterday that Prague City Court voided the permit in April based on complaints by Troja and Holešovice residents, who said there had not been sufficient analysis of the environmental impact. The Regional Development Ministry filed a request to reverse the decision.
Source: most Czech press
Polish daily: US base plan is dead
Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza asserts that US President Barack Obama’s administration will sacrifice planned missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic in order to maintain good relations with Russia. The White House declined to comment, saying it plans to review studies on the anti-missile system in the autumn.
Source: LN 1, 7
Court: No security clearance for show trial lawyer
The Supreme Administrative Court has denied a request by attorney Ladislav Jarnat for clearance to access classified documents due to his participation in communist-era show trials. Jarnat, who in 1981 prosecuted dissidents for spreading “dangerous literature”, currently works as a state attorney in Olomouc. Court spokesman Michal Lovritš said the ruling is the first of its kind.
Source: HN 1, 5, LN 1, 4
ODS offers parents CZK 2,000 kindergarten subsidy
ODS’s election programme includes a provision to pay up to CZK 2,000 to parents to send their child to a private kindergarten, Lidové noviny reports. The subsidy, available to some 15,000 families, would benefit parents who are unable to secure a spot in public kindergarten and who do not receive state benefits. Petr Nečas of ODS, a former labour minister, said the state would recoup the cost in the taxes paid by parents who are able to return to work.
Source: LN 1, 2
Medieval artefacts found on Národní třída building site
Archaeologists working around Národní třída metro station in advance of construction of the COPA Centrum complex have discovered five Jewish gravestones from a planned but never built 15th century cemetery, as well as fragments of Gothic cellars and other artefacts indicating the space was inhabited in the early Middle Ages. The research will continue for five more months, covering half of the construction zone. Archaeologists believe there might be prehistoric items on the site.
Source: Právo 11, MfD B1, B2
Klaus signs petition seeking action on Šumava beetles
President Václav Klaus’s signature is the first on a petition demanding swift action against bark beetles which are eating trees in the Šumava national park. Environmentalists and ex-environment minister Martin Bursík maintain calls for anti-beetle steps are a tool for those seeking to cut down trees and push through ecologically unfriendly projects in the area.
Source: Aktuálně.cz, LN 1, 3, Právo 3
TOP 09: Attack deficit with spending cuts
New party TOP 09’s economic programme, presented Thursday, opposes tax increases and focuses on spending reductions to keep a lid on the state budget deficit. The plan also envisions patients covering a larger share of healthcare costs, lower subsidies on building society savings, changes to the pension system and euro adoption in 2014, among other provisions.
Source: most Czech press
Labour minister seeks pension boost
Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Šimerka has proposed raising pensions by an average 2.1% next year, which would increase budget expenditures by CZK 7.1 billion. Finance Minister Eduard Janota favours freezing of pensions to avoid a record-high budget gap.
Source: ČTK
Two non-campaigning parties throw support to ODS
Representatives of political parties US-DEU and Strana soukromníků, neither of which will stand in the October elections, announced yesterday that they are backing the Civic Democratic Party.
Source: HN 4
22 groups register for elections
A total of 21 political parties and one political movement have submitted candidate lists for the October early elections, according to information from regional authorities and Prague City Hall. Sixteen parties are fielding slates in all 14 Czech regions.
Source: ČTK
Check-in delays at Prague Airport
Passenger checks-in at Prague Airport were delayed on Thursday owing to the failure of a central check-in system in Atlanta, iDNES.cz reported. Airport spokeswoman Marika Janoušková told ČTK that automatic check-in was resumed from at about 2pm.
Source: ČTK
BUSINESS
ČSA pilots declare strike alert
Pilots’ union CZALPA announced a strike alert on Thursday, saying Czech Airlines (ČSA) management is trying to silence criticism by employees. Hana Hejsková, spokeswoman for the state-run carrier, said the firm would not comment on the union’s action. ČSA technicians and engineers are also mulling a strike alert.
Source: most Czech press
RWE to cut household gas prices by 2.5%
Power provider RWE will reduce gas prices for households by 2.5% on average as of 1 October, bringing the overall decline since the start of the year of more than 11%. The company said Thursday it did not expect further price cuts next year.
Source: most Czech press
Used-car chain AAA Auto back in black
Used-car retailer AAA Auto had a net profit of EUR 693,000 in the first half of this year after losing EUR 7.8 million in the same period of 2008, the company announced Thursday. Despite a 48.2% drop in sales, the firm returned to the black through radical spending cuts and withdrawal from the Polish, Romanian and Hungarian markets.
Source: most Czech press
Steel firm shareholders complain to PM
Seven minority shareholders in steel company ArcelorMittal Ostrava sent a letter yesterday to Prime Minister Jan Fischer, complaining that the firm has not paid dividends and instead loaned excess capital to affiliated companies.
Source: HN 15
Czech labour costs rank 21st in Europe
According to an analysis by the Institute for Economic Research in Kolín nad Rýnem, Czech labour remains cheap compared to western Europe despite a 7% increase in costs between 2000 and 2008. Still, the report anticipates that the Balkan countries, with lower costs per worker, will become more attractive for employers.
Source: HN 15, 20
Debtor numbers rise 18%
The number of people on the Solus register, which lists Czechs who have gone into debt in the past three years, increased to more than 800,000 in the first half of 2009, a 17.6% year-on-year spike.
Source: ČTK, E15 8
ČR withdrew 98% of EU subsidies in 2004-2006
The Czech Republic received EUR 1.64 billion (CZK 41.0 billion) from EU funds in 2004-2006, that means, 98% of the amount available to the country for that period, Regional Development Minister Rostislav Vondruška told a news conference Thursday. The ministry has often been criticised for the country’s slow drawing of EU money.
Source: ČTK, E15 3
ČD to boost capacity before school year starts
Czech Railways (ČD ) will dispatch an extra 50 carriages for 4,000 passengers this weekend and at the beginning of next week as the two-month summer school holidays end, company spokesman Petr Šťáhlavský said.
Source: ČTK
Četrans in insolvency proceedings
The Regional Court in Ústí nad Labem launched insolvency proceedings Thursday with Četrans, once one of the country’s biggest forwarding companies.
Source: ČTK
