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01/01/2009
In his New Year’s greetings to the citizens of the Czech Republic European Commission President Jose Barroso said he was convinced the Czech Republic would do very well as president of the EU. Mr. Barroso praised the priorities of the Czech presidency as well as Prime Minister Topolánek's resolve to ratify the Lisbon treaty as soon as possible. He said the EU's primary task at present is to minimize the impact of the global crisis on the European market.
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01/01/2009
More than half of all Czechs fear that the global economic crisis will worsen their living conditions. Sixty-eight percent of respondents in small and medium sized towns said they were worried about loosing their jobs and 38 percent of respondents said they worried about their savings. The fear of being out of a job is strongest among qualified labourers and people between 45 and 59 years of age.
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12/30/2008
The Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, is to attend a specially convened European Union meeting in Paris on Tuesday evening to discuss Israel’s ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Mr Schwarzenberg is planning to listen to the views of other countries rather than advancing a Czech position, which – given that the Czech Republic assumes the presidency of the EU on Thursday – could be misconstrued as the official position of the EU, a Czech Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Finding a common EU position on the Middle East conflict is one of the tasks facing the Czech presidency. Prague is planning to host an EU-Israel conference in the first half of 2009, while an EU-Palestine summit is also a possibility, the Czech News Agency reported.
At the weekend Minister Schwarzenberg defended Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. He also expressed regrets over the poor living conditions which led young people in Gaza to join radical organisations, and called for the resumption of a cease-fire.
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12/30/2008
The Czech ambassador to the EU has described the attitude of the French during their presidency as “sometimes excessively dominant”. Milena Vicenová told the Czech News Agency that French officials had occasionally used the tactic of submitting documents at the very last minute and only in French. However, she said she rated the French presidency generally positively, pointing out its success in bringing EU states to an agreement on a climate-energy package, and praising French officials’ “perfect use of time”. Ms Vicenova, who will be one of the major figures of the Czech presidency, said it could be difficult in some respects to follow an experienced player who has helmed the EU 12 times. Nevertheless, she said the Czech EU presidency could make a pleasant change.
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12/30/2008
Confidence in the Czech economy fell significantly in December, according to official government figures released on Tuesday. Business confidence fell by 8.9 percent, while consumer confidence was 8.7 percent lower than in November. Both indicators are at their lowest in nine years.
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12/30/2008
Meanwhile, half of the country’s entrepreneurs believe they will spend the whole of next year dealing with the effects of the global financial crisis – which they think will carry over into 2010. That is according to a poll carried out by the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic before Christmas. Almost two-thirds of the firms surveyed said 2008 had been a successful year, although most said they were already feeling the impact of the credit crunch in the final quarter.
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12/30/2008
The only factory making matches in the Czech Republic is to halt production after 170 years on Wednesday. The Solo factory in Sušice is letting nearly 60 employees go due to the fact the price of matches is stagnant while costs are rising. Its machinery is being exported to India.
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12/30/2008
Vlastimil Košťál has resigned as deputy chairman of the Czech football association, the website tyden.cz reported. Mr Košťál has a long association with Sparta Prague and was until last summer the business manager of the Czech national team. He is one is one of the most powerful – but also most unpopular – people in Czech football. In a letter of resignation Mr Košťál said he was quitting for personal reasons.
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12/29/2008
The Interior Ministry has announced the final list of 12 countries whose citizens can apply for a green card to work in the Czech Republic. The number of countries is smaller than was originally envisaged, due to the global financial crisis and an expected fall in demand for low-paid workers from abroad. The countries concerned include Ukraine and all states of the former Yugoslavia with the exception of Kosovo. The Vietnamese, who make up one of the largest ethnic minorities in the Czech Republic, are also not included. Foreigners in the Czech Republic can currently only seek jobs that are not filled within 30 days with applicants from the Czech Republic or another EU country.
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12/29/2008
The Czech National Bank admits there could be a greater economic slowdown next year than previously forecast, the daily Hospodářské noviny reported, citing the bank’s governor Zdeněk Tůma. The most recent forecast of the Czech National Bank estimated a growth of 2.9 percent; now it says Czech GDP may only grow by 0.5 percent in 2009. Zdeněk Tůma says the change is caused by the global downturn, which is sharper than it was expected at the time the forecast was drafted.
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