• Czechs warned by Austria of obstacles to EU membership
    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.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Klaus runs for Lower House chairman
    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.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Social Democrats to put Zeman forward as presidential candidate
    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.
    Author: Pavla Horáková

  • Government agreement near completion
    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.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Karlovy Vary Film Festival
    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.
    Author: Daniela Lazarová

  • Spidla close to being named Prime Minister
    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.
    Author: David Vaughan

  • New problems over Temelin
    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.
    Author: David Vaughan

  • Bad weather and good spirits at film festival
    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.
    Author: David Vaughan

  • Legacy of reformer Jan Hus remembered
    07/07/2002

    Prague's Bethlehem Chapel was packed on Saturday evening for an ecumenical service. It was held to remember the legacy of the Czech reformer Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake in the German town of Constance on the 6th July 1415. The Patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, Jan Schwarz, who led the service, said that it was apt that today the Bethlehem Chapel does not belong to any single church or denomination. Jan Hus often preached in the chapel, one of the first places where sermons were given in Czech rather than Latin.
    Author: David Vaughan

  • NATO hopefuls confident of being invited to join in Prague
    07/06/2002

    Heads of government from ten countries aspiring to join NATO have expressed confidence that up to seven of them will be invited to join the alliance at the November NATO summit in Prague. The Estonian Prime Minister, Siim Kallas, told a meeting in the Latvian capital Riga that he could not see any negative signals.

    The Polish President, Aleksander Kwasniewski, told the Riga meeting that he favoured closer cooperation between countries set to join NATO and the European Union and those left out, in order to prevent a "velvet curtain" dividing Europe. He suggested that the Vilnius Group of ten NATO hopefuls merge with the Visegrad Group, made up of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and has since been a strong advocate of further expansion.
    Author: David Vaughan

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