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President Miloš Zeman begins a two-day state visit to Serbia on Tuesday. The Czech head of state will be received by President Tomislav Nikolic and is also expected to meet with Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic for talks focusing on bilateral relations and new business opportunities. The Czech president is also expected to voice his country’s support for Serbia’s accession to the European Union. He will inaugurate an exhibition in Belgrade on Czech-Serbian military cooperation and meet with Czech expats and Czech entrepreneurs doing business in Serbia.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said he would be prepared to back the construction of a fifth reactor at the Dukovany nuclear power plant in southern Moravia. On a visit to Třebíč on Monday the prime minister said he would bring the matter up within the ongoing debate on the government’s long-term energy strategy. Dukovany has a licence to operate its four nuclear reactors until 2015 and plans to ask for an extension until 2025 and eventually 2035. A newly-built reactor could produce energy for another 60 years. Meanwhile the expansion of the Temelín nuclear power plant in south Bohemia from the present two to four reactors looks increasingly uncertain.

Following the closure of the Rožná uranium mine northwest of Brno, the state owned uranium mining company Diamo wants to open a new uranium mine near Brzkov in the Jihlava region. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka expressed preliminary support for the idea on Monday saying the cabinet would debate the matter and make a decision within the next few months. Villages located in the vicinity of the potential mining site have previously protested against the idea. If the project were to go ahead, preparation work would take up six to seven years after which the site would be mined for around 16 years, providing jobs for several hundred people.

The Finance Ministry is aiming for a 2015 state budget with a 100 billion crown deficit, i.e a gap below 3 percent of the GDP, according to ministry sources. The proposed draft budget will be put to the three coalition parties of the centre-left government on April 9th. Finance Minister Andrej Babiš has refused to reveal further details until the proposal has been debated in cabinet. The ministry wants to improve the state of public finances by an overhaul in public spending and cracking down on tax evaders. The finance minister has also indicated he wants to invest or use profits from state owned firms, such as the power giant ČEZ.