• President’s Office publishes transcript of stormy meeting with MEPs
    12/06/2008

    In an unprecedented move, the President’s Office has published a transcript of Friday’s meeting between President Klaus and a delegation of the European Parliament which ended in sharp dispute. The head of the President’s Office Jiří Weigl strongly criticized some of the statements made in the course of the meeting, saying that the leader of the European Greens MEP Cohn-Bendit had devised the talks as a provocation. The Czech president was visibly angered when MEP Cohn-Bendit told him that in his position he had no right meeting with people like Declan Ganley, the Irish opponent of the Lisbon treaty, and asked him to explain his ties to the man. Mr. Klaus said later he had never been addressed in such a manner in all his years as head of state. Mr. Cohn-Bendit told Mlada Fronta Dnes that he had been intentionally provocative, saying that the Czech President should have been prepared to get asked certain questions.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Workers’ Party stages anti-government protest
    12/06/2008

    Around 300 members and supporters of the far-right Workers’ Party staged a protest in Prague on Saturday against a government proposal to have the party outlawed on the grounds that its activities frequently overstep the boundaries of the law. The protest took place right outside Clarion Hotel, the site of the weekend conference of the Civic Democratic Party, and was kept in check by some 500 officers. The leader of the Workers Party Tomas Vandas accused the government of suppressing freedom of speech and said that the party would remain a force to be reckoned with under this name or another.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czechs yet to feel the strain of the global financial crisis
    12/06/2008

    Economic analysts say that Czech consumers have yet to feel the effects of the global financial crisis. A number of independent analysts polled by the CTK news agency said that while banks have tightened the criteria for loans and mortgages, real wages are still growing, the price of fuel has dropped and unemployment does not pose a great risk for the majority of Czechs. However they predict that in the first quarter of next year people will be fully exposed to the effects of the global crisis, with family budgets burdened by higher electricity, heating and water bills.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech Republic hosts World Floorball Championships
    12/06/2008

    In the first game of the World Floorball Championships currently taking place in the Czech Republic the Swiss team beat Estonia 7: 6. The Czechs are due to play their first game against Russia and will then face the unchallenged world champions from Sweden - a star team that has won all six world championships held to date in this relatively new sport.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Meeting between president and EU delegation sees argument
    12/05/2008

    A meeting between Czech President Václav Klaus and members of the European Parliament erupted in sharp dispute on Friday, with the president of the EP Hans-Gert Poettering stepping in to try and calm the situation, the news site aktuálně.cz reported. According to aktuálně, Mr Klaus was angered when questioned by Green Party MEP Daniel Cohn-Bendit and wanted to cut the meeting short. Mr Cohn-Bendit is said to have asked the president about his stance on the Lisbon treaty, as well as about his ties to Declan Ganley, the head of the conservative think-tank Libertas (Mr Klaus, a euro-sceptic, met with the Irish businessman last month in the face of EU criticism). Daniel Cohn-Bendit later described Friday’s meeting at Prague Castle as “crazy” and Mr Klaus’s behaviour as “paranoid”. The president’s spokesman Jiří Weigl rejected Mr Cohn-Bendit’s account of the incident and called his actions a “provocation”.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Civic Democrats begin leadership conference
    12/05/2008

    The ruling Civic Democrats have begun a three-day conference to decide on the next party leader and set the party’s course for the coming months. Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, chairman of the Civic Democrats since 2002, is being challenged by Prague Mayor Pavel Bém, highly critical of the Civic Democrats’ current direction. After receiving far higher regional backing, Mirek Topolánek is currently expected to retain the post. Unlike Mr Topolánek, who is for the continuation of the current coalition with the Christian Democrats and the Greens, Mr Bém said he would prefer a minority Civic Democrat government. Around 500 delegates will vote on Sunday to decide on the party’s next leader.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Opposition leader not against minority government
    12/05/2008

    In related news, Jiří Paroubek, the leader of the opposition Social Democrats, said on Friday that his party might be willing to back a minority Civic Democrat government but only on the condition tolerance of such a government would be tied to early elections.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Solana backs Czech EU presidency
    12/05/2008

    The EU Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana has expressed confidence that the upcoming Czech EU presidency will be “a big success”. He made the comment on Friday after meeting with the Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg. The two discussed the role of the EU as well as the importance of a planned meeting between the heads of EU member states and incoming US president Barack Obama. The Czech Republic will hold the EU presidency when Mr Obama is sworn in. Along with relations with the US, other issues that the Czech presidency will face will include the global economic crisis as well as contributing to stability in the Balkans, where the Czechs have several hundred troops in peacekeeping missions.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Poettering outlines EP address by prime minister, president
    12/05/2008

    The president of the European parliament Hans-Gert Poettering has revealed that Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek will address the European Parliament next month when the Czech Republic takes up the six-month EU presidency, and will be followed by Czech President Václav Klaus in February. In Prague on Thursday Mr Poettering stressed he considered Mr Topolánek - and not the Czech president - the head of the European Council. Mr Poettering also said he expected Mr Klaus would deliver a speech that would contribute to the EU’s strengthening.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Press: Škoda to lay-off 870 workers
    12/05/2008

    Czech carmaker Škoda Auto reportedly could lay-off as many as 870 employees, the Czech daily Mladá fronta Dnes has reported. The car manufacturer is facing an economic slow-down due to global financial crisis and freezing production for three weeks in December. The potential lay-offs represent some three percent of Škoda Auto’s workforce.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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