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05/25/2007
The European Commission will warn the Czech Republic next week that it is failing to do enough to rein in its public finance deficit: a statement was issued by an EU official on Thursday. The European Union launched legal action against the Czech Republic in 2004 requiring the country to bring its deficit below an EU-limit of three percent of the gross domestic product by 2008. Although the Czech deficit is thought to have dropped within the limit to 2.9 percent last year, the Commission's most recent forecasts predict it rising to 3.9 percent in 2007.
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05/25/2007
A crowd of around 5,000 residents in the Czech Republic's second-largest city of Brno gathered on Friday to get a chance to see the presidents of 15 central and eastern European states ahead of a two-day conference now underway. Some areas were blocked off to create a corridor for the arrival of the heads of state. The presidents are meeting in Brno as part of an annual conference this year hosted by Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Among topics on the agenda are relations with Russia and dialogue with the European Union, as well as the future of Kosovo and the safety of the Czech nuclear power plant Temelin.
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05/25/2007
In related news, speaking at the presidents' conference in Brno on Friday Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek backed a plan for parts of a broader US missile defence shield to be hosted by Poland and the Czech Republic. He called the system a "necessary" step that would markedly increase security for the Czech Republic, its allies and neighbours. He and President Vaclav Klaus also pledged that the Czech Republic would support further expansion of the European Union. The conference in Brno lasts until Saturday.
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05/25/2007
A Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed on Thursday that the Czech Republic - together with Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary as well as the Baltic states - has addressed members of the US Congress in a letter presenting a joint-stance towards possible changes to the US visa waiver programme. The spokesman said that the initiative was aiming to secure the best possible negotiating conditions regarding possible visa-free relations. The countries that signed the letter established the so-called Coalition for Visa Equality last year. Earlier US representatives indicated that the visa waiver programme could be broadened at the end of US President George W. Bush's final term in office.
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05/25/2007
The government committee for intelligence services has decided that the civilian counter-intelligence service (BIS) and the civilian intelligence (UZSI) will not merge under a new reorganisation of Czech intelligence. The government had been considering a merger of the two intelligence services for some time. But the plan was strongly criticised by some politicians and experts. The UZSI gathers foreign intelligence information for the government and senior officials, while the BIS operates in the Czech Republic, gathering for example information on potential terrorist threats, extremist groups, and illegal arms trading.
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05/25/2007
Former Czech president Vaclav Havel has decided to not accept an award for humanism in a ceremony in Montenegro on Monday that he was to receive for his contributions. Mr Havel was reportedly asked by Montenegrin intellectual circles protesting the awards to distance himself from Monday's ceremony, as figures like controversial former prime minister Milo Djukanovic, who served during the collapse of Yugoslovia in the 1990s, will be among those recognised. The award is being given by the International League of Humanists (ILH).
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05/25/2007
The results of a new poll conducted by the CVVM agency have suggested that trust in the Czech government has gone up, increasing from 30 percent in April this year to 36 percent in May. By contrast, trust in President Vaclav Klaus, who traditionally enjoys high support, decreased slightly (by four percentage points) to 71 percent.
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05/25/2007
Czech tennis player Radek Stepanek will face a tough opponent in the upcoming opening round of the French Open. He will face Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, seeded fifth in the tournament. Draws for the grand slam event were completed in Paris on Friday. The Czech Republic's highest-ranked player Tomas Berdych, who is seeded 10th, will play Spain's Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. In the women's tournament the Czech Republic's best female player, Nicole Vaidisova, will face off first against Emanuelle Gagliard; Vaidisova made it to the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year.
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05/24/2007
The presidents of 16 central and eastern European states are gathering in the Czech Republic's second city Brno, ahead of an annual conference which is being hosted this year by Czech President Vaclav Klaus. Among the subjects on the agenda at this year's meeting are dialogue with the European Union, relations with Russia and security questions. President Klaus has said disputes in the regions of Kosovo and Transnistria will also be discussed by him and his counterparts.
Ahead of the conference, the authorities in Brno hired specialised teams to remove graffiti on the route between the airport and the centre of the city. Pavements in the historic centre of the Moravian capital were also repaired on the eve of the presidents' visit.
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05/24/2007
Meanwhile Czech President Vaclav Klaus remains popular with voters in this country; a poll conducted this month by the STEM agency suggests three quarters of Czechs "trust" Mr Klaus. He has enjoyed ratings of 70 percent or more since his election as president in 2003.
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