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Czech Unions have warned that public transport will grind to a halt in many Czech towns during a one-hour strike to be staged in June in protest of government reforms. The head of the Bohemian and Moravian Transport Workers' Union Jan Rejský made the announcement on Thursday. He stressed there are around 10,000 union members in public transport, half of whom are expected to take part in the strike. It is unclear whether the protest will also be staged in the Czech capital. The trade unions have accused the government of taking measures that, given current inflation has led to the fall in real wages in education, health care, and the public sector.

The president of the European Commission, Jose Barroso, has praised the Czech Republic’s preparations for its presidency of the European Union in the first half of next year. Speaking after talks in Prague with the Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolánek, Mr Barroso said Mr Topolánek had very clear ideas about the main priorities for the Czech presidency. The Commission president said the Czech Republic would be heading the EU in a key period when it was forming new rules on its operation under the Treaty of Lisbon. Mr Topolánek said he was confident all 27 members would have ratified the reform document by the end of this year, paving the way for its implementation during the Czech presidency.

The Portuguese Commission president and Mr Topolánek also discussed the upcoming Euro 2008 football tournament, where their two countries will meet in the group stage. Mr Barroso said the game would feature the two best teams in the world.

The centre of Prague will get up to 150,000 square metres of new retail space in the next five years, Prague 1 councillor Filip Dvořák told reporters on Thursday. Among the projects planned are two shopping centres: Copa, which is due to go up near the Tesco department store on Národní třída; and Savarin, which will be built near the bottom of Wenceslas Square.

Czech Post says it will attempt to deliver some 25,000 letters found dumped in Břeclav, south Moravia to their addressees, Lidové noviny reported. The company described the dumping of around 40,000 letters and parcels in the town, which was discovered earlier this year, as the greatest scandal in its history. The mail to be delivered will be accompanied by a letter of apology from Czech Post and a gift of stamps worth CZK 100. Over 10,000 of the letters found in Břeclav have been destroyed because they were in such a bad state. Police are still investigating the theft of the mail.