News From The Czech Republic
Tatra breaks into Saudi Arabia
19.06.2014 09:17
E15: The Czech defence industry is seeing growth after years of stagnation. Following on from the success of the Uherský Brod-based arms producer Česká zbrojovka, which is completing a production branch in Brazil, this year will see Kopřivnice-based Tatra Trucks enjoy a major foreign...
ANO edge TOP 09, Social Democrats, in European elections
19.06.2014 09:15
CR: In an interview before the results of the European election were announced, businessman turned politician Andrej Babiš expressed doubts his ANO movement would win, suggesting a knock on the chin would be a wake-up call ahead of communal elections this autumn. But the party leader spoke too...
Military spending must rise in wake of Ukraine crisis, says defence minister
19.06.2014 09:14
CR: The Czech Republic’s minister of defence wants to see an increase in the country’s military spending, reversing a trend of recent years. Justifying this call, Martin Stropnický said on Thursday that the crisis in Ukraine was a warning that a military conflict in Europe was not out of the...
Preliminary deal on 2015 Czech budget agreed but fine tuning still likely
19.06.2014 09:10
CR: The Czech Cabinet has hammered out a preliminary deal on the overall budget for 2015 with a fairly low deficit of 100 billion reiterated in spite of the pressure to recognise hikes in public sector salaries after recent years of wage caps and cuts.
‘Giveaway budget’ would be the British...
Czech foreign ministry mulls creation of Russian language tv broadcaster to Eastern Ukraine
19.06.2014 09:09
CR: The separatist stand in Eastern Ukraine is said by some observers to have been fermented and fuelled by the overwhelming domination of news and views being broadcast from across the border in Russia. Czech foreign ministry officials are now examining an idea to create a television station...
Financial audit at six ministries reveals poor management and squandering of public funds
19.06.2014 09:08
CR: The Czech Finance Ministry on Thursday unveiled the results of in-depth audits conducted at six ministries. The findings indicate that millions of crowns in public funds could be saved with better planning, centralized purchasing and better use of the ministries’ own resources.
Andrej...
Pervetin remains major problem in Czech Republic
19.06.2014 09:07
CR: On Tuesday, the European Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction released its European Drug report for 2014, mapping trends in illicit drug use and related threats to public health. For the Czech Republic, the news is sobering but not altogether surprising: that the country has the highest...
Czech News 18.6.2014 - 12.6.2014
19.06.2014 09:00
CR: 18.6.2014
Czech Republic stays 17th in EU wealth survey
The Czech Republic is ranked 17th in the EU in GDP per capita, according to a Eurostat survey released on Wednesday. Its gross domestic product is at 80 percent of the EU average. The country, which was ranked 17th in several previous...
Financial audit at six ministries reveals poor management and squandering of public funds
13.06.2014 14:39
CR: The Czech Finance Ministry on Thursday unveiled the results of in-depth audits conducted at six ministries. The findings indicate that millions of crowns in public funds could be saved with better planning, centralized purchasing and better use of the ministries’ own resources.
Andrej...
Controversial Opencard scheme potentially facing disastrous end
13.06.2014 14:38
CR: Prague’s multi-purpose Opencard scheme which was to provide users with an efficient means of paying for public transport, parking, and serve as a library card has been dogged by problems from the outset. Now it threatens to turn into a nightmare for over one million users. The card’s days...