• Opposition to war against Iraq still high, suggests poll
    04/26/2003

    The collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime has done little to change opposition among the Czech public to the war, according to a poll released on Friday by the CVVM polling agency. The latest poll, conducted in mid-April, suggests 70 percent of Czechs oppose the US-led war. A poll conducted in early March just before the war began suggested 72 percent of Czechs were against it. Of the 24 percent who said they were for the war in the latest poll, one third said it was necessary to remove Saddam Hussein while almost a quarter said it was a justifiable means of fighting terrorism.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President Klaus officially announces EU referendum for mid-June
    04/26/2003

    President Vaclav Klaus has officially announced that a referendum on whether the Czech Republic should join the European Union will be held on Friday June 13 and Saturday June 14. It will be the first referendum in the country's history and will be preceded by a large advertising campaign in support of membership. If the referendum is passed the Czech Republic is expected to join the EU on May 1, 2004.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czechs win first game at ice hockey World Championships
    04/26/2003

    The Czech Republic's ice hockey team have won their first game at the sport's World Championships in Finland. The Czechs beat Slovenia 5:2 on Saturday afternoon and take on Austria in their next game on Monday.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President Klaus officially announces EU referendum for mid-June
    04/25/2003

    President Vaclav Klaus has officially announced that a referendum on whether the Czech Republic should join the European Union will be held on Friday June 13 and Saturday June 14. It will be the first referendum in the country's history and will be preceded by a large advertising campaign in support of membership. If the referendum is passed the Czech Republic is expected to join the EU on May 1, 2004.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech field hospital in Iraq welcomes first patients
    04/25/2003

    A Czech military field hospital in the southern Iraqi city of Basra has treated its first patients. Relatively few patients visited the hospital however, as Friday is a day of prayer for Muslims. The hospital is being guarded by British forces in control of Basra. Deputy Defence Minister Jaroslav Skopek said on Friday that the hospital would be working at full capacity by May 6.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Czech, Russian foreign ministers discuss post-war Iraq
    04/25/2003

    The Czech foreign minister, Cyril Svoboda, has discussed the post-war situation in Iraq and bilateral relations with his Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, in Moscow. Mr Svoboda said the Russians had been particularly interested in the Czech decision to send a military field hospital to Iraq. He also said Czech President Vaclav Klaus would be attending celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of the foundation of St Petersburg in May, when he will also hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • President Klaus has no plans to issue amnesty
    04/25/2003

    President Klaus is not planning to mark his recent appointment by issuing an amnesty, his spokesman said on Friday, adding that while Mr Klaus regarded amnesties as important it would not be appropriate to issue one now. The president said before he was elected that he would not use his powers of amnesty or pardon to interfere in the legal system and frequently criticised his predecessor Vaclav Havel for doing so.
    Author: Ian Willoughby

  • Spidla, Rasmussen reject proposal for EU president
    04/24/2003

    The Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla and his Danish counterpart Anders Fogh Rasmussen say they oppose a plan to create the post of President of the European Union. Mr Rasmussen, visiting Prague, said he was sceptical towards the idea, proposed by the chairman of the EU Convention on the future of Europe, Valery Giscard D'Estaing. The Danish prime minister said a full-time EU president - who would represent the EU internationally and chair meetings of the EU Council of Ministers - would lead to big member states having greater power over smaller ones. Prime Minister Spidla said Czech and Danish attitudes to the future of the EU were extremely close.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Klaus-Svoboda dispute over EU continues unabated
    04/24/2003

    Meanwhile a dispute over the EU between Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda and President Vaclav Klaus continued on Thursday, with Mr Svoboda again distancing himself from recent remarks made by the president. President Klaus said during last week's EU signing ceremony in Athens that his country would lose some of its sovereignty when it joins the Union, comments which were harshly criticised by Mr Svoboda. The Foreign Minister said in parliament on Thursday that equating EU membership with loss of sovereignty was the same as encouraging people not to vote in the forthcoming EU referendum. President Klaus has often been criticised for his negative comments about the European Union, which his country will join in May 2004.
    Author: Rob Cameron

  • Havel opens new office in centre of Prague
    04/24/2003

    An assistant to Mr Havel said on Thursday that the former president had opened his new office in Prague's Vorsilska street. Mr Havel's office - where he will concentrate on reviving his writing career - is seated on the ground floor of a house belonging to Karel Schwarzenberg, his former chancellor. Mr Havel will have to finance the running of the office by himself until parliament passes a bill defining state pensions for ex- presidents.
    Author: Rob Cameron

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