• Lower house requests audit into Supreme Audit Office management
    06/13/2009

    The lower house of Parliament has assigned its audit committee to look into the finances of the Czech Supreme Audit Office on suspicion of mismanagement, the ctk news agency reported. Deputies from the audit committee said that in order to exclude suspicion of political bias they would most likely hire an independent auditor for the job. The lower house demanded an audit in connection with a number of dubious transactions. For instance it has come to light that the Supreme Audit Office repeatedly modified the extent of a contract so that its value dipped under two million crowns, which is the limit for compulsory public tenders.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Social Democrat leadership fails to elect deputy chairwoman
    06/13/2009

    The leadership of the Social Democratic Party on Saturday failed to fill the post of deputy chairwoman, despite the fact that the party’s statutes say there must be at least one woman in the party leadership. The only candidate in the running 36-year–old Alena Borůvková failed to get enough support in two rounds of voting and the party leadership decided to leave the post unfilled until after the autumn general elections.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czechs mark Tax Freedom Day
    06/13/2009

    According to the Prague-based Liberal Institute this year’s Tax Freedom Day in the Czech Republic falls on June 13th. Tax Freedom Day is the day in the year when the average Czech has earned enough to pay his annual tax bill. This means that people’s entire earnings in the first 163 days of the year will go to support government expenditures, anything earned after that is theirs alone. The day on which it falls this year reflects the economic crisis, last year it was on June 7th. The OECD average this year is June 11th.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Fire ravages country house, injures eight
    06/13/2009

    A fire ravaged a country house in Semilsko, north of the country in the early hours of Saturday injuring eight people, two of them seriously. When fire-crews and a rescue helicopter arrived on the spot the house was in flames and the inner staircase had collapsed meaning that five of the eight inhabitants had to be airlifted from the roof. Police are investigating the cause of the fire.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Smetana's Litomyšl International Opera Festival underway
    06/13/2009

    The Czech Republic's largest open-air classical music event - Smetana's Litomyšl International Opera Festival kicked off on Friday evening with a concert featuring works by Franz Joseph Haydn, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartoldy and Bohuslav Martinů. The opera festival, now in its 51st year, is traditionally held in the town of Litomysl where Czech composer Bedřich Smetana was born. Among the highlights of this year’s festival is a concert of Italian and Spanish music of the 17th century performed by Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená and a top chamber ensemble of old instruments. The festival will run until July 6th.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Sarkozy, Fischer back a second term for Barroso
    06/12/2009

    French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer have backed a second term for European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. After a meeting with President Sarkozy in Paris on Friday, Prime Minister Fischer, who currently heads the Czech EU presidency, said Mr. Barroso had the Czech Republic’s full support. The interim prime minister, who took over after the fall of Mirek Topolánek’s centre-right government in March, is now holding a series of talks with EU leaders to discuss preparations for next week’s EU summit in Brussels, the last to be held under the Czech EU presidency. Following his meeting with President Sarkozy, Prime Minister Fischer dismissed speculation about a rift with France following criticism of the Czech presidency, saying the meeting had been cordial and productive.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech foreign minister to push for sanctions against Burmese military junta
    06/12/2009

    Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said on Friday the Czech Republic would push for clear, strong and targeted EU sanctions against the Burmese military junta in an effort to obtain the release of the country’s political prisoners. Minister Kohout on Friday received a petition in support of the release of Burmese political prisoners signed by 5,000 Czechs. He pledged to push for sanctions at a meeting of EU foreign ministers next Monday, which he will chair on behalf of the Czech EU presidency. He said restrictive measures against the Burmese regime were supported by all 27 EU countries, but the ministers had yet to agree on how far they should go.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech presidency calls on EU to fight malnutrition in hospitals
    06/12/2009

    The Czech EU presidency on Friday called on EU countries to take measures to prevent unnecessary illnesses and fatalities caused by malnutrition in hospitals. According to a European survey, some 40 percent of patients in hospitals in the Czech Republic and other EU countries suffer from malnutrition. In the facilities with provided home care up to 60 percent of inmates are starving. Malnutrition may lead to serious health problems, it prolongs the time of treatment and increases its costs. Experts say the cost of treating illnesses provoked by malnutrition amounts to 170 billion euros annually, but its prevention would save up to 1000 euros per hospitalized patient.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Czech presidency calls informal summit of EU and Jordan
    06/12/2009

    The Czech EU presidency has convoked an informal summit of the EU and Jordan in Brussels on June 17, a diplomatic source told the ctk news agency on Friday. The meeting will be attended by the king of Jordan, Abdullah II, EC President Jose Manuel Barroso, EU high representative for foreign and security policy Javier Solana, and Czech President Vaclav Klaus. According to diplomats, the EU-Jordan summit will focus on the Middle East peace process and the possibilities of solving persisting disputes between Israel and the Palestinians.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Finance ministry says public spending gap to grow
    06/12/2009

    Due to the economic crisis, the Czech Republic's public finance deficit is expected to grow significantly above the level of 3 percent of GDP necessary to adopt the euro in the coming years, according to a fiscal outlook published by the Czech Finance Ministry on Friday. This year’s deficit is expected to reach 4.5 percent of GDP, next year’s is projected at 5.1 percent and the deficit in 2011 is expected to reach 4.9 percent of GDP. The Finance Ministry notes in this connection that the EU will probably soon start excessive debt procedure with the Czech Republic. This procedure was concluded with the Czech Republic only last year in June thanks to the country’s good results in 2007. The public finance gap last year reached 1.5 percent of GDP. Due to the Czech Republic’s export-oriented economy, the global crisis has significantly changed the country’s economic potential and fiscal goals.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

Pages