News from Czech Republic 11.07.2012

CR: Parliament to vote on giving Parkanová up for prosecution

Deputies in the lower house are to take a final vote on Wednesday on whether to strip former defense minister Vlasta Parkanova of her immunity opening the way for prosecution. Ms. Parkanová is suspected of abuse of public office and breach of trust in connection with a questionable 3.5 billion crown purchase of CASA military transport planes while she served as defense minister in 2009. According to an independent assessment the planes were overpriced by 658 million crowns. The former defense minister has come under fire for not commissioning an expert assessment on the price, though the Institute of State and Law has concluded that no such assessment was required under Czech law. Ms. Parkanová says her conscience is clear but has not stated readiness to defend herself in court. Parliament’s mandate and immunity committee on Tuesday advised MPs to open the way for prosecution.

Head of anti-corruption police says no secret meeting took place

In related news, the head of the anti-corruption police Tomas Martinec on Tuesday dismissed claims that one of his subordinates had in recent days met with a person close to the finance ministry in connection with the investigation of the questionable purchase of Spanish CASA planes. The weekly Respect alleged that such a meeting had taken place putting it in the framework of ongoing speculation that Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, who approved the deal as then-finance minister, had tried to influence the investigation and had even threatened one of the investigators on the case. Mr Kalousek has admitted to contacting detectives by phone, but insists he made no threats and has since requested that the allegations be investigated.

Police say no indication of foul play in judge’s death

Police investigating the death of regional court judge Miloslav Studnička say they have no indication of foul play. At a press briefing on Tuesday investigators said they found no traces of a struggle and have no reason to believe that judge Studnicka’s death was linked to his professional activities. The judge was found dead in his country home in the Nový Jičín area on Monday, with a throat wound. The police are not ruling out suicide or a tragic accident. The situation is complicated by the fact that the bleeding judge was savaged by his own dogs before the police found him. The circumstances of his death have caused widespread speculation since judge Studnička presided over a number of high-profile criminal cases in the Czech Republic including that of arsonists who left a toddler in Vítkov with severe disabilities in a racially-motivated attack; all four received stiff prison sentences.

Kidnapped baby girl found in Germany

German police are reported to have found the newborn baby kidnapped in the north Bohemian town of Trmice last week. The three-week-old baby girl who was forcibly taken from her mother in the street is reported to be safe and sound. Four people have been arrested in connection with the case. The police have not revealed the motive of the crime, but say that the kidnappers did not know the baby’s family. The baby was just 18 days old when she was kidnapped.

Czech tourist bus catches fire in Austria

A Czech tourist bus full of children returning from holiday in Italy caught fire on the A2 highway in Austria. No one is reported injured, though the bus was completely destroyed by the blaze. According to the APA news agency the driver stopped the bus just a few meters from a tunnel and the children quickly escaped to safety. Preliminary estimates suggest the fire was most likely caused by a technical defect.

Vehicle registration system still causing problems

A newly introduced vehicle registration system continued to cause problems on Tuesday after completely collapsing on the previous day. Offices around the country reported long lines of clients waiting to register a vehicle and have appealed to car owners to give them time to get the system up and running again. The system was overhauled as it was transferred from the interior to the transport ministries.

Narodní trída metro station closes for two years

A group of people staged a mock funeral procession at the Narodní Trída metro station in Prague on Tuesday to protest the station’s closing down for a two-year period due to construction work in the vicinity. Critics say that wheelchair-bound metro users will lose one of the few metro stations with barrier-free access. There are only two other stops with barrier free access on the Prague B line –Florenc and Smíchov – with lifts in the latter currently being out of operation.

Fischer and Zeman most likely rivals for presidential post

The two most likely contenders in the second round of presidential elections would be former caretaker prime minister Jan Fischer with 32 percent public support and former prime minister Miloš Zeman with 17 percent support, the Median polling agency reported on Tuesday. Mr. Zeman has already collected the necessary 50,000 signatures for registration, Jan Fisher started collecting them this week. Mr. Fischer who has served as EBRD vice-president since September 2010, has taken unpaid leave for his election campaign and plans to resign from his post upon registration.

Czech Banking Association revises growth forecast downwards

The latest forecast released by the Czech Banking Association expects the Czech economy to fall by 0.6 percent this year, while previously it had reckoned with stagnation. The reason behind the predicted drop is a slump in household consumption, a drop in incomes and high unemployment. The CBA also revised down its economic development outlook for 2013 predicting a 1 percent economic growth compared to the 2 percent increase it forecast in April.

Czech Food Inspection Office launches web reporting on poor quality products

The Czech Food Inspection Office has launched a new web reporting on poor-quality or dangerous food products on Czech supermarket shelves. The office set it up in reaction to the growing number of products that inspectors found to be inadequate or even health damaging. Many stores were found to be selling goods long past their expiry date and the quality of many products did not correspond to what was on the label. The new web, at potraviny.cz ,had 350 items on the day it was launched.

 

Czech trucker numbers slide as crisis continues to bite

Czech road hauliers estimate their numbers have been decimated by the economic crisis combined with continuing high overheads. The country’s biggest grouping of truckers, ČESMAD Bohemia, says one in 10 of its members have probably gone to the wall. Figures from the association – which represents around 15-20 percent of all truckers – suggests that figure could be even larger with its membership slipping from 2,100 to just over 1,800. The biggest problem is continuing slack demand for moving goods. This is combined with high fuel prices and road tolls, delayed payments from customers, and the strong Czech crown.

Tatra seeks to boost sales with new version vehicles

Iconic Czech vehicle producer Tatra this week unveiled facelifts of a series of its heavy vehicles. The centre of attention was the civil version of its T 810 truck which has been modified from an original military design. Tatra, which has been suffering from weak sales and losses in recent years, hopes the vehicle will prove a hit with construction companies especially. The company, which celebrates its 160th birthday this year, also showed off a new version of a tipping truck and fire engine.

Czech Republic teams up in EU deficit reform demand

The Czech Republic is lobbying for a relaxation of EU debt and deficit rules to help it pave the way for pension reforms. The country has teamed up with eight other countries, mostly members of the former Soviet bloc, calling for the existing rules to be rewritten to help it organize an overhaul of the current pay-as-you-go pension system. Prime Minister Petr Nečas, argued the case to a sceptical German Chancellor Angela Merkel on a visit to Berlin on Thursday. Current EU rules set a limit of 3.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product for public deficits. The Czech government is pledged to overhaul its existing pension system, saying it cannot hold up under the pressure of an ageing population.

Attack on luncheon vouchers and other tax perks shelved for the moment

The Finance Ministry says that it will not now implement some of its most unpopular tax measures next year but keep them pending till later. The postponed measures include the abolition of tax perks on luncheon vouchers and tax advantages for those with mortgages and who have taken out insurance. Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek admitted that the retreat was a strategic one aimed at making his package of tax increases for next year easier to pass through parliament. But like a dog with a bone, Mr. Kalousek is not giving up. He says that he will get back to those outstanding tax perks in time for the 2012 budget.

French farmers find Czech cheese hard to swallow

French farmers have turned their anger upon a Czech cheese. Farmers in Western France who invaded local supermarkets as part of ongoing protests hit upon a Czech version of the emental cheese. They say this a false description since emental, originally from Switzerland, should come from mountain districts and the Czech imposter has no permission to use such a name. The French farmers have called for national authorities to act against the Czech cheese and for local supermarkets to stop selling it.

Weather

It should be partly cloudy with rain in places and day temperatures between 23 and 26 degrees Celsius.