Lower house passes public finance reform package in first reading

A government-proposed package of public finance reforms has been passed by the lower house in the first reading. The legislation will be discussed by individual parliamentary committees in the coming weeks and the lower house should hold a vote on it the summer. In Thursday's first reading of the bill, the reform package was rejected by 97 Social Democrat and Communist MPs. The main critic of the reform package from the coalition ranks, Civic Democrat MP Vlastimil Tlusty, abstained.