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Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek presented his plans to protect the Czech economy from the fall-out of the global financial crisis on Tuesday, a document which opposition MPs called too general and superficial. Mr Topolánek warned that while the Czech economy had remained relatively isolated from the financial crisis so far, the country’s exporters in particular were already beginning to feel the squeeze. In his blueprint, Mr Topolánek advocated a hastened implementation of proposed government reforms. He also urged MPs to pass the draft state budget for next year in its current state, and make alterations to the budget when parliament reconvenes in the new year. The opposition criticized the prime minister’s plans, with Communist MP Jiří Dolejš saying that neither employers nor unions had been consulted on the matter.

Direct foreign investment in the Czech Republic rose in 2007 by 50 percent to 185.3 billion crowns (9.2 billion USD), the Czech Statistical Office said on Tuesday. According to the office, foreign investment accounts for a much higher than average share of GDP in the Czech Republic. Around 55 percent of this country’s gross domestic product is made up of foreign investment, as opposed to 31 percent in Poland and 20 percent in Slovenia. Of the EU’s newer member states, Estonia tops the list of those most dependent upon foreign investment, with 77 percent of all GDP generated by outside investment.

The winner of this year’s Grand restaurant poll, compiled by food critic Pavel Maurer, is Prague’s Alcron restaurant. The results were announced in the daily Hospodářské noviny on Tuesday. Alcron, on Prague’s Štěpánská Street, rose eight places to first in this year’s list, with the restaurant’s new chef Roman Paulus taking most of the credit for the overall victory. Last year’s winner, Prague’s U Lípy restaurant, ranked outside of the top ten in this year’s poll. According to Hospodářské noviny, the poll was conducted by over 500 adjudicators, consuming over 6.5 million crowns’ (321,000 USD) worth of food.

Lower house chairman Miloslav Vlček on Monday called an extraordinary session of the lower house on December 9 to deal with the Lisbon treaty. The move comes in response to calls for the treaty to be ratified as soon as possible in view of the Czech Republic’s upcoming EU presidency. The Czech Constitutional Court ruled last week that the terms of the treaty do not violate the Czech Constitution, opening the way for a vote on it in both houses of Parliament. Following the treaty’s ratification by Sweden, the Czech Republic is the only EU member states which has not yet voted on the document.