Czech Republic against new bank tax

The Czech Republic is against the introduction of a new bank tax in the European Union which should serve as a reserve fund for possible liquidity crises. Caretaker prime minister, Jan Fischer, who is attending Thursday’s EU summit on economic policy, said that in its present form the proposal was too rigid and too many questions remained unanswered. The EC is pushing for a common stand on the issue ahead of a G20 finance ministers meeting at the end of June, where it hopes to persuade other countries to adopt similar measures. Another controversial issue discussed is whether the EC should have the right to review member states’ budgets before they are presented to national parliaments for approval.