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.

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.

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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”.

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

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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.

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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

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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.

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.

Link to Croatian Information Centre

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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.

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.

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.

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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.

Link: Estonian government website

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