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04/06/2007
Two Roma organisations announced on Friday that they intend to demonstrate before the offices of government next Wednesday to demand the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek. The protest is being jointly arranged by the Romany Association of Northern Moravia and the Romea civic association. They have also launched a petition calling for Mr Cunek's resignation, which has already been signed by a hundred representatives of Roma organisations and international institutions. Mr Cunek made a controversial comment about the Roma in last Friday's edition of the tabloid Blesk. When asked by a reader whether other people should receive state subsidies like Romanies, Mr Cunek said they would first need to get a suntan, behave in a disorderly way and light fires on town squares before politicians would regard them as badly off.
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04/06/2007
The last state-owned brewery Budvar could be transformed into a joint-stock company by the end of the year, the Minister for Agriculture Petr Gandalovic told journalists on Friday. The change should be the first step towards privatising the brewery. Minister Gandalovic said that he was convinced such a step was necessary in order to ensure Budvar's further expansion and development. In its current legal form as a state enterprise, the brewery cannot accept injections of foreign capital or pay out dividends. The minister warned, however, that these changes could be hampered by ongoing lawsuits concerning the Budvar brand. Budvar has been involved in a number of trademark disputes with the American Anheuser-Busch brewery all over the world. Anheuser-Busch owns the Budweiser brand, a name Budvar also uses for some of its products.
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04/05/2007
Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said that the first round of negotiations with the United States on the stationing of a radar base in the military area of Brdy southwest of Prague will take place in Prague on May 11. Speaking in the lower house of parliament, Minister Schwarzenberg added the facility will boost the Czech Republic's security. The deputy chairman of the lower house, Lubomir Zaoralek, said the talks on the radar base were hasty and the government was, on the contrary, compromising the country's security by its policy. Mr Zaoralek also said it would not be correct if the Czech Republic signed a bilateral agreement on the base with the USA. Mr Schwarzenberg maintains that it is one of the government's demands that the US radar base be part of NATO's defence system in the future.
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04/05/2007
The lower house might start discussing the government-proposed tax reform package in June and vote on it at an extraordinary session during the summer break, a Finance Ministry spokesman said on Thursday. The cabinet intends to submit the reform bills to parliament as a package and would like to see them take effect in January 2008. A vote on the reform plan will effectively decide on the future of the government which had pledged to step down if it fails to push the reforms through. The reform package is also expected to have a crucial impact on the 2008 state budget as it will determine the level of state revenues and expenditures in the coming year. The governing coalition has no guaranteed majority in the lower house: it has exactly 100 MPs in the 200-seat chamber.
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04/05/2007
The Aktualne.cz news server writes that the Czech government on Monday decided on extensive cuts in the state budget for the next three years on top of approving a package of tax reforms. According to the server, the government decided to cut by a quarter the budget spending on motorway construction, approved a freeze on spending in almost all budget areas, set down strict limits on pension increases and healthcare subsidies as well as spending on research. Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek however told the CTK news agency that the document approved on Monday is not a final version.
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04/05/2007
Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has said a joint Czech-Austrian inter-parliamentary committee which is supposed to oversee the safety of the Temelin nuclear power station could help tackle the problem of frequent blockades of the Czech-Austrian border crossings by anti-Temelin protesters. The Czech part of the committee is supposed have thirteen members: ten MPs and three Senators, and according to Senate chairman Premysl Sobotka it could start work in one to two months time. The formation of the committee, agreed on by Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer in February, is being criticised by Austrian anti-Temelin activists who describe it as a "delaying manoeuvre".
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04/05/2007
The Pravo daily writes that Christian Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jiri Cunek enjoys the support of small far-right parties. The paper says they appreciate his performance in top-level politics and support his statements regarding the Czech Roma population. Pravo quotes far-right activist Jan Kopal as saying he supports Mr Cunek for his outspoken manner and uncompromising actions. Jiri Petrivalsky of the ultranationalist National Corporativism association told Pravo that Mr Cunek is not afraid to voice the opinion of the majority population.
Most recently, Mr Cunek made a comment about the Roma in last Friday's edition of the tabloid Blesk. When asked whether other people should receive state subsidies like Romanies, Mr Cunek said they would need to get a suntan, behave in a disorderly way and light fires on town squares before politicians would regard them as badly off.
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04/05/2007
In related news, the daily Pravo also writes that Civic Democrat Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has accused his deputy and Christian Democrat chairman Jiri Cunek and Education Minister Dana Kuchtova of the Green Party of destabilising the coalition government. Mr Topolanek reportedly made the statement at last weekend's meeting of the Civic Democrat leadership where he also reportedly said the cabinet was polarised. Pravo writes that Mr Topolanek wants to sack Mr Cunek from government regardless of the outcome of Wednesday's conference of the Christian Democratic Party which decided to back its leader.
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04/05/2007
A national conference of the Christian Democratic Party on Wednesday issued a recommendation to Christian Democrat MPs to support the government's proposed tax and social reform package. Although party deputies are not unanimous on the issue, Christian Democrat chairman Jiri Cunek and his party colleague Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek say they have no doubts as to the unanimous approval of the reforms by their parliamentary party.
Meanwhile, the opposition Social Democrats and the Communists have ruled out support for the government's financial reform package. The two parties say the package, which aims to slash taxes and public spending, only benefits the wealthy.
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04/05/2007
An amendment to the Penal Code proposes tougher sentences for corruption in the public sector. The amendment increases the maximum sentence for taking a bribe from eight to 12 years and raises the sentence for offering a bribe from one to two years. Justice Minister Jiri Pospisil said on Thursday the government is to debate the new legislation in the months to come, and the law should take effect as of next year. The law will also ban officials convicted of corruption from working in public posts, Mr Pospisil added. The amendment is based on a long-term programme approved by the government last October. It also includes the establishment of special courts and anti-corruption agents as well as a special phone line for reporting suspicions of bribery and gaining advice from the Transparency International anti-corruption watchdog.
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