News

President Vaclav Klaus on Friday signed the law on the 2009 state budget, approved by the lower house last week. The president signed the bill into law despite the fact that he questioned the estimates on which it is based, saying that the government should have revised the figures with regard to the global financial crisis. The budget, which envisages a 38.1 billion crown deficit, is based on a growth forecast of 4.8 percent, a figure that experts say is unrealistic. Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek later admitted that the estimate was misleading and the deficit could reach 60 billion crowns or more. However analysts say that having a budget framework is in itself positive at a time of economic uncertainty.

Two MEPs have nominated Czech President Václav Klaus for the European Citizenship Prize awarded by the European Parliament. Czech MEP Jana Bobošíková and Danish MEP Hanne Dahl from the Independence and Democracy faction submitted the proposal on Thursday. Ms. Bobošíkova said Mr. Klaus had been nominated “for his struggle for democracy in Europe and an extremely responsible approach to the defense of free and fair democratic discussion”.

A proposed selective elimination of controversial health fees introduced by Health Minister Tomáš Julínek remains in limbo as politicians iron out differences over legislation. The Minister has promised a willingness to compromise as both the government and opposition Social Democrats work on a plan that could see under-18s, low-income groups as well as seniors exempted from having to pay to visit a doctor, as well as exemptions for prescription fees. Meanwhile, the Czech Prime Minister indicated that the current system is not sustainable from a political point-of-view, in that it remains deeply unpopular and has seen the opposition successfully use it as a rallying point. At present, politicians from all sides are presenting various formulations for how to structure the exemptions – a decision will reportedly be made on Friday as to which version to present to the lower house of parliament for a vote.

New figures suggest that retail sales fell by 3.3 percent in October. The figures quoted by the daily Mladá Fronta Dnes, strongly contrast with a 6.1 percent growth in sales the previous month. The figures represent the third monthly drop in 2008 and are causing alarm bells to ring among economists. Meanwhile, reduced prices by many outlets as well as increased Christmas-time spending will, according to analysts, only slightly mitigate the overall trend. Car sales are registering the greatest dip in sales, but small businesses such as restaurants are also registering a dip in visitor numbers. However, according to Czech Statistics Office figures, sales are up in a number of specialized fields including electronics, furniture and other home-related items.