• President Klaus signs law on pensions for former presidents
    02/02/2004

    Czech President Vaclav Klaus signed a law on Monday, guaranteeing all former presidents of the Czech Republic 100,000 Czech crowns a month. Up-to-date, the law only affects former president Vaclav Havel, who as of March this year, will be receiving a 50,000 crown pension and a further 50,000 crowns a month that is to be used for the operation of his office. Despite the cost of running his office totalling 150,000 crowns a month, Mr Havel welcomes the new law, his spokesman said on Monday.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • VAT to fall from 22 to 19 percent
    02/01/2004

    The cabinet has said the higher band of VAT will be reduced from 22 to 19 percent. The change will come into effect on May 1st, when the Czech Republic joins the European Union. The lower band will remain unchanged at 5 percent, although some items will be moved to the higher band. The announcement was made after seven hours of talks on Sunday between representatives of the ruling coalition. The changes mean that items such as cars, electronic goods, clothes and telecommunications should be cheaper from May 1st.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Palas: Czech farmers could learn from Greek experience in drawing EU funds
    02/01/2004

    Agriculture Minister Jaroslav Palas has said Czech farmers could be as successful as their Greek counterparts in drawing funds from the European Union. Speaking during a visit to Greece, Mr Palas said Czech farmers could learn from the experience of Greece in winning agricultural subsidies from the EU.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Skromach: healthcare reform off agenda of Sunday's coalition talks
    01/31/2004

    The deputy leader of the senior coalition Social Democrats, Zdenek Skromach, has said discussion on the proposed reform of the country's healthcare system has been postponed. Mr Skromach said the proposals, submitted by the Health Minister Marie Souckova, had been taken off the agenda of Sunday's talks between coalition leaders. Mr Skromach said there would not be enough time for a discussion on both tax and healthcare reform. The proposed healthcare reforms are controversial, as they envisage reducing the number of doctors and increasing the financial burden on the patient.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Palas: Czech farmers could learn from Greek experience in drawing EU funds
    01/31/2004

    Agriculture Minister Jaroslav Palas has said Czech farmers could be as successful as their Greek counterparts in drawing funds from the European Union. Speaking during a visit to Greece, Mr Palas said Czech farmers could learn from the experience of Greece in winning agricultural subsidies from the EU.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Klaus meets with Russian Ambassador Savolsky
    01/30/2004

    Czech President Vaclav Klaus and Russian Ambassador Igor Savolsky met at the presidential retreat at Lany on Friday. Mr Savolsky, who has been representing his country in the Czech Republic for three years, is expected to leave his post early this year. He has been meeting with senior Czech politicians this week to discuss Czech-Russian relations before his departure. Both President Klaus and Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla, with whom Mr Savolsky met on Thursday, agree that economic and political bilateral relations are at their best since the fall of Communism. Mr Savolsky's most likely successor is Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexej Fedotov.
    Author: Dita Asiedu

  • Cabinet delays decision on same-sex partnerships
    01/28/2004

    The cabinet has delayed indefinitely a decision on a proposal to give legal status to same-sex partnerships. The latest proposal is the fourth gay-rights measure considered by the government since 1997; all previous bills have either been quashed by the cabinet or defeated in parliament. Activists from the organisation Czech Gay Initiative said on Wednesday they hoped the new delay was just "technical" and that the issue could be considered next week. The largest party in the coalition, the Social Democrats, are in favour of same-sex partnerships, while the Christian Democrats are opposed.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech police instructors to help train new Iraqi police force
    01/28/2004

    Ten Czech police instructors have left for Jordan, where they will help train Iraqi police officers. The Czech officers will be divided into two teams and be rotated every six months, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. The training will be of both a practical and theoretical nature, and is being financed jointly by the Czech Interior Ministry and the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Opposition leaders to boycott meeting over Czech European commissioner
    01/28/2004

    The leaders of the Czech parliament's two main opposition parties, the Civic Democrats and the Communists, have refused to attend a meeting called by Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla to discuss the appointment of the Czech Republic's first European commissioner. Both parties are expected to send representatives to the meeting, though the Civic Democrats said they might boycott it altogether.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Senate gives green light to sending Special Forces to Afghanistan
    01/28/2004

    The Senate has approved the sending of around 150 Czech soldiers to Afghanistan. The Chamber of Deputies is due to vote on the issue in the middle of February and the government hopes to send the troops, most of them members of the Czech Army's Special Forces, in the middle of April.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

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