News of Radio Prague
Central European PMs appeal for more money from EU
Prime ministers of four Central European countries have urged European Union leaders to offer more generous financial terms to candidates, ahead of this week's crucial EU Summit in Copenhagen. In a joint article published in Britain's Financial Times newspaper on Tuesday, the leaders of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia called on their colleagues in the EU to ensure enlargement does not get off to a bad start due to a deepening rift over money. The EU is offering the 10 mostly ex-Communist countries around 40 billion euros when they enter the Union, expected in mid-2004. The amount is around two billion euros less than the financial package agreed by EU leaders in 1999. Several candidates, led by Poland, are campaigning hard for a better deal.
Slow progress towards deal on financial terms of enlargement
With less than two days to go until the start of the summit, EU member countries remain divided over how much money to offer the newcomers. The President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, has backed the candidates' demands, urging member states not to hold back the financial support originally set aside for enlargement. However Denmark, which holds the rotating presidency of the EU, insists there is no more money available, and some countries, such as Germany, say the offer is too high already. Meanwhile Denmark has warned Poland it risks being left out of the EU altogether if it persists in trying to get a better deal on farm subsidies.
Police to charge rail crash bus driver
Police are to charge the driver of a bus which collided with a small passenger train on Monday with threatening public safety. A spokesman said police were still taking evidence from witnesses on board the bus and in the train at the time of the accident. The collision happened when the bus attempted to cross an unmanned railway crossing on the outskirts of Prague. Twelve people were slightly injured.
President Havel stops court action against elderly marijuana smoker
President Vaclav Havel has stopped criminal proceedings against a pensioner who faced five years in prison for growing cannabis in his garden. The 87-year-old man, from the eastern city of Ostrava, said he smoked marihuana to treat his Parkinson's disease. He was charged by police after being found with seven cannabis plants in his garden.
Man freezes to death on way home from pub
Police in the Tachov area of West Bohemia say a 67-year-old man froze to death on Sunday night as he was walking home from the pub. The man's body was found by his wife on Monday morning as she was walking the couple's dog. Police say the man was wearing just a shirt and light trousers, and had apparently collapsed and fallen asleep while drunk.
Weather forecast
Wednesday will be another very cold and sunny day, thanks to a band of cold air arriving from the west. Temperatures on Wednesday will not rise above minus three degrees Celsius, falling at night to lows of minus 10 to minus 15 degrees.
