Opposition criticises acquittal of former PM

Socialist opposition leader Edi Rama criticised the Supreme Court on 17 January over its acquittal of former Prime Minister Ilir Meta on corruption charges. During a meeting in the southern town of Lushnja, Rama commented on the verdict in the case against Meta, a former member of Rama's opposition Socialist Party. He said the ruling “mocked the citizens of Albania and underlined that is another step toward an unjust regime.”

On 16 January the Supreme Court had dismissed charges of corruption against former Prime Minister Ilir Meta over a state tender for a hydropower station. The court ruled that there were no evidence to convict Meta, who was accused by a former economy minister of trying to influence him over the tender. Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison sentence and a one million lek (about £6150) fine.

Meta was charged with corruption in May after a video, recorded in 2010, was broadcast appearing to show him discussing corrupt deals with former economy minister, Dritan Prifti. Transcripts from the video appeared to show Meta asking Prifti, the former economy minister, to intervene in a hydropower plant concession tender. Meta also appeared to mention a bribe by a businessman of €700,000. At the time of the recording Meta was both deputy prime minister and foreign minister. The tape also appeared to show him boasting about influencing a Supreme Court trial involving the same hydropower plant.

The former prime minister also appeared to ask Prifti to hire activists of his own party, the Socialist Movement for Integration, LSI. The LSI is the junior partner in the government of Prime Minister Sali Berisha. It controls the ministries of economy, foreign affairs and health.

The LSI, a splinter of the opposition Socialist Party headed by Rama, was created in 2004. Meta formerly served as Prime Minister in 2001, while he was one of the highest ranking leaders of the Socialist Party.

Although since the 2009 elections it has held only four parliamentary seats, the LSI swung the government into the hands of Berisha’s right-wing Democratic Party.

Road network gets €53 million EBRD loan

The EBRD is supporting the further development of the Albanian road network and boosting economic integration in the country with a €53 million sovereign loan to co-finance the construction of two bypass roads in south-western Albania.

The proceeds of the EBRD loan, being arranged in two tranches, will be used by the Albanian Road Authority to build a 22-kilometre bypass in the city of Fier and a 29-kilometre bypass in the city of Vlore. The project is co-financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Union.

The two bypasses are key sections of Albania’s national road network which will connect important roads previously financed by the EBRD and EIB. The project will considerably reduce congestion in the two cities, facilitate economic integration in the region, and underpin the development of tourism in southern Albania.

The EBRD loan is complemented by grant financing worth a total of €5.95 million, which will be used for technical assistance in the preparation of detailed designs for the two bypass roads, as well to support project implementation. The grants are provided by the Italian government, the European Union and the Western Balkans Investment Framework.

In addition a Road Tolling Strategy for Albania and a study on sustainable transport policies in the country will be developed as part of this financing.

Since the beginning of its operations in Albania, the EBRD has invested over €665 million in various sectors of the country’s economy, mobilising additional investments of more than €1.3 billion.

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Environmental activists resist mining project in forest

More than 200 environmental activists and their supporters marched on 15 January to the Teghut Forest in northern Armenia to protest against it being turned into an open-pit mine.

The country's leading environment-protection groups have for years been campaigning against plans by the Armenian Copper Program (ACP) mining company to develop a massive copper and molybdenum deposit under the Teghut Forest, which is estimated to contain 1.6 million tons of copper and about 100,000 tons of molybdenum.

If implemented, the project would lead to the destruction of some 128,000 trees. Critics say that would wreak havoc on Armenia's green areas that have already shrunk since the 1990s.

The ACP has pledged to offset the damage by planting new trees in the area and creating more than 1,000 new jobs.

Despite the uproar, the government gave the green light to the controversial project in 2008. Ecologists say about one-fifth of the 357-hectare forest given to the Liechtenstein-registered company has already been cut down in preparation for the start of mining operations.

Chanting "Shame!" the protesters from Yerevan walked on 15 January to reach the mountainous forest located in the northern Lori Province. Scores of police and ACP security guards were deployed to block the demonstrators from advancing deeper into the proposed mining site.

The protesters were also confronted by a large group of local residents who work for APC. The latter angrily dismissed environmentalist warnings that open-pit mining would severely pollute the air, water, and land. "You guys don't know the plight of the people here," one man told the protesters. "They were desperate for a living and now live like human beings."

But some residents of two villages adjacent to Teghut joined the environmentalists in their protest. "They have appropriated people's wealth and are now doing what they want," one man said of the ACP owners. "They make people work for only 60,000 ($160) drams a month. People work because they have no other choice."

Meanwhile the ACP's holding company, the Vallex Group, accused the protesters of illegally trespassing on its property and disrupting ACP operations. Vallex also owns Armenia's largest copper smelter, located in the town of Alaverdi, which is also in Lori Province. The town is notorious for its polluted air and high incidence of fatal diseases.

UNDP research shows Armenian population's social inclusion is very low

A UNDP report on social inclusion said that about 55% of Armenia’s population is not actively included in social and public processes; the level of inclusion in provinces is even lower. The report set out to show how much the population is deprived of participation in economic, social and civil processes; for example, it spells out how much a resident of an Armenian village participates in working out a development policy for his or her community or in the choice of education methods at schools.

The report ‘On Regional Human Development Beyond Transition Towards Inclusive Societies’ examines the level of the population’s inclusion in society seven former socialist countries of Europe and Central Asia. The index of social exclusion in Armenia as compared to Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Serbia, Tajikistan and Ukraine is not only the highest but also the deepest – having a coefficient of 11.6.

“During our research we found out that there are two Armenias – Yerevan and the rest of Armenia. As compared to other countries, Yerevan is in the middle position by its index of social exclusion, as for Armenia without Yerevan, it is in a low position,” said Balázs Horváth, responsible for Poverty Reduction programme at the Bratislava Regional Centre of UNDP Europe and CIS countries.

Speaking about economic exclusion, Horvath said that having money and income is not enough for social inclusion, people must have the desire to participate in economic and social processes.

“In Armenia jobs are much more important for social inclusion than other economic indicators: having a job for people is much more than having an income,” Horvath explained, adding that the survey is a tool that they wanted to give to policymakers to think broader than GDP when building policies for regions.

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EU set to broaden criteria for imposing sanctions on Belarussian officials

The European Union's foreign ministers agreed at their meeting on 23 January to broaden the criteria for imposing "restrictive measures" on Belarussian persons and entities in response to human rights abuse and the persecution of the government's political opponents.

"This paves the way for future designations of those responsible for serious human rights violations or the repression of civil society and the democratic opposition or supporting or benefiting from the Lukashenko regime," the Council of the European Union said following the meeting. "Decisions to add persons and entities to the list of those targeted can be taken in the wake of this Council decision."

Gunnar Wiegand, of the EU’s European External Action Service, said earlier in January that the EU had considered adding 135 more people to its existing travel ban and an asset-freeze list currently targeted more than 200 Belarussians.

A year ago, on 31 January 2011, the EU Council imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 156 Belarussian government officials and other individuals for their role in “the violations of international electoral standards” in the December 2010 presidential election and the crackdown on civil society and pro-democratic supporters that followed that election. The Council blacklisted 19 more Belarussians in March 2011, 13 in May, four in June and 16 in October, adding to the list mostly judges and prosecutors involved in the prosecution of election protesters. In December, it added the judge and the prosecutor in the trial of prominent human rights defender Ales Byalyatskiy to the list.

On 24 November 2011, the Pershamaiski district court of Minsk sentenced Ales Byalyatskiy, the head of Viasna human right centre, to 4½ years in a medium security penal colony and confiscation of property for alleged tax evasion, together with a substantial fine. On 18 January, Byalyatskiy’s wife Natallia Pinchuk transferred 757,526,717 Belarussian roubles ($90,000) to the account of the justice department of the Minsk city executive committee – money that had been collected through voluntary donations.

Byalyatskiy faced prosecution after information about his accounts in foreign banks was disclosed to the Belarussian authorities by Lithuania and Poland. Byalyatski said in court the money on the accounts was used for human rights activity.

Government aims to promote strategic partnership with China

Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksandr Gurianov Belarus said on 19 January that the government would keep developing strategic and mutually beneficial partnerships with China. He was speaking at a reception dedicated to the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Gurianov underlined that the event symbolised a new stage in Belarus-China relations. In his view, over the 20 years the two countries managed to establish close ties on the official level as well as on the level of government agencies, regions and companies despite the great distance between them. Gurianov underlined that the $3 billion bilateral trade in 2011 had shown that Belarus and China had achieved a lot in many fields.

Nina Ivanova. chair of the Presidium of the Belarussian Society of Friendship and Cultural Links with Foreign Countries noted that the China-Belarus friendship society had been ongoing for over 50 years. The House of Friendship held a variety of events every year and public diplomacy is a considerable addition to official links between the two states.

China’s ambassador to Belarus, Gong Jianwei, also said that Belarus was a reliable partner to China. The 20th anniversary of Belarus-Chinese diplomatic relations was another milestone in bilateral co-operation. Co-operation in politics, economy, culture and education was on the rise.

Gong Jianwei said that he has been in Minsk only nine days, but he has already felt the cordial and friendly attitude of the Belarusian people and the determination to expand links with China. The day before he visited Lukoml state district power station where a new power unit is to be constructed with the help of China. The ambassador expressed confidence that the power unit would be commissioned as early as in two years. He was convinced that the Chinese New Year starting a few dayts later on 23 January would mark significant achievements in bilateral co-operation.

The reception concluded with a concert featuring Chinese artists who sang Chinese and Belarussian songs.

Grandfather Frost – a New Year tradition

In the 20th century, Grandfather Frost was the key character of New Year celebrations in Belarus as in most European countries. The image has evolved over centuries, with each nation making a contribution of its own. In some countries dwarfs were believed to be ancestors of Grandfather Frost, in others medieval vagrant jugglers were.

In Belarussian mythology there was a character that greatly influenced the Belarussians and their idea of what Grandfather Frost should look like. This is the ancient deity Zyuzya, the epitome of winter cold. People included him in New Year festive rites up until the 19th century. According to folklore traditions, Zyuzya was a grey-haired old man, short and bearded, without a hat but with an iron club. The Belarussians believed that Zyuzya spent most of the winter in forests. Occasionally he would go to visit villages and bring biting frosts there. When Zyuzya got angry he would hit his club on a tree stub and severe frosts would break out.

On Christmas Day people used to leave some part of kutia as a treat for him. Kutia is a sweet grain pudding, traditionally served in Ukrainian, Belarussian and Polish cultures. Kutia is often the first dish in the traditional twelve-dish Christmas Eve supper (also known as Svyatah Vecherya). The head of the family would throw the first spoon of kutia through a window saying: "Frost, come over here and treat yourself to kutia.”

Link:
The Belarussian exile organisation in Prague publishes the Belarusian Review in English. Click for an on-line version.

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Escaped war criminal arrested after 5 years on the run

Radovan Stanković, who escaped prison on May 25 in 2007, was arrested on 21 January.

He escaped prison in Foca, where he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, convicted of war crimes committed against Bosniaks. Stanković's escape, in May 2007, and fact that he was free all that time has been frustrating for the Bosnian Court. Radovan Stanković was first accused of war crimes at the Hague Tribunal, which then sent him to be processed by Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the trial, Stanković was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was found guilty for committing, encouraging and helping in imprisonment, torture, rape and murder of non-Serb civilians from April 1992 to February 1993 in the Foca region as member of the Miljevina battalion, a division of Војска Републике Српске (the army of the Bosnian Serb Republic).

He escaped from Foca prison when he was taken to the Faculty of Dentistry to check his teeth.

The State prosecution service has since charged ten persons for assisting in Stanković's escape, including guards from Foca prison, his brother, doctor and nurse where he was supposed to check his teeth. Two receioevbed suspended sentences and the remaining seven were found not guilty.

The Hague Tribunal expressed concern on several occasions, asking for the defendant to be ''brought back where he belongs''. He was arrested on 21 January by local police in Foca.

Economic crisis hits Bosnian heritage sites

The National Museum in Sarajevo is one of the heritage sites under funding threat, and reading rooms in the National Library have opened without heating, as a funding crisis grips the country's heritage sites. Deputy director Bedita Islamović said in early January that the Library was unable to meet its utility bills or pay its staff. Heating had been switched off as the temperature hovered just above zero.

Other cultural institutions have closed completely as a result of disagreements over who should pay for their upkeep.

The Dayton peace agreement which ended the 1992-95 war divided the country into two parts, linked by a weak central government. The latter has no ministry of culture and no obligation to provide permanent funding for sites regarded as part of Bosnia-Herzegovina's national heritage.

Bosnian Serbs largely oppose giving the central government control over the sites, with their politicians arguing that each of the country's ethnic groups should care for its own heritage.

Adnan Busuladžić, the director of the National Museum, expected to close room by room in the coming weeks as its power supply is cut off due to unpaid bills. "By no will of our own, we have found ourselves in the middle of a political battle and have become a political problem," he explained.

Among other things, the National Museum's collection includes the Sarajevo Haggadah, an illuminated manuscript brought to Bosnia by a Jewish family expelled from Spain during the Inquisition and saved from Hitler's forces during World War 2.

The culture minister of the country's Bosniak-Croat Federation, Salmir Kaplan, has pledged that his government would provide temporary funding to cover the unpaid utility bills of the National Museum. The Bosnian Serb Republic (Republika Srpska) has a separate culture ministry of its own.

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Parliament bans shale gas drilling using 'fracking' method

MPs voted overwhelmingly on 18 January for a ban on 'fracking', following big street protests by environmentalists. The government has therefore revoked a shale gas permit granted to US energy giant Chevron. Bulgaria thus became the second European country after France to ban exploratory drilling for shale gas using the extraction method called fracking.

While industry experts say that correct drilling is safe, critics of the method say that shale gas drilling can poison underground water and even cause earth tremors. Hydraulic fracking involves releasing gas trapped in rocks by pumping in water mixed with sand and chemicals at high pressure. The technique is used widely in Canada and the US.

The drilling ban voted through parliament set out a fine of 100 million leva (about £43 million) for any infringement.

Currently Bulgaria and many of its neighbours rely heavily on gas imported from Russia. But in Poland, shale gas and oil are seen as promising alternatives to imports of Russian energy. A recent Polish geological report said there were indications of large shale oil deposits near Warsaw and Elblag near the Baltic coast. ExxonMobil has been granted shale oil exploration licences in Poland.

In June 2011 the French parliament imposed a ban on fracking, amid pressure from environmentalists, although the ban did not rule out other methods for recovering shale gas or oil.

 
Links: 
Bulgarian Government

The European Stability Initiative looks at the transformation of Bulgaria since 1997

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Low turnout but EU accession supported by 66% of voters

The outcome of the referendum held on Sunday 22 January on Croatia's accession to the European Union shows that 66.24% of citizens voted in favour while 33.16% have voted against. The results were announced by DIP (State Election Commission) president Branko Hrvatin using results from 98.24% of polling stations.

The overall turnout had been 1,924,585 voters (43.58% of the electorate). On Croatian territory the turnout was 47.5% but of those abroad entitled to vote only 3.47% had done so, Hrvatin said. Just over 4.5 million voters in Croatia and abroad were eligible to vote in the referendum.

The vote abroad had been organised at 106 polling places in 52 countries. Although a tiny turnout, in this group support for accession had been 84.14%.

Hrvatin said that only one irregularity had been reported, in Zagreb, by the Croatian Pure Party of Rights, on which the State Election Commission would decide within the legal deadline.

Prime Minister Zoran Milanović said the overwhelming approval of the referendum to join the EU was a turning point for the country, despite a turnout of only 44% of eligible voters. "From now on, we will be the ones responsible for all decisions we are going to make," Milanović said, as MPs, government ministers and state dignitaries met at the parliament to celebrate on Sunday evening.

President Ivo Josipović added that it was a big day for Croatia – he was truly happy with the outcome of the referendum. Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić called it "a historical moment".

Croatia should become the EU’s 28th member in July 2013, once the treaty has been ratified by other member states.

The EU said in a statement: "The upcoming accession of Croatia sends a clear signal to the whole region of South-eastern Europe. It shows that through political courage and determined reforms, EU membership is within reach."

The turnout of about 44% was however the lowest of any country's EU accession referendum in the past decade. Senol Selimović, a columnist for the Split daily newspaper Sloboda Dalmacija commented: “At 43.6 percent, the turnout is the lowest ever recorded for this kind of consultation at a European level. It is even lower than the percentage of Hungarians (45.62 percent) who voted in the 2003 referendum on the future of their country inside Europe. If the Croatian government had not changed the constitutional law on the referendum beforehand, the referendum would have failed for lack of voter turnout. But the Croatian political elite avoided this ‘trap’ in time, and they can now clink glasses over the fruits of their long effort to persuade the people on the future of the country … The low turnout, however, does leave a bitter taste, indicating as it does that the arguments put forward by the political leaders in favour of the EU have been unconvincing and that they have failed to inspire citizens to take part in a vote of such historical importance.”

Link to Croatian Information Centre

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Foreign minister says refusal to sign EU fiscal deal will hurt Czechs

Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said the prime minister’s refusal to sign up to the EU fiscal compact would damage Czech interests. Schwarzenberg was about to depart for a four-day official visit to Israel and said he wanted to address the situation upon his return. The Czech foreign minister has repeatedly stressed the importance of staying in the European mainstream and recently even threatened to leave the cabinet should the country decide to go its own way. Schwarzenberg, who leads another party Top 09 in the current government coalition, hinted that the real reason behind the country’s refusal to sign up to the treaty was discord within the prime minister’s Civic Democratic party, whose conservative faction was against the proposed EU fiscal compact.

Prime Minister Petr Nečas said after the 30 January EU summit that a chance still remained for the Czech Republic to sign the EU fiscal compact which aims to co-ordinate budget policy and enforce fiscal discipline across the EU. Twenty-five out of 27 EU countries had decided to join the pact. Britain had already refused to do so late in 2011. The fiscal treaty is to be signed in early March. "Approval and ratification of the treaty is a condition of joining the eurozone. If someone wants to be in the eurozone, they have to accede to the treaty," Nečas said. He explained that constitutional reasons were behind his refusal to commit to the fiscal union. The prime minister cited a lack of rights for non-eurozone members, insufficient attention to debt criteria and President Václav Klaus' unwillingness to sign the document as reasons for the Czech refusal. However, Necas did not rule out joining the fiscal pact later.

The treaty finalised at the 30 January EU summit spells out the enhanced role of the European Commission in scrutinising national budgets. It will empower the European Court of Justice to monitor compliance and impose fines on rule-breakers. Prime Minister Nečas said one of the reasons for not signing the treaty was the risk of ceding more powers to the European Commission administration. He also noted that the treaty held no advantages for Czechs and said the country’s eurosceptic president Václav Klaus had already made it clear he would not ratify such an agreement. Nevertheless he had not ruled out that the country might join the treaty sometime in the future. That might well turn on whether his coalition partners can also be persuaded.

Czech Republic will be able to take part in euro zone summits

The Czech Republic and other countries not in the €urozone will however participate in future eurozone summits, it was reported on 28 January, according to the latest draft of the planned fiscal compact. Reliable sources confirmed that Czech, Polish and Swedish negotiators had played a key role at a meeting of prime ministers in Brussels in pushing through the concession. Originally, members of the eurozone had intended to meet on their own. The Czech government this week approved a €1.5 billion loan to the IMF to help contain the debt crisis in the eurozone and gave conditional approval for the Czech Republic to join the emerging fiscal compact - a process that its is said will either have to be ratified by Parliament or in a national referendum.

Communist MP suspects government of spying on party

MP and former head of the Communist Party Miroslav Grebeníček has expressed the suspicion that his party is being spied on by the country's right-wing government. Grebeníček expressed his concerns in a written message to the prime minister in which he stressed that he had registered information recently that the Interior Ministry and certain intelligence branches had been "tasked" with monitoring his party.

He questioned the prime minister about whether other political parties, including the government Civic Democrats, were being watched. In his view, such tactics could be pursued to draw public attention away from lobbying, backroom deals and political corruption. Prime Minister Petr Nečas denied the claims outright, stressing in his written reply that intelligence service activities were defined by law. The PM maintained that no investigation of the Communist Party could be conducted at the behest of the government without lawful reason.

Brno students to protest against planned reforms

University students from Brno's six leading universities have called a street march for 1 February to protest against planned reforms to the university education system. The planned changes, which have also come under fire from the academic community, include the introduction of tuition fees and state-guaranteed loans and far-reaching changes to how Czech universities are run. Critics say that the reform will choke academic freedom in favour of business and politics. Similar protests have already taken place in Prague.

Landmark ruling on right to home birth

A ruling by a Prague court on 26 January may lead to a breakthrough in the ongoing Czech debate about home births. While state officials and health care providers have consistently opposed the practice over safety concerns, the court decided that mothers indeed had the right to choose the place of their child’s delivery, and the state has to provide all necessary assistance.

What has been described as a breakthrough ruling was delivered in the case of a Prague woman who had sued one of the country’s largest hospitals for refusing to provide a midwife for the home birth of her third child.

The court actually rejected the woman’s plea because it was filed too late – the verdict was in fact issued on the day the child was born. However, referring to a recent ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in a similar case in Hungary, the judge said women indeed had the right to choose the place where they give birth to their children.

The court also said that the woman was entitled to all necessary assistance from the hospital because the state had so far denied the registration of private midwives who would otherwise do the job.

The ruling was not welcomed by the Czech medical community. The head of the Czech Gynaecological and Obstetrical Society, Vladimír Dvořák, called the ruling an empty gesture. “Out attitude has not changed at all. Our utmost concern is to ensure maximum safety for the mother and the newborn, and we still maintain that home births are non legae artis. This means that doctors planning to deliver the baby in the mother’s home would not be following the latest medical standards.”

Hospitals have argued that they do not have enough staff to assist at home births, or the means to train them, a view upheld by a leading Czech expert in medical law, Ondřej Dostál. He believes the government should allow independent midwives to render their services to mothers who want to deliver their babies at home.

On the same day as the court ruling Czech Health Ministry officials announced a working group would be formed to prepare new legislation which will determine conditions under which home births could be allowed and be covered by public health insurance.

National Bank approves €1.5 billion loan to IMF

The board of the Czech National Bank on 26 January approved a €1.5 billion loan to the IMF as part of EU efforts to contain the debt crisis in the eurozone. The board made it clear that it would release the funds only on the condition that the Czech Parliament approved government guarantees for the loan, part of a €200 billion euro package to rescue the single European currency.

In December, EU leaders agreed to lend €200 billion to the International Monetary Fund in an attempt to ward off the eurozone debt crisis. The EU asked the Czech Republic to contribute some €3.5 billion euros to the loan; an amount deemed too high by the government. €urozone countries have so far committed themselves to only €150 billion of the required €200 billion.

Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek had said two days earlier that the money would come from the foreign exchange reserves of the Czech National Bank, which would receive a guarantee from the government. Kalousek pointed out that the Czech Republic had gained 175 billion koruna (about £6.1 billion) from the IMF since 2004, and he would consider it indecent and immoral to refuse to participate in the loan.

Census confirms population rise in Prague

The national census taken in 2011 has confirmed that Prague currently has more inhabitants than in any previous period in its history. According to the results, the current population is 1,272,690 people - 104,000 more than a decade ago. The information was revealed on 23 January by the head of the census in Prague, Eva Vojtová. According to the report it was a rise in the number of foreign nationals moving to the city that had contributed most to the numbers – foreign nationals, including Slovaks, Ukrainians and Russians, reportedly make up 14% of Prague's residents. Out of the whole Czech republic’s 14 districts, the census revealed that Prague also has the largest ageing population.

Christian Democrats ready for a comeback

The Christian Democratic Party, which lost all its seats in the lower house of parliament in the 2010 general elections, is seeking new impetus and emphasising the party's traditional values in preparation for the regional and senate elections this autumn.

At the party's weekend conference its leader Pavel Belobradek said on 21 January that the Christian Democrats had learned from their mistakes and were ready for a comeback. He said the party would draft a new policy programme based on the party's traditional values and the society's present needs. The Christian Democrat leader slammed the ruling parties for conducting what he called "cynical, unscrupulous and confrontational" politics.

Former Czech president Václav Havel dies

Former Czech president Václav Havel died at the age of 75 on Sunday morning 18 December, after a protracted lung illness. The former dissident, playwright and politician died in his sleep at his country house Hrádeček, in northern Bohemia, with his wife Dagmar at his side. Havel's health had deteriorated in recent months; the former head of state suffered from lung and heart problems, and he had to limit his public appearances. Václav Havel appeared in public for the last time only the previous week when he received the Dalai Lama during his visit to Prague.

Reacting to the death of his predecessor in office, President Václav Klaus said Václav Havel had come to symbolise the modern-day Czech state, and his personality, name and work played a crucial role in the Czech Republic's accession to the community of free and democratic states. Klaus said he had respected Havel ever since they first met in the 1960s. In November 1989, Václav Havel invited Klaus to join the emerging Czechoslovak democratic government. The two politicians often clashed on a number of issues throughout the 1990s and the first decade of the 2000s, but President Klaus said these polemics had been very fruitful.

Czechs gathered on Sunday in many cities and towns to mourn the loss of their former president. In Prague, people lit candles and laid flowers at Prague Castle, in front of the 17 November memorial in Prague's Narodni trida and at the statue of St Wenceslas on Wenceslas Square. A major rally in honour of the iconic Czech freedom fighter started at 6 pm in Prague's Wenceslas Square and across the country church bells sounded in commemoration of Václav Havel.

The funeral is expected to take place in Prague on Friday 23 December. President Václav Klaus was planning to meet with Havel's widow, Dagmar, to discuss the details. Condolence books were opened at Prague castle on Monday 19 December for people to sign. The Czech cabinet was called for an extraordinary session to declare a national day of mourning.

Czech Republic loses icon of freedom and democracy On Sunday 18 December Radio Prague paid tribute to one of the greatest Czechs of modern history Václav Havel, writer and dramatist, one of the first spokesmen for the Charter 77 human rights movement, a leading figure in the Velvet Revolution of 1989, the last president of the state of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the Czech Republic, has died at the age of 75. Havel had been in poor condition since being taken ill in March with a respiratory inflammation, a problem that plagued him for much of the last twenty years. His last public appearance was at the beginning of last week when he welcomed his friend the Dalai Lama, who asked him to live at least another ten years. Václav Havel leaves the world with a profound legacy, having left an indelible mark on world literature, European politics and on the moral consciousness of Czech society. A playwright by trade, he began drawing public attention in the 1960s. His family’s intellectual and entrepreneurial background meant that he was denied a formal academic education by the Communist regime, which barred him from all college humanities programmes. He therefore opted to study economics, while filling in his artistic resumé as a stage hand for several Prague theatres. While long involved in a number of anti-communist clubs and journals, Václav Havel’s major steps against the regime came in the mid-70s, with an open letter to President Gustav Husák warning against growing anger in society. He gave the name to the Charter 77 human rights manifesto, and two years later he helped to found the Committee for the Defence of the Unjustly Oppressed. He was imprisoned on three occasions for his bold civic views and spent five years behind bars in conditions that have often been cited as one of the causes of his delicate health. In the spring of 1989, as relations between Moscow and the West were just beginning to thaw, Havel co-authored the petition “A Few Sentences”, which called for the allowance of basic freedoms in Czech communist society. It was signed by thousands of Czechs and Slovaks, and again Havel found himself in prison, but the Communist regimes of Eastern Europe were by this time collapsing one by one, and before long, the domino effect had reached Prague. Upon the emergence of a democratic Czechoslovakia, there was soon little question of who should be its first president. One of the most powerful ways in which Václav Havel impacted upon the future of his country was by speedily opening it up to the West immediately upon taking office, embracing Western and American political and cultural influence with open arms. His dream of openness in Czech society came true in this way, but at the same time he found many of his ideals deflated again and again, as the self-serving nature of politics, its corruption and gluttony, began to tarnish the fledgling republic. Two years into his term he suffered a political defeat, with the dissolution of his country. Havel had been an ardent supporter of the Czech-Slovak federation and made every effort to keep the union together, but to no avail. While he will always be remembered as the first, post-communist president who led the country to and through its new-found freedom, Václav Havel should never be thought of as just a politician. He was, quite simply, a humanist. He brought a worldview of basic humanity to the social and political stage, and is quite rightly referred to as one of the greatest Czechs in history.

New EU treaty should involve only eurozone members, says PM

The new planned EU treaty which would impose tighter fiscal rules on national governments should only involve members of the eurozone, Prime Minister Petr Nečas said after meeting his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán in Budapest on 15 December. The Czech prime minister was in Hungary for a brief working visit, consulting over his country's position on the planned EU strategy to save the euro. The officials also discussed their countries' potential participation in the EU loan to the International Monetary Fund. For his part, the Hungarian prime minister hinted they should wait. He was quoted as saying the situation needed the coolness of Czech beer rather than the sharpness of Hungarian spirits.

The Czech government has adopted a cautious approach to both the planned treaty and the loan to the IMF; on 14 December PM Nečas said they needed more information before they were prepared to commit to either possibility. The next day Necas also consulted on developments with British PM David Cameron.

President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas have both expressed their opposition to the eurozone proposals, which would require a 90 billion koruna (about £3.1 billion) loan to the struggling monetary union via the IMF. The junior party in the government coalition Public Affairs has also voiced their opposition to signing the agreement before its details have been hammered out. Another coalition party TOP 09 has however indicated it is in favour of the loan, saying the Czech Republic should not alienate itself from the EU.

Preliminary figures from 2011 population census

The Czech Statistical Office on 15 December released preliminary results of the 2011 population census. According to the figures, the Czech Republic has just over 10.5 million inhabitants, some 330,000 more than ten years ago. The figure has risen mainly due to an influx of foreigners whose numbers increased by 260 percent compared to the previous census. Ukrainians form the country's largest minority, with 117,000 members, followed by Slovaks and Vietnamese. Around 6.7 million people declared themselves to be ethnic Czechs, while over 2.7 million people did not state their ethnicity at all. The number of people who consider themselves Moravian rose to over 500,000. Only 13,500 people said they were Roma while unofficial estimates put the numbers of Roma at between 150,000 and 300,000. The census also found that the number of university graduates had risen by nearly 50% over last decade.

The population census showed that 4.8 million people would not state their religion in the census questionnaires. The highest number of Czechs - around 1.1 million - claimed allegiance with the Roman Catholic Church, followed by the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, with over 50.000 affiliates. Some 3.6 million Czechs stated they had no religious faith while around 15,000 people declared themselves to be supporters of Jedi-ism, the fictional faith derived from the Star Wars saga.

Lower house approves direct presidential elections

The lower house of parliament approved on 14 December a constitutional amendment introducing direct presidential elections. The bill was approved by MPs across the political spectrum with the exception of the Communists who abstained from the vote. The legislation has yet to be approved by the Senate, which is dominated by the opposition Social Democrats. If the legislation comes into effect, the successor to President Václav Klaus would be elected in 2013 by popular vote rather than by the two houses of parliament.

A last-minute deal between the government coalition and the opposition Social Democrats ensured sufficient support for the motion. 159 out of 192 MPs present supported an amendment to the Czech Constitution paving the way for direct presidential elections.

In the two decades since the idea first emerged, direct presidential elections have become a notorious issue on the Czech political scene. All parties declared support for the change to the Czech constitutional system but they could never quite agree on the details, killing the bill each time it was put to the lower house. After the vote, Social Democrat leader Bohuslav Sobotka said he would ask Social Democrat members of the Senate – where the opposition party has a majority – to support the amendment as well.

According to the bill, the Czech president will be elected for a five-year term in a two-round voting system. If no candidate gains over 50 percent of votes in the first round, two candidates with the highest number of votes will advance to the second.

To enter the race candidates will need to gain support from at least 50,000 Czech citizens over the age of 18 or from 20 MPs or 10 Senators. The bill also extends the possibility of having the president removed from office.

From the 1990s onwards the Civic Democrats had always rejected direct presidential elections, mainly because they could not be not sure their candidate Václav Klaus would win. The current president Václav Klaus was elected by both chambers of Parliament in 2003 and re-elected in 2008, but he cannot run for a third term.

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Tallinn to sell its excess carbon quota to Japan

The Estonian environment ministry was poised to sell its excess carbon pollution quota to the Japanese Marubeni Corporation, local media revealed late in January. A deal was reported to be expecting finalisation shortly between the Estonian environment ministry and the Japanese company.

The revenues from the sale are destined to be used in low energy consumption theatre lighting and environment-friendly theatre buses. In eight Estonian theatres, outdated lighting equipment will be replaced partly, making stage activities more environment-friendly thereby helping to reduce permanent costs.

The theatre bus programme would enable five theatres to give up the old buses they use now and replace those with modern environmentally friendly ones. Estonia has actively worked on finding buyers for excess AAUs and the government thus far concluded five agreements with European governments, two with Austria and Spain and one with Luxembourg as well as 15 agreements with Japanese corporations. Marubeni Corporation buys AAUs from the Estonian state for the third time.

Renovation started of former KGB building in old Tallinn

Reconstruction works commenced in late January at the property of Pagari 1 in Tallinn Old Town, to convert into 42 luxury apartments the historical building that up to the 1990s was used by Soviet security forces.

The history of Pagari 1 dates back to 1911, when William Tulip, a British citizen, bought three plots in the crossroads of Pagari, Pikk and Lai streets in Tallinn. In 1912, a high quality apartment and office building, designed by the architect Hans Schmidt, was erected.

From 1920 the building was used by the authorities of the Republic of Estonia and later occupied by Soviet security forces. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the building had functioned as the Estonian Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Hindrek Leppsalu, the spokesperson for the developer Pagari Residence, said the project is challenging as it requires strict compliance to heritage conditions. “The reconstruction will result in a refurbished façade complemented by high-end finishing that is unique in Tallinn. The building will be restored to its formal glory and initial splendour and will function as a residential property once again,” Leppsalu said. Work is expected to be completed by spring 2013, and eleven apartments have been sold to date.

Spa resort planned for Estonian island of Muhu

A new 250-bedroom spa resort is being planned for the Estonian island of Muhu, located in the Baltic Sea.

At the end of January Estonian developer Novaterra submitted a planning application to the local council, which plans to put the proposals up for public review once full details become available.

Muhu is located next - and is connected by a bridge - to the "spa island" of Saaremaa, which boasts a number of luxury spa resorts and is served by an airport, but currently there is only one spa on Muhu.

Citizenship law needs fixing

On 18 January Legal Chancellor Indrek Teder declared his position that the Estonian Citizenship Law contradicted the Constitution. He had therefore sent proposals to Parliament to bring the law in line with it. The issue turns on the status of residents in Estonia who are not ethnically Estonian – principally long-term ethnic Russians. The law currently allows for considering only those people as Estonian citizens who, in good faith, received an Estonian passport, although they should not have, because of a mistake made by the state, on the basis of the law that was valid before the country joined the EU.

Link: Estonian government website

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