No more embassy closures even if budget reduced, says Foreign Ministry

The Czech Foreign Ministry says it will not close any more Czech embassies, even if its funding is cut as part of efforts to reduce the budget deficit. The Czech News Agency said if the ministry’s budget is reduced it will probably be by about 2 percent. Officials say any savings would have to be made from costs and salaries, while some employees could be let go. Last month the Foreign Ministry shut down an embassy in Angola and a consulate in Montreal, while other such offices are set for closure in four other places. The minister of finance, Eduard Janota, reportedly aims to keep the budget deficit at 5.3 percent of GDP by making savings of CZK 16 billion.