• Iranians protest to Czech diplomat over EU “indifference” to Gaza
    01/21/2009

    The charge d’affaires of the Czech Republic, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday to hear a protest against what Tehran described as the EU’s indifference towards human rights violations by Israel in the Gaza Strip. Iranian TV said officials had also told diplomat Jan Kouřil that the EU’s silence encouraged Israel to commit further crimes of that kind.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Zetor cuts production and lays off staff due to financial crisis
    01/21/2009

    The Czech tractor-maker Zetor is to cut production to four days a week in February and March, a spokesperson said on Wednesday. As well as producing fewer tractors, the Brno-based company is planning to lay off around 130 of its 1,100 employees as demand falls due to the financial crisis. Other large firms in the Czech Republic, including Škoda Auto and Hyundai, have also reduced production recently.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Police continue recruitment campaign to fill 4,500 vacant posts
    01/21/2009

    The Czech police are to spend CZK 20 million on a recruitment campaign this year, just short of what they spent on a similar drive in 2008, the newspaper E15 reported. Despite the biggest intake in some years last year, 4,500 police positions are currently unfilled.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech office of Telefonica lands huge DHL contract
    01/21/2009

    The Czech office of the Spanish company Telefonica has won a contract worth over USD 450 million to provide services for the logistics group DHL, it said on Wednesday. The deal involves Telefonica O2 managing DHL’s communications services across Europe from Prague for the next five years.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Berdych and Šafářová into third round of Australian Open
    01/21/2009

    The Czech tennis player Tomáš Berdych has reached the third round of the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open. He beat Brian Dabul of Argentina 6-1 6-1 6-3 to set up a meeting with Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka. Berdych’s girlfriend Lucie Šafářová is also into round three in Melbourne, after beating Marina Erakovic of New Zealand 6-1 3-6 9-7; she now faces France’s Marion Bartoli.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech finance minister warns of ballooning public deficits in EU
    01/20/2009

    The Czech presidency of the European Union has urged member states to rein in their growing public deficit as soon as the economic crisis allows. Chairing a meeting of EU finance ministers devoted to crisis management, the Czech finance minister, Miroslav Kalousek, said that the coordinated fiscal stimulus now taking place must be followed by a coordinated effort to cut public deficits as soon as circumstances allow. The 27-member block agreed last December to pump 200 billion euros into their economies in the hope of minimizing the impact of the recession and public deficits, which are normally kept under 3 percent of GDP, are ballooning. The European Commission is expecting the combined EU shortfall to reach 4.4 percent of output in 2009. At least 12 member states are expected to go over limit this year.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech government sends fact-finding mission to Gaza
    01/20/2009

    Three Czech experts have left for Israel and the Palestinian territories in order to assess the humanitarian needs of people hit by the war in the Gaza Strip. The team was sent out by the Czech EU presidency ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Wednesday which is also to be attended by Israeli representatives. The EU is currently seeking ways to consolidate the ceasefire, improve humanitarian aid, restore electricity and water supplies and stop arms smuggling into Gaza.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Part of Entropa artwork covered up at Bulgaria’s request
    01/20/2009

    The Czech representation in Brussels has complied with Bulgaria’s request for its section of the controversial Entropa artwork, in which the country is pictured as a land of squat toilets, to be covered up. Created by Czech artist David Černý to mark the start of the Czech presidency, the symbolic map depicts the 27 member states through a variety of crude stereotypes that have sparked both amusement and anger. Czech Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs Alexander Vondra apologized last week for any offense the work may have caused. Entropa has been a source of embarrassment to Czech officials in Brussels after it emerged that artist David Černý duped the government into thinking that he was working on the project together with artists from the 26 other member states.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Industry minister welcomes resumption of gas supplies
    01/20/2009

    Czech Industry Minister Martin Ríman on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of natural gas supplies from Russia but said that Russian gas must flow through Ukraine to Europe for at least three days before the crisis can be considered well and truly over. The Czech EU presidency led the talks aimed at resolving the gas dispute between Russian and Ukraine, but its efforts were repeatedly thwarted by fresh controversy between the two neighbour states. The drawn-out disputes over pricing and payment have led the EU to consider a diversification of its energy supplies.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • EU officials to meet with Afghan foreign minister
    01/20/2009

    EU officials are scheduled to meet with Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta for talks in Prague on January 28. According to a Czech government statement the talks will focus on the relationship between the EU and Afghanistan, the situation in Afghanistan and regional ties. The EU will be represented by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and by EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

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