• EU candidate countries' foreign ministers hold talks in Prague
    10/22/2002

    Foreign ministers and deputy foreign ministers from the ten countries hoping to become members of the European Union in 2004 have held talks in Prague, at the invitation of the Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda. Mr Svoboda said while the ten EU candidates did have their own specific national interests, certain matters were important to all of them, including budgetary issues and agricultural policy. Pavel Telicka, the Czech Republic's chief negotiator on accession, has said in the past that Czech farmers would have to accept lower subsidies than those received in existing EU countries.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech top politicians welcome Ireland's "yes" to Nice Treaty
    10/20/2002

    Czech top politicians have welcomed the outcome of Ireland's referendum on the Nice Treaty after the final count put the "yes" side ahead by nearly 63 percent. Saturday's vote was Ireland's second referendum on the European Union's Nice Treaty, which is deemed essential for admitting 10 applicant countries, including the Czech Republic, to the EU in 2004. Ireland voted on Saturday in a re-run of a referendum held last year when the treaty was defeated by 54 percent with only a third of the electorate voting.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech farmers consider protests against EU demands
    10/20/2002

    Czech farmers are considering fierce protests such as street blockades and demonstrations against the demands of the European Union, the commercial TV station Nova reported on Saturday. Czech farmers listed their objections in a petition last Tuesday, demanding the government to face the problem. According to its authors, almost half of Czech farmers have already signed the petition. The protest rallies could be averted if farmers succeed in negotiating better terms for themselves at a meeting with EU commissioners and the Czech government on November 11th.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Polls open as Ireland's 2.9 million voters decide on Treaty of Nice
    10/19/2002

    Polls opened on Saturday morning in Ireland as its 2.9 million voters decide whether to accept or reject the European Union Treaty of Nice, which enables enlargement of the bloc. This is Ireland's second referendum on the treaty and the outcome of the poll will be watched closely by the 10 countries, including the Czech Republic, hoping to join the EU in 2004, as well as Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, who hope to join at a later stage. Ireland rejected the Nice Treaty in June 2001 by 54 percent in a referendum. Latest opinion polls show 42 per cent of the electorate intend to vote "yes" this time while 29 percent intend to vote "no". Ireland is the only EU member state to hold a referendum on the Treaty of Nice. National parliaments decided in the other 14 member states. The final result of the referendum is expected on Sunday evening.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Benes decrees "no obstacle" to Czech EU membership
    10/18/2002

    The Benes Decrees under which more than 2,000,000 ethnic Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia in the aftermath of the Second World War are not a hindrance to Prague's admission to the European Union, according an official report issued by the European Commission on Friday. The Commission said the study of the decrees carried out by legal experts "had not shown any obstacles to the Czech Republic's accession in the light of the acquis communautaire. The report has been welcomed in Prague, but is likely to anger some groups in neighbouring Austria and Germany, where many ethnic Germans settled after the expulsion. Some politicians in the two countries have called for the Czech Republic to be banned from joining the EU until the decrees are scrapped.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Netherlands prevents Czech Republic from closing economic competition chapter
    10/18/2002

    The Netherlands has prevented the Czech Republic from closing the economic competition chapter which is part of negotiations between the European Union and the Czech Republic. The Dutch representative said the Netherlands' objection was the Czech state assistance to the steel industry. The Czech government's chief EU negotiator Pavel Telicka will not therefore meet his counterparts from EU member countries.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • EU discontent about state assistance to Czech banks
    10/18/2002

    The European Union Commissioner for economic competition, Mario Monti, has said the Commission is dissatisfied with the Czech Republic's documentation on state assistance to banks prior to their privatisation. After a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, Mr Monti stressed that the Czech Republic should secure full confidence and legal security to banks and investors, adding that more efforts would be required for achieving higher transparency of state assistance to banks.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Czech lower house approves bill on EU membership referendum
    10/18/2002

    The Czech Republic took a step towards letting its citizens decide on EU membership on Thursday, after the lower house of parliament approved a bill to hold a referendum in the second quarter of next year. The legislation now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to pass easily because the upper house drafted the bill. The bill was approved by a strong majority, with 180 of the 182 deputies present in the 200-seat lower house voting in favour.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • NATO warplanes fly pre-summit training missions over Czech territory
    10/17/2002

    U.S. and Czech fighter jets have taken part in a joint training exercise over Czech territory as part of preparations for November's NATO summit in Prague. Thursday's exercise was designed to rehearse an aerial response to a possible terrorist attack during the summit. Czech officials said American F-16 fighters and Czech MiG-21 jets had participated in the exercise, which simulated the shooting down of a hijacked airliner and an attack on a nuclear power station. The summit, on November 21 and 22, will bring together heads of state and military leaders from 46 countries.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • STEM: 85 percent want direct presidential vote, Motejl favourite
    10/17/2002

    A new opinion poll released on Thursday shows a large majority in favour of electing a successor to President Vaclav Havel in a direct vote, as opposed to the current parliamentary system. The survey, carried out by the STEM agency, said 85 percent of respondents were in favour of electing the head of state directly. When asked who should succeed Mr Havel in February, most people said Otakar Motejl, the country's ombudsman. Mr Motejl, one of four candidates nominated by the ruling Social Democrats, was followed by Senate chairman Petr Pithart and Civic Democrat leader Vaclav Klaus. The Civic Democrats recently launched an initiative to change the Constitution to allow a direct vote.
    Author: Rob Cameron

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