• CVVM backs Sofres-Factum poll: Social Democrats ahead by slsim margin
    06/06/2002

    A second opinion poll to be released this week has claimed that the ruling Social Democrats are slightly ahead of the opposition Civic Democrats as general elections in the Czech Republic approach. The survey, conducted by the state-funded Centre for Public Opinion Research (CVVM), put the ruling Social Democrats on almost 22 percent of the vote, and the Civic Democrats in second with just under 20 percent. The results echo a poll released on Wednesday by the Sofres-Factum agency. The narrow gap between the two leading parties suggests that neither will win an outright majority, meaning that the next government could be formed by a coalition.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Verheugen: return of Klaus would not affect Czech EU entry
    06/05/2002

    The European Union's Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, has said he is sure the Czech Republic will remain on track to join the EU, even if former prime minister Vaclav Klaus returns to power. Mr Verheugen said no possible government in the Czech Republic would turn the country against European integration. Mr Klaus is accused by some of being Euro-sceptic. He denies the charges, describing himself as a Euro-realist. Public opinion polls have shown his right-of-centre Civic Democrats, whose election campaign has often had nationalist undertones, running neck and neck with the ruling Social Democrats.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Hundreds of Czech and Slovak Roma apply for asylum in Sweden
    06/04/2002

    Hundreds of Romanies from the Czech Republic and Slovakia have been applying for asylum in Sweden. In May, 74 Czech and 206 Slovak Roma asked for political asylum in the country, which is the same number as in the whole of 2001. None of the Czech and Slovak applicants were granted political asylum in Sweden either this or last year. Since January 111 Czech and 421 Slovak Roma have applied for asylum in Sweden. The majority of the Czech applicants are said to come from the north Moravian region of Ostrava. Swedish authorities say they think the attempts at mass-immigration from former Eastern Bloc countries are well organised.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • EU hotline receives its 100,000th query
    06/04/2002

    A toll-free hotline for questions about what Czechs can expect from the European Union has received its 100,000th query since the phones started ringing in October, the Czech government said on Monday. The milestone was reached on Friday at 3 p.m. when accountant Petra Dvorakova telephoned with questions about the practical changes she can expect at work after the Czech Republic joins the E.U., probably in 2004. The phone line, operated on weekdays by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gets about 1,000 calls a day. Most questions concern the advantages and disadvantages of EU membership Recent polls have found a majority of Czechs favour EU membership, although EU scepticism among conservative voters is expected to play a role in next week's parliamentary elections.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Spidla rejects idea of forming coalition with Communists or Civic Democrats
    06/02/2002

    The leader of the governing Social Democrats, Vladimir Spidla, said his party would not be prepared to form a coalition with the Communist Party or the Civic Democrats after the upcoming general elections. Speaking on a television debate programme with the leader of the Civic Democrats, Vaclav Klaus, Mr Spidla said he would consider forming a minority government if necessary. With the elections due to take place on June 14 and 15, opinion polls are putting the Social Democrats a few points behind the Civic Democrats.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Austrian parties criticise Drabova for statements on Temelin's second reactor
    06/02/2002

    The Austrian governing-coalition Freedom Party and opposition Social Democrats have criticised statements made by the head of the Czech Nuclear Safety Office, Dana Drabova. Mrs Drabova said in a newspaper interview that when the second reactor at the Czech Temelin nuclear power station goes into test operation, faults could be discovered and the reactor could be quickly shut down. A series of faults have seen the first reactor at the plant shut down on numerous occasions since the launch of the plant began in October 2000. Many in neighbouring Austria and Germany are opposed to Temelin, which they say is unsafe.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Havel disquieted by statements by Havel and Spidla on ethnic Germans
    06/01/2002

    President Vaclav Havel has expressed his disquiet over recent statements made by Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Labour and Social Affairs Minister Vladimir Spidla about the post-war expulsion of Czechoslovakia's ethnic German minority. Mr Havel said in an interview on the German television station ARD that while he was in favour of calm reflection on the issue, it was dangerous to inject passion into the debate. Mr Zeman recently said that Czechoslovakia's German minority had wanted to join the 'reich' and that is what they had done, while Mr Spidla said that the expulsion had been a source of peace in the post-war period.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Havel discusses Benes decrees with Austrian counterpart
    06/01/2002

    Mr Havel met the Austrian President Thomas Klestil at a meeting of presidents from Central and Eastern Europe in Slovenia on Saturday. The APA news agency reported that Mr Klestil had called for a "political or legislative declaration" to abrogate the Benes decrees, which sanctioned the post-war expulsion of Germans. He and Mr Havel agreed to meet again in south Moravia in September.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Foreign Minister Jan Kavan meets president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    05/30/2002

    Foreign Minister Jan Kavan and the president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Thomas Dine have met to discuss alternative locations for the U.S.-funded radio station, although both declined to comment on possible sites for the new headquarters just yet. They are waiting to first present a plan to the State Security Office on June 25th. On Thursday Radio Free Europe spokeswoman Sonia Winter indicated that both sides were close to an agreement that would determine a new and safer location for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, than the current headquarters at the top of Prague's busy St Wenceslas Square. RFE / Radio Liberty have been under guard, first by army and now by police units, ever since the September 11th attacks on the U.S. last year.
    Author: Jan Velinger

  • Czech Airlines suffers losses of 456 million crowns
    05/30/2002

    By Czech accounting standards CAS Czech Airlines suffered losses of 456 million crowns in the year 2001, while the International Accounting Standards indicate that the carriers profits fell by 57 percent from the previous year. The losses come in reaction to last year's September 11th terrorist attacks, and the international airline crisis that ensued. CSA's yearly profits for 2001 totalled 260 million crowns, or almost 8 million dollars US.
    Author: Jan Velinger

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