Daily news summary
Government better at drawing on EU funds than president claims, says minister
Finance Minister Andrej Babiš says President Miloš Zeman is mistaken in criticising the Czech government’s accomplishments when it comes to making use of available European Union funds. Mr. Babiš said on Czech Television on Sunday that the country had missed out on a potential CZK 26 billion to CZK 30 billion in the period from 2007 to 2013, not CZK 35 billion as the president recently stated. The minister said Mr. Zeman was badly informed and that his government, which came to power almost two years ago, deserved praise for its achievements in drawing on EU money.
Babiš: New rules on regular VAT payee reports must be changed
The minister of finance, Andrej Babiš, says a freshly introduced requirement for payers of value added tax needs to be changed. “Inspection reports” by which VAT payers have to send a regular overview of invoices to tax officials have been brought in with a view to improving tax collection. However, speaking on a Czech Television discussion programme on Sunday, Mr. Babiš said the legislation had been poorly drafted. He said sanctions linked to the inspection reports would need to be reduced while other changes will also be effected with an amendment set to come into force in June.
Poor air quality reported in several parts of Czech Republic
Air quality in the Moravian Silesian Region has deteriorated with official limits for airborne dust particles exceeded at all its measuring stations, iDnes.cz reported on Sunday morning, quoting the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute. Smog alerts have been in place in some parts of the region since the New Year. Pollution limits are currently being exceeded in some areas of the Ústí nad Labem Region while bad air has made breathing difficult in urban areas in the Olomouc area and the Zlín Region.
Ministry project to boost countryside water retention
The Ministry of the Environment will next month launch a pilot project aimed at water retention in the countryside, Czech Television reported. The Smart Municipality project will provide CZK 50 million to cities, towns and villages that produce innovative systems for retaining water, the minister of the environment, Richard Brabec, told the station. Mr. Brabec said some localities had already grasped the value of combining construction in that area with local or home waste water recycling systems. Last year the Czech Republic was hit by a severe drought.
Poet Seifert remembered on 30th anniversary of death
The great Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert was remembered on Sunday, the 30th anniversary of his death. People gathered in the Nobel Prize winner’s honour at his tomb in the graveyard in Kralupy nad Vltavou, where his maternal grandparents came from and where he requested that he be buried. After the laying of a wreath at Seifert’s tomb, actor František Kreuzmann recited poems by the Prague-born writer. An evening of reminiscences then took place at the local museum.
Mihulová gets Best Actress prize at Palm Springs for Home Care
The Czech actress Alena Mihulová has received the Best Actress prize at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in the US. The 50-year-old took the award for her role in Home Care by Slávek Horák, in which she plays a selfless nurse. The film has picked up a number of prizes at festivals and is in the running for five gongs in the Czech Film Critics’ Awards, which will be announced on January 23.
Norway’s Eliassen wins Jizerská padesátka cross country ski race
Norway’s Petter Eliassen has won the Jizerská padesátka cross country skiing event in North Bohemia. The first Czech to reach the finish in the famous event – which consisted of 15 circuits of a 3.5-kilometre track – was Stanislav Řezáč in 12th place. Johan Kjölstad and Anders Auckland finished second and third, respectively, to give Norway all three spots on the podium.
