Minister outlines Czech priorities for Europe 2020 strategy
The Czech minister for European affairs, Juraj Chmiel, has outlined country’s priorities for the upcoming EU summit that should approve the bloc’s economic strategy entitled Europe 2020.
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Czech Republic has lowest poverty rate in EU, study suggests ... at the Senate on Thursday, Mr Chmiel said these priorities included employment, qualitative economic growth. Minister Chmiel also criticized the European Commission for the lack of emphasis on structural reforms, and for not taking into account the national specifics of individual EU member states.
The European Union is set to debate the Europe 2020 strategy document at a summit in Brussels next week. It proposes a number of goals the EU should meet in ten years’ time. Some Czech senators, including the former deputy prime minister for European affairs Alexandr Vondra, criticized the proposal on Thursday for being too vague and for not providing concrete ways of meeting its targets.
European Commissions criticizes Czech Republic for insufficient safety checks on aircrafts
The European Commission has criticized the Czech Republic for insufficient safety checks on aircrafts. The Commission said on Thursday that the Czech Republic and Greece were the only EU countries that have failed to incorporate EU laws concerning safety checks on airplanes into their legislation. The EU directive, covering aircraft inspections, possible measures for unsafe aircraft and standards for the training and qualification of inspectors, should have entered Czech law by October 2008. However, the Czech Republic only implemented parts of the EU directive. The Czech Republic now has two months to comply with the request; the commission warned that if Prague fails to do so, it will file a complaint with the European Court of Justice.
Czech doctors apologize for 1938 anti-Jewish purge
The Czech Medical Chamber unanimously apologized on Thursday for a decree adopted in October 1938 that banned Jews from working in the medical professions. A spokesman for the doctors’ group said the decree was anti-Semitic and discriminatory. Members of the Czech Jewish community welcomed the motion, but noted that the apology comes from people who did nothing wrong.
In October 1938, just days after the adoption of the Munich Agreement, associations of Czech doctors, lawyers and engineers called on the government to limit the numbers of Jews in these professions. The Czech Bar Association, which had also ordered that Jews be banned from legal professions, issued an official apology last year. The order was published a mere two days after the Munich agreement and was instrumental in marginalizing the Czech Jewish population and stripping it of its democratic freedoms.
Firebomb attack on Romany family re-qualified as attempted murder
The police in Ostrava re-qualified on Thursday a recent firebomb attack on a local Romany family as attempted murder. The crime was originally investigated as a threat to public safety. The offenders will now face up to 15 years in prison. The police said the arson attack was re-qualified over suspicions it may have been racially motivated. The police have also set up a special unit to investigate the case, composed of specialists who worked on similar cases in the past.
The bombing took place in Ostrava on Saturday when a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the home a local Romany family. The bottle landed in the bedroom of a 14 year old girl who was able to extinguish the burning bottle before it caused further damage. In April of last year, a Romany family in the Moravian town of VÃtkov was victim of a racially motivated arson attack. The family’s two-year-old daughter suffered severe burns and had to undergo numerous operations. Another attack took place in September in Mikulov, southern Moravia.
One in ten pubs closed doors during last year, says industry figure
One in ten pubs in the Czech Republic has been forced to close during the last year, the president of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants, Pavel Hlinka, told Thursday’s edition of Lidové noviny. The closures are blamed on the financial crisis and increased taxes. Meanwhile, the head of brewers’ group the Czech Beer and Malt Association, Jan Veselý, told the newspaper that its members expect a 4.5 percent fall in sales in 2009 to be repeated this year.
More police officers investigated for criminal acts in 2009
Czech police inspectors investigated 264 police officers suspected of committing criminal acts in 2009, which was 4.2 percent more than in the previous year, a spokeswoman for the force said on Thursday. Most of the crimes committed by police officers last year included abuse of authority, traffic crimes, fraud and corruption. State prosecutors filed charges against 94 police officers in 2009.
Weather
The end of the week will be partially cloudy, with rain showers in places. Highest day temperatures should rise up to 16 degrees Celsius.
(radio-Prague)
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