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Government coalition backs election probe
The ruling coalition of the Democratic Party and the Socialist Movement for Integration is
ready to support a parliamentary inquiry into the June 2009 general elections.
Parliamentary group member Astrit Patozi said on 2 February that the Democratic Party
- the largest group in parliament - would assist with the probe. He noted, however, that
the investigation will not affect a court decision declaring the Democratic Party to have
been the winner in the election. The opposition Socialist Party has been boycotting
parliament for months, demanding a recount of ballot boxes, and their boycott has been
hampering progess on reforms aiming towards EU criteria.
However, on 8 February the opposition Socialist Party said it would organise protests if
talks on overcoming the current political stalemate, currently being mediated by President
Bamir Topi, were to fail. Socialist MPs have been boycotting the work of parliament since
September, insisting on a thorough investigation into general elections held last June,
which they say were marred by serious violations. Both the Socialists and the ruling
Democratic Party have agreed to participate in the talks mediated by President Topi.
Democratic Party want referendum on “lustration law”
The ruling Democratic Party plans to ask for a referendum on a law aimed at removing
former communist officials from state institutions. The news came after the Constitutional
Court struck down an initial version of the so-called "lustration law".
The law had been criticised outside of Albania by both the Helsinki Committee and the
Venice Commission along with the Council of Europe's advisory body on constitutional
matters. Democratic Party MP Mesila Doda announced on 1 February that a new bill would
soon be put before parliament. Following approval there, she said, it will be put to a
public referendum and sent to the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg for their
comment.
Authorities order forced evacuation from floods
Areas of northern Albania were battered by torrential rains over the turn of the year. On
3 January the Emergency Service in Tirana ordered the evacuation of citizens from all
flood-affected areas. Anyone who refused to leave would be forced to go. Some living close
to the Drin River in Shkodra have refused to leave, despite repeated urgings. About 100
residential buildings in the region have already been flooded and weather forecasts were
predicting more rain later in the week.
Population census more than 20 years out-of-date
Plans for the 2011 census have triggered heated discussion during December about the
possible impact of new data.
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha caused a stir recently when he said the upcoming 2011
census should record citizens' ethnicity, religious affiliation and mother tongue. Doing
so would provide updated information about the country's minority populations, which have
not been officially counted since 1989.
But critics say minority numbers could be inflated and threaten the country's integrity.
A 1989 census found that minorities comprised 5% of Albania's population. That figure has
been widely disputed, with Greeks in particular claiming they account for about 10% to 12%
of the country's estimated 3.6 million people. A higher recorded number of ethnic Greeks
would generate demands for autonomy, it was suggested. This in turn might trigger a
campaign fraudulently to boost the numbers. One politician, Sabri Godo, claimed that such
a scheme might target elderly or poor citizens in the southern border areas, providing
them money in exchange for recording their ethnicity as Greek.
Albania may get official EU candidate status
The foreign ministers of the 27 EU-member states were expected to ask the European
Commission to prepare an assessment of Albania's readiness to start membership talks. But
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn cautioned that Albania still had a long way to go to
meet EU standards.
Albania may soon make a major step on its European integration path by joining Croatia,
Macedonia and Turkey on the list of official EU candidate countries, according to reports
on 11 November. Ambassadors of the 27 members of the Union were said to have agreed to
support Albania's bid for membership. Their recommendations would then be studied by EU
foreign ministers during a two-day meeting in Brussels on 16-17 November
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha submitted his country's official application for EU
membership on 28 April. If there is now a positive EC assessment of Tirana's preparedness
for membership negotiations, Albania should become an official candidate. After a meeting
with Albanian Foreign Minister Ilir Meta, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said it
was "already high time" that step was made.
The government in Tirana is likely to be asked to implement a series of sweeping political
and economic reforms before the launch of its negotiations with Brussels. Meeting such
requirements may take years.
Olli Rehn was quoted as saying that Albania needed to strengthen the rule of law and the
independence of the judiciary, as well as to ensure media freedom. Foreign Minister Meta
confirmed that his country would step up efforts to implement EU-required reforms, but he
admitted that Albania could hardly expect a positive assessment from the EC until the
country's main opposition party stopped boycotting the work of parliament.
Edi Rama's Socialist Party has been boycotting parliament for weeks, insisting the results
of the 28 June general elections had been manipulated. The Socialists came just 1.5%
behind Prime Minister Berisha's Democratic Party, which had won a second mandate.
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“Black 2009” - think tank presents analysis
of economic crisis year
According to a study by a leading Armenian research centre, released on 12 February,
their country has shown the greatest economic decline in 2009 out of all the twelve former
USSR countries. Only three former Soviet republics, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia - now
European Union members, did worse than Armenia.
Manuk Hergnyan, Chairman of the Economy and Values Research Centre said that the global
economic crisis had hit nearly all countries of the world because neither governments nor
private sectors had been prepared for such an unprecedented crisis.
According to the study, among the factors that contributed to the strong effects of the
crisis in Armenia was the fall in world metal prices, despite the fact that the country’s
metal sector had shown a 7.6% growth.
Armenia’s economy contracted by as much as 14.4% in 2009, which matches the forecasts of
the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions. The
economy was also expected to start growing slowly from the beginning of 2010 onwards.
The opposition in Armenia took advantage of the crisis to blame the government for the
high level of economic decline, accusing it of failing to adopt a proper policy to fend
off the effects of the global crisis. In particular, the Dashnaktsutyun group (Armenian
Revolutionary Federation) believes that social spending should have been cut instead of
borrowing from foreign sources.
Finance Minister Tigran Davtyan commented that the government expected the economy to grow
by a modest 1.2% in 2010. The IMF provided a more optimistic outlook for the Armenian
economy, forecasting a 2% growth in GDP during 2010.
Money transfers from Russia to Armenia
drop in 2009
Armenians working in Russia transferred $950 million through the banking
system from Russia to Armenia in 2009. This total of non-commercial business was in fact
35% less than in the same period in 2008 when $1462 million was transferred.
During the same period of 2009, transfers from Armenia to Russia amounted to $190 million,
an increase of 15½ percent compared to 2008, when the figure totalled $164.5 million. |
Police seize heroin valued at $2 million on border with Turkey
Armenian law-enforcement authorities reported on 11 February their biggest-ever seizure of
heroin. They said it was being smuggled into Armenia by Iranian drug dealers through
neighbouring Turkey.
The Armenian police and the Office of the Prosecutor-General said about 7 kilograms of the
Class A drug were discovered late on 10 February in a car driven by a Russian citizen of
Armenian descent and carried by an Iranian national identified as Mostafa Advai.
A police statement said the heroin consignment was thrown by an unknown drug trafficker in
Turkey over barbed wire stretching along the Turkish-Armenian border and picked up by
Mostafa Advai moments later. It said both Advai and the Russian-Armenian, identified as
Hovannes Davtian, were arrested on the spot.
Another Iranian citizen, identified as Hosein Tazeh Kand, was arrested in the same area
earlier `the same day. The authorities had found about 5 kg of opium in his car, similarly
tossed over from the Turkish side of the border.
The police statement said that about a dozen persons had been arrested,among them
suspected drug dealers and users, in a joint investigation by the anti-narcotics unit and
the police. Three of the detainees were identified as Iranian. A number of Iranian
nationals are already serving prison sentences in Armenia on drug-related charges. Iran is
believed to be the main source of drugs smuggled into the country from abroad.
Four skiers off to represent Armenia at Winter Olympics
Armenia has a modest representation at the XXI Winter Olympic Games at which more than
5,000 athletes and officials from 85 countries have converged on Vancouver in Canada to
compete in 15 winter sports for a total of 86 sets of medals.
All four Armenians are skiers – two cross-country skiers and two Alpine skiers.
The first competition day for Armenia is 15 February, featuring skier Sergey Mikaelyan in
a 15-km cross-country race. Then Kristine Khachatryan will compete in ladies’
cross-country skiing. Armenia’s alpine skiers Arsen Nersisyan and Ani-Matilda
Serebrakian will participate in men’s and ladies’ slalom and giant slalom events
between 21 and 27 February.
Neither Armenian sport officials nor fans expect any Armenia medals in Vancouver.
Finishing within the top 20 could already be regarded as a success for any of the Armenia
participant. Should anyone win gold, silver or bronze, however, checks for $30,000,
$20,000 and $10,000 from the National Olympic Committee would be waiting for them at home.
Television regulator calls for clean-up of prime-time TV content
The National Commission on Television and Radio (NCTR) said on 5 February that it had
developed a set of criteria aiming to improve the quality of prime-time TV. The Armenian
TV and radio regulator is taking a harder line on what it sees as “an abundance of
vulgarity, horror and brazen violence” dominating serials, films and programmes on
Armenian television. According to draft criteria developed by the commission, TV companies
should not allow on air programmes that have a negative effect on the health, intellectual
and physical development and the education of children. NCTR said it would be monitoring
occurrences which included drug addicts, parodies on drunkards, materials disparaging of
spiritual, cultural values, mockery of highly merited persons of the nation, discrediting
parents and educators, romanticising criminals and gangsters, vulgarity, obscene language,
among other listed aspects. Films of erotic nature and horror films should be shown only
during late night hours.
The NCTR guidelines are to be included in Article 24 of Armenia’s Law On Television
and Radio. The law will be debated by the National Assembly. A working group
involving intellectuals, artists, educators and psychologists has been set up at the NCTR
to elaborate the draft criteria.
Teachers and psychologists had voiced sharp criticism of TV late in 2009, when a
16-year-old Yerevan boy brutally murdered his 13-year-old neighbour. Many think that
particular cruelty observed among minors is the immediate result of influence of Armenian
serials depicting gangster life where murders and criminal showdowns take place nearly
every episode. The TV companies were criticised by President Serzh Sargsyan during his end
of year meeting with heads of TV companies. Sargsyan said that in pursuit of popularity
ratings TV companies had flooded the air with low-quality programmes, films and shows.
2800 years of Armenian history on internet
An internet website has set out to contain the complete history of Armenia, covering the
period between 800 BC and 2004 AD. The site includes 370 pages, more than 1000 references
and hundreds of maps. Yet its organisers say the data online is still just a fragment of
the planned content and it will be continuously updated.
Armenica aims to serve as a free
complete reference source regarding Armenia, its history and other relating issues such as
the Armenian Genocide and the Karabakh conflict.
The launch of the Armenica website came alongside the 24 April 2005 commemoration day 90
years on from the Ottoman Genocide. Among many other topics, it aims to inform and shed
light on the rationale, the implementation and the result of the first genocide of the
20th century.
|
Armenia: some facts and figures
Geography - Area of 29,800 square km. Bordering
countries are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey.
Population - 3.2 million (October 2001).
Capital - Yerevan, population - 1.1 million.
Ethnic composition - More than 95% Armenian. There are small minorities
of Russians, Kurds (Yezids), Greeks, Assyrians and Jews. Most ethnic Azeris fled in the
late 1980s and early 1990s following clashes between the two communities.
Languages - Armenian. Russian is also widely spoken.
Religion - Most Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church, an
ancient independent branch of Christianity. in In AD 301, Armenia was the first state to
adopt Christianity as its state religion. There are small Catholic, Protestant and
Zoroastrian minorities.
Government - Under the 1995 constitution Armenia is a republic.
The President is directly elected for five-year terms, of which he may
serve no more than two. The President appoints and sacks ministers, including the Prime
Minister and Supreme Court officials. The President can disband the National Assembly
(parliament), after consulting its speaker and the Prime Minister.
Parliament - 131 members elected in 2007 for four years.
Parliament can remove ministers by expressing no confidence in a simple majority vote, and
can impeach the President by a two-thirds majority vote once the Supreme Court has ruled
that the President has committed treason or another major crime.
Armed forces - No official figures, number of regular troops thought to
be 50-60,000. Young men are conscripted aged 18 for two years.
Economics
Currency: Dram. (£1 = about 680 drams; $1 = 345 drams).
Inflation 2.0% and GDP growth at 11% in 2006.
Industry - Agriculture, textiles, food processing, construction materials, diamond
cutting, mining and chemicals are all major industries. Gold and molybdenum are mined,
mainly for export.
History - In 2100 BC a greater Armenian state extended from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Caspian. Over the first millennium AD, Armenians lived mainly in
two distinct areas, where they live now and in what is now the eastern Anatolia area of
Turkey.
These areas, western and eastern Armenia, were generally under Persian and Ottoman rule
but also had periods of domination by Byzantines, Mongols, Arabs and Russians. Armenians
also lived in smaller communities in Persia, present-day Syria, Gruziya, Azerbaijan, and
the Lebanon.
Russian armies invaded what is now Armenia in 1820, and Armenians were caught up in the
1914-17 Russian-Turkish war. It is claimed that 1.5 million ethnic Armenians were
exterminated between 1915 and 1923 by Ottoman Turkey. Turkey denies the charge but
acknowledges that thousands of Armenians may have been victims of the Russian-Turkish war
raging at the time.
An independent Armenian state existed from 1918 to 1921 but was swallowed up by the Soviet
Union in 1921, later becoming a full republic until independence in 1991. Russia and
Armenia still have a close strategic relationship. |
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Poland ready for compromise solution to dispute around
Union of Poles
Following a meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko on 25 February, Polish Foreign
Minuister Radoslaw Sikorski said the Polish side was ready to look for a compromise
solution to the situation around the Union of Poles. “I am sure we will find
institutionally acceptable solution. Our experts will be working on this,” said
Sikorski. He also promised his personal engagement on the issue. “We will establish a
constructive dialogue to find a mutually satisfactory solution.”
Radoslaw Sikorski expressed the confidence that the government of Belarus understands the
situation and the solution satisfying the two sides will be found.
His remarks coincided with statements made by Alexander Sychev, the Belarussian ambassador
to the OSCE. At a session of the OSCE Permanent Council Sychev said he hoped the Polish
government would take an unbiased approach to all Belarussian citizens who considered
themselves ethnic Poles. “Today Polish officials divide Belarus’ Poles into ‘our own’
and ‘theirs’. The members of the Union of Poles in Belarus, the biggest organisation
of the Polish minority in Belarus, are applied sanctions in true sense of this word:
hundreds of Belarus’ Poles have been denied entry to Poland including veterans and
disabled persons who have been decorated by the Republic of Poland. They are received
neither in the Embassy of Poland nor in the consular establishments. How do these actions
dovetail with the spirit and principles of the OSCE?” Sychev asked.
The diplomat stressed that the situation around the Union of Poles in Belarus is “not
about the infringement of the rights of the ethnic minority. The dispute is about the
split inside the organisation, the struggle for power inside the public organisation which
represents the interests of Belarus’ citizens of Polish origin. “The conflict around
the House of Poles in Ivenets is a dispute between the two parties, the two groups of the
Polish ethnic minority for the property owned by the Union of Poles,” Alexander Sychev
said.
The Belarussian state had a duty to settle the conflict openly and in strict compliance
with national legislation. “We do not want to interfere and tell the members of the
Union of Poles in Belarus how to settle their internal problems,” he emphasised.
Poland's Foreign Ministry concerned over treatment of
Poles in Belarus
Sit com rip-off ?
Makers of a United States TV situation comedy have accused Belarussian TV of ripping off
their ideas without buying the rights. The Belarussian sitcom on Minsk’s CTV channel is
called “Theorists” and is about scientists working on building a nuclear power
station. However close to revealing state secrets they might be, the nerdy heroes are in
fact distracted from splitting neutrons by Natasha, the blonde who works at their canteen.
It is a plotline that bears an uncanny resemblance to “The Big Bang Theory,” a US
sitcom in which two nerdy physics researchers live next to a streetwise blonde waitress.
The US producer Chuck Lorre wrote a note in the show’s credits saying Warner Brothers
lawyers had advised him not to bother suing “because the TV production company that is
ripping us off is owned and operated by the government of Belarus.” He poked fun at
Belarus’ major export of “cattle byproducts” and demanded compensation in the form
of felt hats.
Curiously, the Belarussian TV sitcom is not even written in the Belarussian language. It’s
in Russian, as are almost all Belarussian TV shows, with an obvious eye on hopes for sales
to Russia and Ukraine.
Poland's Foreign Ministry concerned over treatment of
Poles in Belarus
Poland's Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed deep concerns on 15 February over the
continued repression of an association of Polish nationals in Belarus. Deputy Foreign
Minister Andrzej Kremer appealed to Belarussian authorities to immediately cease the ill
treatment of the Polish minority in Belarus.
On that morning, Belarussian militia had arrested 40 members of the Union of Poles in
Belarus who wanted to attend the court proceedings in relation to the Polish House in
Ivyenets, which was seized by the authorities a week ago.
Russian parliament completes ratification of oil
supplies protocol
On 12 February the Russian parliament completed ratification of the protocol on the terms
of oil deliveries to Belarus. The protocol was approved at the extraordinary session of
the Federation Council of Russia. Earlier the same day the protocol had been ratified by
the members of the State Duma of Russia. The deadline for ratifying the document had been
set for 15 February.
Unlike the State Duma, the Federation Council did not have any debate on the protocol. The
session lasted about 10 minutes, as the ratification was the only point of the agenda.
The protocol on oil supplies was signed in Moscow on 27 January after several rounds of
hard talks between First Vice-Premier of Belarus Vladimir Semashko and Vice-Premier of
Russia Igor Sechin. The document amended the agreement signed by the governments of
Belarus and Russia in January 2007 to regulate the trade and economic co-operation in the
export of oil and oil products.
Under the protocol Russian crude oil transported to Belarus for domestic consumption is
exempted from customs duty. Customs duty on any quantity of crude oil above the duty-free
quota would be calculated according to rates set down in Russian legislation.
Former President of the European Parliament in Minsk
The former President of the European Parliament arrived in Minsk on 11 February to
meet with representatives of the opposition and civil society.
Hans-Gert Pöttering, the Chairman of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and former President
of the European Parliament, said ahead of his 3-day visit to Minsk that people in Europe
could not help but notice the growing number democrats in the country.
Jacek Protasiewicz, head of the EP delegation for relations with Belarus, accompanied
Pöttering on his trip, saying it was aimed at demonstrating support for “the
Belarussian democratic opposition”.
They were due to meet leaders of Orthodox and Catholic churches, human rights activists,
representatives of the civil society and NGOs to get an insight into the political and
social situation.
Pöttering hoped to promote democratisation in Belarus by means of “exchange of opinions
and concrete steps to support those forces in the administration that are interested in
the reforms”.
Belarus - key data
Geography
Area - 207,600 sq km (80,200 sq miles).
Landlocked, Belarus is surrounded by Poland on the west, Lithuania and
Latvia to the north and north-west, Ukraine to the south, and Russia to the east. A
distinct strip of territory to the west was previously part of Poland and ceded to the
Soviet Union in 1939. Mainly flat, one third of the area is forested, and 46% is farmland.
Extensive Pripyat Marshes lie in the south, bordering Ukraine. The principal river is the
Dniepr to the east.
People
Population 9.85 million, primarily ethnic Slavs; 7 million eligible
to vote.
Ethnic breakdown: Belarussians 77.9%, Russians 13.2%, Poles 4.1%, Ukrainians 2.9% and Jews
1.1%.
Capital city Minsk, population around 2 million.
Religion: Mainly Russian Orthodox. Also substantial Roman Catholic and
eastern rite Catholic communities.
Language The Belarussian language, an eastern Slav tongue similar to
Russian and Ukrainian, has been subject to pressure. Russian dominates the country's
political life and state-controlled mass media, and is therefore spoken by most people.
History
Originally part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th century, then in
16th century controlled by Poland. Partition of Poland in late 18th century made Belarus
part of Russia. Soviet Socialist republic 1939. Severe health and agricultural problems
followed fall-out from the Chernobyl explosion (just south of its border) on 26 April
1986. Independent state from 1991, initially with liberal government until 1994.
Administrative centre of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Under President
Aleksandr Lukashenko, in office since 1994, Belarus has become increasingly isolated. Its
government is widely criticised for repression of opposition politicians and news media;
four opposition figures have disappeared under mysterious circumstances in recent years.
Lukashenko, probably not without reason, frequently alleges international organisations
and governments are working to unseat him.
Political system
Belarus is a presidential republic and the President is elected for five years. The
President appoints the Prime Minister, who must be confirmed by parliament, other
ministers and heads of local administrations.
The Parliament consists of two chambers. The lower house of parliament is made up of 110
members elected every four years. The upper chamber has 56 members -- 10 members are
appointed by the president while others are elected by local councils.
Incumbent President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a former KGB officer, was first elected in 1994.
He then extended his rule through a referendum in 1996 and secured apparently landslide
victories in 2001 and again in March 2006. Both polls were condemned by independent
observers, Western governments and opposition as fraudulent.
Economy
The Belarussian economy is centralised with government controlling most
prices and ordering companies what to produce. In the past two years Belarus has enjoyed a
steady economic recovery, mainly due to an economic boom in neighbouring Russia, its main
trading partner. The government expects to secure about 10% GDP growth this year and next.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts 6.4% GDP growth in Belarus this year. The IMF
stopped giving loans to Belarus in 1996, and has said that reforms, tight monetary
policies and a balanced budget were required to sustain growth.
Relations with the EU
The European Commission policy paper "What the European Union could
bring to Belarus" outlines what Belarussian people could expect if the country
succeeded in establishing good relations with the EU. The aim of the paper has been to
rebuff propaganda from the government in Minsk message that nobody in Europe cares much
about political reform in the country. EU-Belarus:
New message to the people of Belarus |
Link:
The Belarussian exile organisation in Prague publishes the Belarusian
Review in English. Click for an on-line
version.
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| Bosnia (Federacije
Bosne i Hercegovine) |
Republika Srpska coalition leaders resist Srebrenica resolution
Presidents of the ruling coalition in the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik of the SNSD,
Marko Pavić of the DNS and Socialist Party Petar Djokić each said on 24 February that
they were against the proposed adoption of a resolution on Srebrenica in the Serbian
Parliament.
Djokić said that adoption of the resolution “would worsen the relations in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, as well as in Serbia, since that issue has been politicised lately in an ugly
manner…”
Milorad Dodik commented that the Republika Srpska “cannot allow itself to be in the
position of a lab rat” to help Bosnia as a whole fulfil the conditions for a second
tranche of an investment grant from the International Monetary Fund.
OSCE dissatisfied with media independence and regulation
“The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina is deeply concerned that political pressure
on media outlets and agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the increase”, the OSCE
warns in its report “BiH Media and Media Regulators under pressure”, released on 23
February.
The OSCE called current developments in the media landscape “worrying”, since they
impacted on the freedom of press and media regulators and on the availability of quality
information to Bosnian citizens. The report is addressed to the media and main political
representatives and institutions.
It draws attention to a number of recent dismissals within media outlets that give the
impression that the media remain vulnerable to political interference. The report points
to continuing disagreements on the work of, and appointments in, the Communications
Regulatory Agency. These have been undermining the independence of the agency. The OSCE
was also concerned that reports of physical assaults on journalists were provoking little
reaction, despite a rise in the number of such attacks.
The report recommends steps to improve this situation, such as speeding up the
implementation of existing media laws, and more focus on constraints that were holding
back the development of a politically independent public service broadcasting system.
Improvements to media matters should be a priority to prevent deterioration of the
situation in the run-up to the elections.
The
OSCE report can be downloaded as a PDF document
Serb National Assembly passes provocative law on referenda
Law on Referendum and Civic initiative was adopted at the Republika Srpska National
Assembly session on 10 February. The RS government had used an urgent procedure to get it
passed. 46 delegates voted for the law, 16 were against and 6 abstained.
Bosniak delegates to the assembly boycotted the special session on this point, arguing
that the Law was anti-constitutional and contradicted the Dayton Accords.
The law will make it easier to hold referenda on national issues, and it was being seen as
a possible step towards a referendum to demand independence for the Republika Srpska.
Certainly the Bosnian Serb prime minister Milorad Dodik is opposed to having an
International High Representative, established under the Dayton Accords which ended the
Bosnian civil war.
Dodik was quoted as saying he intended to use referenda to challenge or confirm decisions
made by the international high representative, appointed to oversee the two
semi-autonomous parts of Bosnia – the Serb-controlled Republika Srpska and the
Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The day before the Serb assembly debate the United States embassy had said the US would
consider as provocative any referendum that threatened the stability, sovereignty or
territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as it would any challenge to the
structures of the Dayton Peace Accords, including the authority and decisions of the High
Representative. A referendum could be a legitimate mechanism in the right circumstances,
but it would be counterproductive, even provocative, if used to pursue a narrow political
agenda.
The Schengen “White
List”
Applicant states have to undertake reforms in order to qualify for
visa-free travel with the Schengen countries. The necessary reforms are far-reaching, but
it is clear that these reforms would be beneficial not only to the Balkan countries, but
also should help protect the EU against crime and illegal immigration from all over the
world.
The requirements for Bosnia & Herzegovina were presented to the government on 5 June
2008. This 25 May the European Commission has scheduled the discussions of its newest
assessment reports on the issue with EU member states' officials. But it is expected that
neither Bosnia nor Albania yet meet the conditions for visa free travel.
In the area of external relations and fundamental rights, the assessment says, “It
appears that Bosnia and Herzegovina is on the right track to meet the benchmarks under
this block. Additional efforts should be concentrated on protection of minorities and
fight against discrimination.”
Requirements
for Bosnia & Herzegovina (PDF download) |
Balkan countries and the EU
EU foreign ministers agreed on 21 November 2005 to start negotiating a
stabilisation and association agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina. The move
came exactly 10 years after the end of the Bosnian war. The SAA was eventually signed in
June 2008.
All the Balkan countries hope to follow in the footsteps of Slovenija,
which joined the EU among the central European accession group in May 2004. Croatia
began EU accession talks in October 2005, while in the same month Serbia and
Montenegro began stabilisation and association talks. Macedonia
was granted EU candidate status in December 2005. Albania reached a
stabilisation and association agreement in June 2006.
EU
progress reports (2005) |
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Resignations undermine government
A sequence of resignations have been affecting the government in Sofia. The first blow,
three weeks earlier, was when Rumiana Jeleva withdrew her nomination as Bulgaria's EU
commissioner. She subsequently resigned from all of her government posts amid heavy
criticism. Former MP Kolio Paramov resigned as economic adviser to Prime Minister Boyko
Borisov after just a short week on the job, which he had taken on from 21 January. Paramov
was first criticised for threatening the stability of the Bulgaria's currency peg, and
then was accused of having been a security agent during the communist regime.
"I am stepping down in order to make it easier for the prime minister," Paramov
said. He blamed the centre-right opposition Blue Coalition for obstructing the free debate
necessary during economic crisis, calling the situation of high unemployment and rising
debt "really bad".
Next, Ilian Mihov announced in early February that he was putting his nomination for
deputy prime minister on hold. Mihov had been lined up to co-ordinate Bulgaria's adoption
of the euro and the planning for EU funds.
Bulgaria’s new European Commissioner approved
On 3 February the new Bulgarian candidate for European Commissioner, Kristalina Georgieva,
a vice-president of the World Bank, was approved after a meeting of European Parliament
co-ordinators in Brussels. She will take the portfolio for International Co-operation,
Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response. At the World Bank she was the director for
environment in 2000-2004, and between 2004 and 2007 she oversaw the bank's projects in
Russia.
Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov congratulated her on surviving the hearing in the
European Parliament. “I am convinced that after your approval as a member of the
European Commission, you would contribute with no less success and competence to expanding
the role of the European Union in the field of international cooperation, humanitarian aid
and crisis response and to the better coordination of the efforts in this area on a
European and international level,” Parvanov said.
Kristalina Georgieva was said to have performed with confidence and a sense of humour, and
showed she was well prepared. It was said that the hearing was on a high level. Serious
questions were addressed to her, including matters on which the member states have no
common stance yet.
It became clear that Georgieva had already had a series of meetings with politicians
important for her future work.
Her approval came as a significant recovery for Bulgarian interests. Bulgaria's first
nominee to the new European Commission, Rumiana Jeleva, had resigned the previous week
after tough questioning from MEPs about her financial interests. Doubts were expressed
about her competence for the role of EU commissioner for humanitarian aid.
MEPs have the power veto the whole Commission if they oppose one of its members. The row
over Jeleva’s candidacy centred on her past management of a consultancy firm. A
Bulgarian liberal MEP, Antonyia Parvanova, disputed Ms Jeleva's declaration that she had
ended her involvement with the Bulgarian firm Global Consult in 2007, claiming she had
still been managing the company until 2009. Any undeclared financial interest would put Ms
Jeleva in breach of European Union rules.
But while the European Parliament's legal service cleared her of wrongdoing, MEPs also
doubted her competence. But Joseph Daul, head of the European People's Party (EPP), the
biggest grouping in the parliament, said she had been "the victim of a contemptible
political squabble".
Links:
Bulgarian Government
The European Stability Initiative looks at the transformation of Bulgaria since
1997
back to News index
top of right-hand column |
Stjepan Mesić ends a decade in power
After two consecutive five-year terms in post President Stjepan Mesić 's reign as the
leader of Croatia ends on 18 February. Now 75, Mesić has been president since February
2000.
He will be succeeded on that day by Ivo Josipović, a 52-year-old law professor, who won
the presidential run-off in a landslide on 10 January, and will take up the reins as the
country's third president.
The first president of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, died while in power.
Stjepan Mesić
In the first multi-party elections in 1990, the HDZ (Croatian Democratic
Union) came to power and Stjepan Mesić was appointed the first prime minister of Croatia.
By decision of the Croatian parliament, he became the republic's member of the Jugoslav
presidency until the break-up of the federation in December 1991. In 1992, he was elected
speaker of parliament in a Croatia that was now independent. He was removed from the post
in 1994 after leaving the HDZ to form a new party -- the HND (Independent Croatian
Democrats), where he became one of Franjo Tudjman's strongest critics.

Political experts generally agree that Mesić's first year in office, in
2000, was the best in his political career. He made several decisive moves, not the least
of which was to impose an enforced retirement on twelve generals of the Croatian Army,
aiming to make a clear separation between military and political leadership. It was by no
means clear that Mesić was expressing the majority sentiment in Croatia at the time, but
it reinforced his position as an insightful and active figure on the political scene.
Mesić's time in office was not always smooth sailing. His relations with the Roman
Catholic Church hierarchy were under constant tension, as he criticised church leaders’
involvement in politics and they criticised him, claiming he was not protecting national
interests. Relations with the Vatican were however much more positive.
In one of his last public speeches Mesić summarised his career. "Ten years ago I
took over a country that was in a very poor condition. Now I am giving Croatia over to my
successor who will lead a NATO member and an EU candidate, a country which is
criss-crossed with highways and is a powerful tourism destination. This Croatia I am
leaving to my successor is a country that is co-operating with its neighbours and fights
corruption." |
EP urges Croatia to continue with EU
candidacy reforms
The European Parliament said on 10 February that Croatia might well conclude its accession
talks by the end of 2010. Rule of law, freedom of expression, good neighbourly relations
and treatment of minorities must still be addressed.
The European Parliament resolution on Croatia was supported 582-24, with 37 abstentions.
The EP had been considering progress towards accession by Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey.
MEPs called on all three nations to continue implementing EU-required reforms,
particularly in the areas of rule of law, freedom of expression, good neighbourly
relations, minority and women's rights, and the fight against organised crime and
corruption.
Croatia, which began membership talks with the EU in October 2005, has made the most
progress among the three candidates. It has opened 28 of all 35 negotiating chapters so
far and 17 have been provisionally closed already.
The recent arbitration agreement on the country's border dispute with Slovenia has
"created the momentum to open all remaining chapters," the EP noted in the
resolution on Croatia's accession progress.
MEPs said the Croatian government could wrap up its membership negotiations in 2010,
provided it stepped up efforts in the areas of public administration and judicial reform
along with combating corruption and organised crime. It also needs to show full
co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal.
"We are encouraged by recent developments in the fight against corruption and hope
that investigations will lead to concrete results," said Stefan Fuele, the EU's new
enlargement commissioner. The process between the conclusion of accession talks and a
country's formal entry into the Union can take up to two years. Croatia is expected to
join the EU as its 28th member in 2012.
The resolution drafted by Hannes Swoboda, an Austrian MEP, noted that Croatia’s entry
"would give positive impetus to the process of European integration in the rest of
the Western Balkans region."
Trial of car-bomb murder opens
The trial of four suspects charged with murdering prominent Croatian publisher and
journalist Ivo Pukanić in 2008 started on 3 February in Zagreb's District Court. All four
pleaded not guilty. Two other people are being tried in absentia: one is in Serbian
custody and the other recently surrendered to Bosnian police. Pukanic, co-owner and
editor-in-chief of the weekly Nacional, was killed in a car bombing in central
Zagreb in October 2008, along with the newspaper's marketing director, Niko Franjić.
It was only two days earlier that one of the suspects surrendered to police. Bojan
Gudurić, a Serbian citizen, turned himself in to Bosnian police in Banja Luka late on 1
February. Gudurić arrived at the police station with his lawyer. He was being held in a
custody pending extradition to Croatia. The Croatian authorities had offered a €14,000
reward for information leading to his arrest. Investigators have said that it was Gudurić
who activated the bomb.
Croatia (Hrvatska) - facts and figures
History Slav coastal tribes the Chrobati and
the Hrvati migrated from White Russia in the 6th century. The Croat kingdom reached its
peak in the 11th century. The king of Hungary subsequently claimed the Croatian throne
(1091). In 1526 the defeat of Hungary by the Turks brought the north-eastern part of
Croatia into the Ottoman Empire; the rest of the country elected Ferdinand of Austria as
king. In 1918 it became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, joining
with Montenegro and Serbia in what became in 1929 Jugoslavija (the south Slavs). Croatia
left socialist Jugoslavija in 1991, following the collapse of communism across central
Europe, but had to wage an independence war with its ethnic Serb minority and the Jugoslav
army. The war ended with a peace treaty in 1995, after it had recaptured territory held by
rebel Serbs in a swift offensive.
Croatia's first President and architect of its independence, Franjo Tudjman, died in 1999,
and a pro-western reformist coalition came to power in 2000.
The government estimates that some 300,000 ethnic Serbs have left Croatia since 1991,
mostly after their rebellion was crushed in 1995, and gone to such areas as Serb-held
Bosnia. According to recent U.N. figures about a third have returned to their pre-war
homes in Croatia.
On 4 October 2005 the EU opened membership talks with Croatia. It followed a
statement by Carla del Ponte, the UN chief war crimes prosecutor, that the government was
now fully co-operating with the Hague tribunal. The talks had been due to start in
March, but were held up by Croatia's failure to hand over General Ante Gotovina, charged
with war crimes against Serb civilians during a 1995 offensive.
Population 4.4 million (2001 census): Croats 3.98 million,
Serbs 201,600, Italians 19,600, Slovenes 13,000. Muslims 20,755, Hungarians 16,600,
Albanians 15,000
Geography The land area is 56,538 sq km (21,829 sq
miles) plus territorial waters of 31,900 sq km (12,316 sq miles). The Adriatic coastline,
which includes 1,185 islands, islets and reefs, is 5,740 km (3,566 miles) long. There is
fertile plain in the cetre and east and a fairly barren mountainous coastal region. One
thrd of the country is forested. The river Danube forms its north-eastern border with
Serbia. Croatia is bordered by Slovenija in the north-west, Hungary in the north, Serbia
in the east, Bosnia in the south and Montenegro in the south-east. It also has a maritime
border with Italy in the Adriatic.
The capital Zagrab (Zagreb) has a population of 867,865.
Language The official language is Croatian, written
in Roman script.
Religion Roman Catholic 88.6%, Orthodox 4.5%, Muslim
1.3%, with 5.3% of the population declared as agnostic or atheist.(2001 census).
Economy Mainly agricultural, with tourism a major
contributor on the Adriatic coast. Natural resources include bauxite, coal, copper, and
iron. Other industries are metal-working, electrical engineering, lumber and oil-refining.
The Balkan civil war badly affected its economy. Croatia became member of the World Trade
Organisation in mid-2000. It was left out from the first group of former central European
communist countries to join the European Union in 2004 because of its poor human rights
record and nationalist government. Croatia applied for full membership in February 2003.
EU leaders agreed in December 2004 to start entry talks with Croatia if the
country co-operated with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Jugoslavija.
The opening of accession talks was delayed until October 2005, but Croatia still hopes to
join the second enlargement group together with Romania and Bulgaria.
Annual inflation was forecast at below 2% this year. Before an austerity programme was
introduced in 1993, inflation ran at 38% a month.
In 2002, Croatia's GDP grew 5.2%, reaching $5,130 per capita and is expected to rise to
almost $6,000 this year. Unemployment stood at 18.3% in September.
Currency - the kuna, introduced in May 1994, valued at about 7.6 to the
euro and 6.5 to the U.S. dollar. |
Link to Croatian Information
Centre
back to News index
| Czech
Republic (Česká republika) |
Former PM Miloš Zeman elected leader of new Citizens'
Rights Party
Miloš Zeman who was elected chairman of the newly established Citizens' Rights Party over
the weekend, lost no time on 7 March in kicking off the party's election campaign. The
former prime minister, who came out of retirement to give dissatisfied left-wing voters an
alternative in May's general elections, told supporters he knew a way out of the crisis.
The party's programme of policies includes cutting costs in state administration,
progressive taxation and a tax on luxury goods.
Miloš Zeman, who led the Social Democrats to power, served as prime minister between 1998
and 2002, retiring a year later after he lost a bid for the presidency to the current head
of state Václav Klaus. He was increasingly critical of the Social Democrats in later
years and officially left the party in 2007. Some of his former allies have left the
Social Democrats to join his new Citizens' Rights Party.
Road tragedies follow fresh snow
A night of heavy snow resulted in a pile up involving thirty cars on the R1 motorway near
the town of Mlada Boleslav early on 6 March, in which six people were injured. 10 to 15
centimetres of fresh snow fell around the Czech Republic overnight with more heavy snow
lowering visibility in the course of the day.
Police reported an increased number of accidents in all regions. A Polish mother driving
two children crashed on an icy road near Jihlava late the previous evening. One of the
children was killed on impact, the mother and surviving child are both in critical
condition in hospital. The police have warned drivers to slow down and exercise caution.
Early on the weekend morning a 25-year old driver died when his car went into a skid on an
icy road that sent it flying onto the frozen surface of a lake next to the road. The ice
cracked under the weight of the car and it submerged in the icy water. Firemen and
emergency crews found the young man still strapped in his seat.
53 could lose their degrees in university scandal
On 5 March a special commission investigating the scandal regarding “fast-track”
graduates at the University of West Bohemia's Faculty of Law reported 53 cases in which
individuals could be retroactively stripped of their degrees, unless they could provide
additional documentation requested by the university. The commission said that 44 involved
Masters Degrees, while nine were Bachelors. The special commission, which was put together
in Plzen after the scandal broke last year, reportedly found that many of the problems at
the law faculty were largely related to the former dean of the school, Milan Kindl.
Discrepancies uncovered by the commission often had to do with missing documentation, from
professors' assessments to proofs of previous study. The current rector at the school has
said it is not possible to say whether all 53 people would have to be stripped of their
degrees, saying final decisions would depend on whether graduates could provide the
missing documents.
Electricity company CEZ may be charged with oppression
A hit squad was set up by the state-owned energy company CEZ to deal with customers
suspected of stealing electricity. The state attorney proposed on 5 March that 13 people
from the controversial (and now disbanded) squad be charged with oppression. Proceedings
against a further 17 individuals had been dropped. The recommendation would be passed on
to the regional state attorney's office in Olomouc. Controversy over the CEZ squad erupted
in early February, when images of the team's behaviour, suggesting a wrongful use of
authority, were first broadcast on national TV.
Austrian president wants Beneš decrees revoked
The Austrian president, Heinz Fischer, has revived a long festering controversy over the
“Beneš decrees”. In post-war Czechoslovakia immediately after the end of the Second
World War legislation had sanctioned the expulsion and confiscation of property of some
2.5 million ethnic Germans who had been resident in the country.
In an open letter to the Sudeten German Landsmanschaft in Austria, President Fischer said
the decrees had been a gross injustice imposed on the Sudeten German community in post-war
Czechoslovakia, and should not be sanctioned by the European Union. He said he would fight
for human rights to be respected within and outside Austria's borders and firmly believed
that the chance of justice being done in the present day EU was far greater than it had
been in 20th century Europe.
After the fall of communism politicians in Austria and Germany called for the decrees to
be revoked, opening the way for compensation claims against the Czech Republic. It was
anticipating a revival of the issue that President Václav Klaus resisted signing the
Lisbon Treaty until late last year. His conditions aimed to block a return to the issue of
the Beneš Decrees by demanding an opt-out from the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. In
reaction to President Fischer’s letter, President Klaus said it was essential that the
agreed opt-out should be approved as soon as possible.
Golden eagles nesting in Beskydy Mountains after more
than a century

Ornithologists who have been trying to reintroduce the Golden Eagle to
the Beskydy Mountains reported on 4 March their first success in four years. Two of 14
golden eagles which they had released into the wild have finally started building a nest,
the first on Czech territory in more than a century. The head of the ornithological team
Petr Orel said this was a huge success, because eagles tend to return for several years to
the same nest to breed. Females lay from one to four eggs, and typically, one or two young
survive to fledge in about three months. For security reasons the ornithologists have kept
the location of the nest secret.
Civic association demands work on Charles Bridge be
suspended
A civic association dealing with the restoration of Prague's Charles Bridge has filed a
request with the City Hall to prohibit the company in question from continuing their work.
The Association for the Support and Development of Culture Heritage (ASORKD) wants a
preliminary measure issued to halt any further restorative work by the company Mott
MacDonald until a court process over the matter is complete.
The association was formed last year to protest what officials and citizens
alike have described as several instances of carelessness on the company's part.

Last year the City of Prague refused to recognise a number of complaints
made by the Ministry of Culture showing that the bridge's restoration was being carried
out improperly. Among them, the ministry's conservationists found that original stone in
good condition was being discarded. The association has also pressed charges in the matter
and is campaigning for the bridge to be nationalised.
Preparations underway for Masaryk anniversary
Preparations have been underway for the 160th anniversary of the birth of Czechoslovakia's
first president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Masaryk, who founded an independent state of
Czechs and Slovaks after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 laid the founding
stones of democracy in the country, enjoys tremendous respect to this day. The 160th
anniversary of his birth on 7 March 1850 will be marked around the country, particularly
in his home town Hodonín. President Václav Klaus is to open an exhibition on President
Masaryk's life and work at Prague Castle on 2 March and a bronze equestrian statue of the
country's first president is to be unveiled outside the T G Masaryk Museum at Lány near
Prague, where he died in 1937.
Minister of Defence denies allegation of ministry
corruption
Minister of Defence Martin Barták met with Prime Minister Jan Fischer and other members
of the government on 22 February to discuss a scandal over alleged corruption in the
Defence Ministry. The scandal involves a 14.4 billion koruna contract awarded to the
Austrian company Steyr to buy Pandur armoured personnel carriers for the Czech army. The
daily newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported last week that the company Steyr had
hired lobbyist Jan Vlček on the explicit promise that he would deliver meetings with
particular Czech politicians and senior military figures to help the company win the
tender.
Defence Minister Barták has strongly denied allegations of corruption. He said later that
the prime minister had welcomed the information he was given and deemed it factual.
Suspicion of corruption has focused attention on how such multi-billion deals are decided.
Some politicians are calling for far reaching structural reforms against the background of
European moves to foster a more transparent and competitive market.

The scandal over suspected corruption behind the Pandur contract is just
the latest of a series of suspect military deals. Involved are not only current Minister
of Defence Martin Barták, but former prime minister and Civic Democrat leader Mirek
Topolánek and former defence minister Vlasta Parkanová. Media reports suggest 2% to 3%
of the total value of the tender was earmarked as kickbacks for the main political
parties. Both Czech and Austrian police are investigating.
Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolánek said on 21 February that the Ministry of Defence
was a state within a state when it came to contracts and called for systematic reform.
There are in fact Europe-wide efforts to make military tenders more transparent and
competitive. Mostly co-ordinated by the European Defence Agency, new procedures include
advertising tenders on-line and agreeing a code of conduct for the “offset” deals
which accompany many tenders. While the Czech Republic has signed up to these initiatives,
defence contracts are still not subject to normal European Union competition or
procurement rules.
Czechs the biggest European consumers of fizzy drinks
A new survey published by the European Commission's Eurobarometer on
22 February suggests that Czechs and Slovaks are amongst Europe's biggest consumers
of fizzy beverages. In the survey, 31% of Czechs said they often consumed lemonades or
colas, compared to an EU average of only 19%. Bulgaria tops the list with 40%. The survey
also found that Czechs have more daily meals than other nations in the EU, consuming on
average seven meals per day as opposed to the EU average of about five meals a day.
Former prime minister Mirek Topolánek divorced
Head of the Civic Democrats and former prime minister Mirek Topolánek was officially
divorced from his ex-wife Pavla Pataková by a Prague court on 22 February. The two former
spouses came to a mutual divorce agreement. Topolánek said that the divorce had taken
place in a civil and dignified manner and that the two had been able to agree on
everything from property to custody questions. The couple have three children, the
youngest seven years old. Topolánek has been living with his new partner, the deputy
chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies Lucie Talmanová, since 2007.
Survey shows strong support for dissolution of Workers' Party
According to a poll released by the SANEP agency on 21 February most Czechs support the
court ban on the far-right Workers' Party. On 17 February the Supreme Administrative
Court had decided to dissolve the party citing its racist, xenophobic and anti-gay stances
and its Nazi links. The poll showed almost 75% of respondents in favour of the court
ruling. Around four-fifths of those surveyed characterised the party as extremist and
propagating Nazism with 69% saying it was a threat to democracy. Just over 14,000 people
were questioned for the survey.
Leaders of the Workers' Party said on 20 February that they would fight upcoming general
elections under a new name - the Workers' Party of Social Justice (DSSS). Leader Tomáš
Vanaš said he expected a wave of support after the court decision which would be apparent
once there were elections. The court decision was the first time a party has been
dissolved on political not financial grounds since the creation of the Czech Republic in
1993.
Czech adventurers set off for Lake Baikal challenge
Two Czech adventurers left Prague on 21 February starting out on an expedition aimed at
crossing the ice-bound Siberian lake Baikal by foot and on skis. Polar explorer Václav
Sura and computer programmer Pavel Blazek will start the 650-kilometre expedition as soon
as they arrive in Siberia. The trip is estimated to take 35 days, and they will be hauling
all their supplies themselves, with no help such as dogs or kites. They will use boots
with special spikes for gripping the ice on the first part of the journey and switch to
skis later. Temperatures on the lake can fall as low as minus 30° Celsius.
Former prime minister Vladimir Spidla selected for senate seat
Former Social Democrat prime minister and European Commissioner, Vladimir Spidla has been
selected to stand for election in the south Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov for a seat in
the upper house. The decision to select Spidla was taken unanimously by local party
representatives on 20 February. Spidla recently ended his term as commissioner for labour
and social affairs and said he perhaps had another 10 years of public life ahead of him.
The Senate elections do not take place until autumn 2010.
Polls show Social Democrats strongly in the
lead
A poll conducted by the CVVM agency in the first half of February
suggested that if general elections were held today the Social Democrats would have a
strong lead with 33% of the vote. The Civic Democrats would get 20%, followed by the
Communist Party with 14% and the recently formed party TOP 09 with 12% of the vote.
Three other parties stand a chance of crossing the 5% threshold needed to win seats in
Parliament - Public Affairs, the Greens and Christian Democrats who would each win 5% to
6% of the vote.
In another survey of voting preferences by the STEM polling agency, the centre-right Civic
Democratic Party comes out with a stronger showing but their rivals the Social Democrats
still had a solid lead. The Civic Democrats would gain an additional nine hypothetical
seats in parliament. TOP 09 and the Communist Party kept the same results, with 19 and 31
seats, respectively. Meanwhile the new Veci verejne, (Public Affairs), party stayed just
below the 5% threshold needed to win a place in parliament. The survey also suggest voter
turnout of 54%, which is the highest since the spring of 2009. The next Czech
Parliamentary elections are scheduled for May. |
Wide differences in wealth between capital and outer regions
The region of Prague is the fifth wealthiest in Europe, according to data released on 18
February by the European statistical office Eurostat. The data reflects the purchasing
power standard of the individual regions of Europe in 2007. The measure puts Prague behind
Hamburg and slightly ahead of Paris city centre. London city centre topped the list with
nearly twice the buying power of Prague, or 334% of the EU standard, followed by
Luxembourg and Brussels.
The Czech Republic as a whole however fared much worse, with the national average
amounting to 80% of the EU average. Also, some of the poorest regions in the EU were also
found in the Czech Republic, particularly north-western Bohemia, which showed a purchasing
power standard of 62% of the EU standard.
Czech charity opens new elementary school in Uganda
The Prague branch of the Christian charity Charita has long been involved in
projects in Uganda in East Africa. In February they embarked on a new project, opening a
new elementary school providing education as well as meals to poverty-stricken kids. 200
or so children have begun attending the school, supported by sponsors from the Czech
Republic. Jarmila Lomozová of Charita explained the commitment: “It has
been ten years since we began work in Uganda and our main aim is helping the poorest
children to get an education. In the year 2000 we began a child sponsorship programme –
the first project implemented by Charita in Uganda – and today nearly 4,000
children are helped and sponsored by individuals, families, parishes and schools from the
Czech Republic.”
“Uganda is a developing country and as such millions of people live in poverty without
access to education, healthcare, safe water or job opportunities. We know places where
children live without having a chance to attend even primary school. This is why we
decided to not only support children – paying for their education and needs such a
school uniforms and items and so on, but why we also decided to build a new primary school
of our own in an area where there is no education at all.”

“One year ago there were only trees and bushes and little else, land
donated by our local partner the diocese of Lugazi, so there was really nothing. We began
from point zero in construction, preparing the land to really build the new school, which
so far consists of four classrooms and an administration bloc. We also plan to build
accommodation for the teachers and other classrooms as well.
“They are being taught in Luganda, which is the local language, and later on when they
get older they will pick up English.”
Logica wins tender to organise school exams
Logica ČR, the Czech branch of the international IT consultancy Logica, has won a
328-million-crown public tender to organise state secondary school leaving exams, which
are due to be held for the first time in 2011. The company will provide logistical
services for the exams for the following five years. Plans to bring in standardised school
leaving exams have been put on ice several times in the past. The Minister of Education in
the caretaker government, Miroslava Kopicová, said on 2 February that she would step down
if Parliament failed to approve their introduction.
| An international IT consultancy, Logica has worked in the
UK with Unilever and British Airways. In 1984 the Company developed the automated clearing
system for the UK banks (CHAPS) as well as the customer service system for British
Telecom. Logica pioneered the automated ticketing system for the London Transport
underground in 1987 and the system which randomly generates premium bond numbers (ERNIE)
in 1988. There was some embarrassment in 2006 when laptops containing police payroll data
were stolen from a Logica company. |
Prague Airport passenger numbers slump in 2009
Prague Airport handled almost one million fewer passengers in 2009 than in the previous
year. Some 11.64 million passengers passed through the airport during the year, a fall of
8% on 2008. The decrease has been blamed on the financial crisis. The first quarter of
2009 in particular saw a marked reduction in flights.
Karlovy Vary does not want World Heritage status
The municipal government of Karlovy Vary wants to keep the greater part of the West
Bohemian town off the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. According to the town's mayor
Werner Hauptmann, UNESCO protection would cover such an extensive area that it would
jeopardise development projects.
The town may now seek protection only for its specific historic structures. Karlovy Vary
has however already filed a joint application with the towns of Mariánské Lázně and
Františkové Lázně for the recognition of a triangle of historic spa towns.
Renegotiating the proposal could greatly delay what would be the 13th World Heritage Site
in the Czech Republic.
The National Heritage Institute said it was concerned that the new proposal would be
detrimental to relations with UNESCO. It was an issue that in the end would better be
determined by foreign experts not involved in local interests.
The spa towns

Karlovy Vary is the best known and biggest spa town in
the Czech Republic. It is world famous for its hot mineral springs and mineral salts. The
place has very long history and today it is presumably the second most visited town in the
Czech Republic after Prague. The healing sources are thermal waters with rare mineral
content. The world famous herbal liqueur Becherovka is produced in Karlovy Vary.
Mariánské Lázně, the second most important Czech spa town first
recorded in the year 1528, is situated in West Bohemia near the town of Cheb. Many famous
writers, composers, poets and philosophers spend their time in this picturesque town and
enjoyed the forests and hills around. |
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More than 200 human rights claims lodged against Estonia
It was reported on 10 February that during the year 2009 the European Human Rights Court
had registered 204 complaints submitted against Estonia - a fifth more than in 2008.
However, 169 complaints were deemed inadmissible and deleted from the list of cases sent
to Estonia for response. The contents of the complaints focused among other things on
unreasonably long procedures, different aspects of criminal proceedings and the forced
medical treatment of persons. The UN Human Rights Committee had three complaints
outstanding against the Estonian state.
Airline employees face drastic pay cuts
Estonian Air recently announced on 3 February its decision to cut by one third the wages
of its pilots and its flight attendants. Unsurprisingly the trade union involved was not
planning to accept this decision lying down. Chairman of the trade union, Rauno Menning,
has said that the union will turn to the Labour Disputes Committee with a complaint
against the airline, and if that does not succeed, the trade union will turn to the
courts.
Home foreclosures rise with high unemployment
According to statistics revealed in early January home foreclosures had hit the 500 level
in Estonia for 2009. During that year more than 500 homes had been repossessed due to
unpaid mortgages, more than twice the number of foreclosures in 2008. Hundreds of
individuals and families have been forced to move out of homes as banks have moved in to
take over delinquent properties. The banks have put these houses up for auction.
Facts about Estonia (Eesti)
Geography The country is 45,100 sq km (17,409 sq
miles) in area, including some 800 islands. The northernmost of the three Baltic
countries, Estonia borders the Baltic Sea to the north and the west, Russia to the east
and Latvia to the south. 36% of the land is forested, and there are over 1500 lakes.
Population 1.4 million, of which 65% are Estonian,
28% Russian, 2.5% Ukrainian, 1.5% Belarussian and 1% Finnish.
Capital Tallinn, population 400,000.
Language The official language is Estonian (quite
closely related to Finnish), and Russian is widely spoken (the home language of 32% of the
population, especially in north-eastern parts of the country).
Religions Lutheran and Russian Orthodox.
Government The Republic of Estonia is a
parliamentary democracy. Power is divided between the 101-seat single chamber parliament,
or Riigikogu, the cabinet and the non-executive presidency.
President: Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Prime Minister: Andrus Ansip.
History Estonia was under Swedish rule from 1629,
and then was ceded to Russia in 1721. It first gained independence in 1918. It remained an
independent nation between the two World Wars, then in 1940, under the Molotov-Ribbentrop
pact, it was invaded by Russia and became part of the Soviet Union. Subsequently Estonia
was occupied by Germany 1941-44 during World War 2. After WW2, Estonia was subject to the
Soviet economy and politics, including collectivisation of farms, suppression of religion
and massive deportations. The rapidly expanding planned economy brought hundreds of
thousands of Soviet immigrants to Estonia, causing widespread fear among Estonians that
their national identity would eventually vanish. The Gorbachev reforms prompted an upsurge
in nationalism across the Baltic region in the late 1980s, and independence movements won
control in 1990 after the 'Singing Revolution'. Estonia declared a transitional period
leading to its declaration of full independence on 20August 1991.
Economy Estonia set out to turn itself into a
Western-style market economy at breakneck speed after regaining independence in 1991 and
was the first country in the former Soviet Union to introduce its own currency, the kroon
(=100 centts), in 1992.
It quickly became the most liberal Baltic economy in the often painful transformation to a
market-based system, and has enjoyed fast economic growth despite a global slump, GDP
expanding by 5.8% in 2002. Exports are now mostly forestry and agricultural products.
Estonian sea ports are important transit points for Russian oil bound for the west.
The weak economies of its main European trading partners slowed its year-on-year growth to
4.1% in second quarter 2003 and full-year growth is estimated at 4.5%.
A monetary policy of balanced budgets, moderate inflation and a simple currency board
fixing the kroon to the euro has convinced Estonian leaders that switching to the European
single currency will be largely a technical matter. The government wants to join the
European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-2), the waiting room for the euro, in 2004 and
become part of euroland in late 2006 or early 2007. |
Link: Estonian government website
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