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07/11/2002
And in related news the new parliament also passed a proposal Thursday allowing for six new parliament deputy chairmen. Six names were put forward by the parties Thursday afternoon: two representatives for the Social Democrats, two for the Civic Democrats and one each for the Freedom Union-DEU and the Communist Party. However, only two of the candidates prevailed: in secret ballots Christian Democrat Jan Kasal got 115 votes while Social Democrat candidate Jitka Kupcova got 142. The other candidates did not get the mandatory 101 votes with Freedom Union's Hana Marvanova coming up short with 95, while the Communist's Vojtech Filip got the least support, with just 48 votes. Proceedings have been postponed till later Thursday evening, when the lower house should vote again to try and fill the four remaining positions in a second round. There is speculation, however, that the proceedings could be postponed as late as next Tuesday, which would postpone the entire process of appointing the new government.
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07/10/2002
The European commissioner for enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, welcomed the formation of the new Czech government. Mr Verheugen said he was convinced that the new government would continue with pro-European policies. The Czech Republic plans to complete EU accession talks this year and could be admitted within the next enlargement wave in 2004.
Social Democrat leader Vladimir Spidla, who is expected to be appointed prime minister by President Vaclav Havel on Monday, said he was confident the government would achieve its main goal - that is to lead Czechs into the European Union.
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07/10/2002
Members of the Austrian parliament discussed on Wednesday what they termed "two obstacles" to Czech membership in the European Union, meaning the controversial Temelin nuclear power station and the post-war Benes Decrees which sanctioned the dispossession and expulsion of the Sudeten Germans from Czechoslovakia in 1945. The Austrian parliament also issued a statement calling for further talks on the possible closing of the Temelin power station situated close to the Czech-Austrian border. Earlier this year more than 900 thousand Austrians signed a petition in favour of blocking the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Temelin is shut down.
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07/10/2002
The leader of the opposition Civic Democratic Party Vaclav Klaus is going to seek re-election as chairman of the Lower House of Parliament. Mr Klaus will compete with Social Democrat candidate Lubomir Zaoralek who is expected to win in the Thursday election as the ruling coalition has a 101-vote majority in the 200-seat chamber.
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07/10/2002
The outgoing Prime Minister, Milos Zeman, is likely to become the Social Democrats' candidate for the office of Czech President, the party's deputy leader Zdenek Skromach told journalists on Wednesday. So far the Czech ombudsman, Otakar Motejl, has been mentioned as the party's most likely presidential candidate. By the end of the year, the Social Democrats are to agree on one candidate. Presidential elections are expected to take place early next year when Vaclav Havel's second and final term in office ends.
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07/08/2002
The three parties involved in talks to put together a new Czech government are expected to sign a final agreement, defining relations between the three partners. The final distribution of ministerial posts is also to be decided, as are the names of individual ministers. Although the two smaller parties the centrist Christian Democrats and the liberal Freedom Union are expected to challenge the Social Democrats on a number of unresolved issues, they say that these are not differences which could endanger the proposed agreement. The agreement in question will commit the three parties to support the governing coalition through its four year term in office. One of the points of contention is whether the coalition agreement should be signed just by the party leaders or by all 101 members of Parliament representing the parties in the coalition.
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07/08/2002
The 37th Karlovy Vary Film Festival is underway in the renowned west Bohemian spa town. Close to 300 films are being shown in the space of 10 days. The festival traditionally focuses on creative filmmakers from around the world who want to make a difference not a profit- and who often struggle for recognition. The films are also chosen with the aim of bridging the gap between the West and the countries of the former communist block. The festival's high point is the Crystal Globe award, a 20,000 dollar prize given to the festival's best premiere feature production.
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07/07/2002
A number of politicians involved in talks to put together a new Czech coalition government have said that President Vaclav Havel is likely to name the Social Democrat chief, Vladimir Spidla as the new Czech Prime Minister on Tuesday. The President's spokesman confirmed that this was a possibility. The head of the Christian Democrats, another of the parties involved in coalition talks, Cyril Svoboda, said that a final list of cabinet members should be ready within hours.
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07/07/2002
Austrian opponents to the Temelin nuclear power plant have said that the latest problems with plant's second reactor are further evidence of its flawed design. Plans to integrate the reactor into the Czech national grid had to be postponed on Friday. A spokesman for the plant, which combines Soviet and American technologies and is close to the Austria border, said that the delay was caused by a short circuit in the generator and it would take several days to establish the precise cause.
And in a connected story, local Austrian politicians, mayors and environmental activists met over the weekend in the border village of Mardetschlag. They said that they wanted to renew dialogue with their counterparts on the Czech side of the border over the future of Temelin. They agreed that it was counterproductive to reduce cooperation between communities and schools on both sides of the border because of the row over the nuclear plant. The meeting was also attended by the mayors of three Czech villages.
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07/07/2002
Despite traditional bad weather with heavy rain, there has been a party atmosphere over the weekend at the Karlovy Vary international film festival, with concerts and parties alongside a marathon of film screenings. As part of the section devoted to films from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, filmmakers from the region discussed the problems they currently face, in particular difficulties with raising money. Film critic Gergana Dakovska said that only four full-length feature films are made in her native Bulgaria each year. But the young Russian director, Sergej Potemkin was optimistic, saying that support for films in Russia, including film debuts, has increased. Over the weekend, visitors to the festival also had the chance to meet the most famous contemporary Korean director, Kim Ki-Duk, seven of whose films are being shown in Karlovy Vary. We'll be bringing you reports from the festival throughout the week.
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