President Klaus questions church property restitution

President Václav Klaus has questioned the government’s plans for the restitution of church property confiscated by the communist regime in the 1950s. Speaking at an economic forum in Prague on Wednesday, Mr Klaus said there were several issues that still needed to be clarified, and that he had doubts about whether the government had chosen the right concept for the restitution, particularly in relation to its scope.

The government plans to return physical property worth around 75 billion crowns to Czech churches which would receive some 59 billion crowns as reimbursement for the rest. The respective legislation is awaiting debate in the lower house of Parliament.

Author: Jan Richter