Czech government announces major investment in the Brdy region

The Czech government has decided to set up a special commission for the development of the Brdy area, the site of a controversial proposed US radar base. The government announced its decision on Wednesday after meeting with the mayors of municipalities in the central Bohemian region. It said hundreds of millions of crowns would be invested in the area regardless of whether the American radar base was eventually built there. Most of the 15 mayors who attended the meeting said they welcomed the prospect of investment into the economically neglected region, but insisted that this would not change their opposition to the proposed radar.

The United States wants to construct a radar facility in Brdy as part of a missile defence system aimed at countering possible attacks from so-called rogue states such as Iran. Polls show that a majority of Czechs are against the proposal even though it has the tentative support of the centre-right government. A final decision on the base is expected early next year.