Talks with Canada on lifting visa requirement making headway

Talks with Canadian authorities on lifting the visa requirement for Czech citizens are reportedly making headway. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek told reporters on Thursday that he had high hopes the matter would be resolved ahead of the summer holiday season. The Czech Republic has been pressing for years to get the unilateral visa requirement lifted and on a working visit to Canada this week the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda warned his counterpart that unless the matter was resolved soon the Czech Republic would take reciprocal measures. The Canadian Foreign Minister Peter Mackay is to visit the Czech Republic in June and the matter of visas is expected to top the agenda of the talks.