Greens agree to discuss church property settlement with opposition

The head of the Green Party Martin Bursík said on Sunday he was ready to discuss the bill on property settlement between the state and churches with the Social Democratic Party, which threatened not to support it. Under the deal, a third of church property confiscated by the communist regime will be returned to its original owners and compensation will be paid for the rest. The compensation was set at some 83 billion Czech crowns (approximately 4.7 billion US dollars). It is to be paid out over the next 60 years at a rate of interest set a 4.8 percent, with the overall figure expected to reach some 270 billion crowns. The social Democrats and the Communist criticised the government coalition for not discussing the issue with them.