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05/13/2006
Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has said that the Czech Republic wants to join the Schengen Zone in October 2007. Yet, according to Svoboda this time-line will depend much on the preparations of neighbouring countries because the Czech Republic does not face the problem of securing a new Schengen border, as does Poland in relation to Belarus and the Slovak Republic in relation to Ukraine. Membership in the Schengen zone allows for the free movement of people; currently thirteen EU countries belong to the Schengen agreement, which excludes the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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05/13/2006
On Saturday, roughly seventy members of the Roma community gathered in Lety near Pisek, the site of a WWII concentration camp where 326 Roma died, to remember the victims. Survivors of the camp and their families were present, and representatives from the Slovak and German embassies placed wreaths at the monument to the victims of the Roma Holocaust. President Vaclav Klaus also sent a memorial wreath.
A controversial pig farm which occupies part of the land of the former WWII camp is expected to be dealt with following the June elections.
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05/13/2006
Defence Minister Karel Kuenhl has praised work by members of the military recently back from missions in Afghanistan. On Friday the minister awarded military decorations to members of units in Prostejov and Bechyne: members of a sapper unit serving at the international airport in Kabul, and a reconnaissance and information-gathering unit serving in the north-east of the country monitoring local developments. Minister Kuenhl said that the soldiers had contributed to increased stability in Afghanistan, and praised them for operating successfully under difficult and often dangerous conditions. The Czechs served for roughly six months under the international ISAF mission.
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05/13/2006
According to the Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda is planning on again raising the issue of visa requirements for Czech citizens visiting the US, during an upcoming visit to Washington. The minister will discuss the issue when he meets with US Senate foreign committee chairman Chuck Hagel next week. In recent months, Czech politicians have criticised asymmetric conditions requiring Czechs to have visas to travel to the United States, while Americans do not need the same to visit the Czech Republic.
Despite well-publicised objection by the foreign minister, Washington has not indicated a desire to waive visa requirements for Czech visitors at this time.
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05/13/2006
Two Czechs, Robin Vik and Jan Hajek, will play against one another in the men's final of the Prague Open tennis tournament on Sunday. Vik advanced by defeating Sergio Roitman of Argentina 6:3, 6:1, and Hajek defeated Konstantinos Economidis of Greece, 7:6, 6:2.
In women's doubles play, the Czech team of Gabriela Navratilova and Michaela Pastikova fell 6:3, 2:6, 7:5 to the American duo of Ashley Harkleroad and Bethanie Mattek who advance to the finals on Sunday. On Thursday, Harkleroad and Mattek also defeated Czech-American tennis legend Martina Navratilova and her doubles partner, Barbora Strycova.
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05/12/2006
Defence Minister Karel Kuenhl has praised work by members of the military recently back from missions in Afghanistan. On Friday the minister awarded military decorations to members of units in Prostejov and Bechyne: members of a sapper unit serving at the international airport in Kabul, and a reconnaissance and information-gathering unit serving in the north-east of the country monitoring local developments. Minister Kuenhl said that the soldiers had contributed to increased stability in Afghanistan, and praised them for operating successfully under difficult and often dangerous conditions. The Czechs served for roughly six months under the international ISAF mission.
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05/12/2006
The Social Democratic Party has called on deputies in Parliament to support a government draft bill to the labour code, vetoed earlier this week by President Vaclav Klaus. The bill needs a majority 101 votes in the 200-member Chamber of Deputies to pass in an upcoming vote. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek reacted to the president's veto by saying his party's MPs were ready to override the decision, but it is clear that he will need to find support elsewhere if the bill is to pass.
The right-of-centre Civic Democrats have already voiced opposition, while Josef Janecek - deputy chairman of Parliament's social policy committee - said that his party, the Christian Democrats, will again vote against the code.
The first time the bill passed it was with support from Social Democrat and Communist MPs.
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05/12/2006
According to the Foreign Ministry, the Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda is planning on again raising the issue of visa requirements for Czech citizens visiting the US, during an upcoming visit to Washington. The minister will discuss the issue when he meets with US Senate foreign committee chairman Chuck Hagel next week. In recent months, Czech politicians have criticised asymmetric conditions requiring Czechs to have visas to travel to the United States, while Americans do not need the same to visit the Czech Republic.
Despite well-publicised objection by the foreign minister, Washington has not indicated a desire to waive visa requirements for Czech visitors at this time.
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05/12/2006
The top management of South Korean automobile manufacturer, Hyundai, has officially approved the company's investment in a new manufacturing plant in Nosovice, Moravia, in the Czech Republic. The company has agreed to invest an initial 743 million euros - with that amount going up to roughly 1 billion eventually. The numbers cited by the company's top executives mirror estimates by the state agency CzechInvest. Hyundai's plant in Moravia is expected to be operational by 2008.
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05/12/2006
President Vaclav Klaus has vetoed a bill on the state fund for Czech cinematography that would have seen the film industry receive public funds: namely, percentages from theatre ticket (2 percent), video, and DVD sales (3 percent) as well as profits from advertising on public television (3 percent). Mr Klaus reportedly objected to the bill on the grounds that other branches in the arts - whether the Czech music business, fine arts, literature, or theatre - benefited from no such legislation. Mr Klaus said that there was no reason why those in the film business should have such a privilege over those in comparable fields.
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