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Carolina (English) No 415
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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Charles University in Prague
Faculty of Social Sciences
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz ISSN 121-5040
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 415, Friday, April 20, 2001.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (April 11 - April 18)
International Commission Gives Favorable Temelin Report
The Temelin Nuclear Power Station's (JETE) impact on the
environment is low, insignificant and acceptable. That was the
conclusion of a report presented by the international commission formed
on the basis of a Czech-Austrian treaty signed in Melk, Austria in
November. The Czech Foreign Ministry April 10 presented the report,
which is considered key for Temelin's future.
The four-member commission, formed by two representatives from the
Czech Environment Ministry and two from the Czech Trade Ministry,
compiled the report based on testimony from 76 Czech experts; six other
experts from the European Commission, Austria and Germany cooperated
with the commission as independent observers. Public discussion of the
report will be held April 25 in Ceske Budejovice and May 9 in Linz.
The study gives high grades to Temelin's impact on local hydrology,
atmosphere and climate, while it less positively describes the impact on
the landscape and nature. According to the commission, the analysis of
a possible accident shows that, even considering the toughest criteria,
citizens of the Czech Republic, Austria and Germany will not be in
jeopardy.
The document drew serious criticism from ecologists and Temelin
opponents. A few hours after the report was released, the Northern
Austrian Envoy for Nearby Nuclear Facilities Radko Pavlovec expressed
his disapproval. He said the report is insufficient (it consisted of
250 pages) and it barely refers to alternative energy sources and does
not compare the impact to the impact of not launching the power station
at all. Josef Puehringer, speaker of the Upper Austria Independent
Platform against Atomic Danger, demanded a new report for the reasons
mentioned above. He called the report a joke.
Marie Sternova/Sofia Karakeva
Jiri Rusnok New Finance Minister
The Finance Ministry has a new leader: Pavel Mertlik's successor is
Jiri Rusnok, former deputy labor minister. He was appointed by President
Vaclav Havel April 13. According to Prime Minister Milos Zeman, the new
minister's main goals will be to accelerate privatization of state
companies, improve tax collection and stabilize public funds. Rusnok
will also be responsible for next year's budget, which is expected to be
burdened with a lower deficit than this year.
Mertlik, who announced his resignation April 10 - saying the main
reason was he lost much of the prime minister's support (see Carolina
414), expressed satisfaction with his successor. "He is a very good
economist and expert, he knows the civil service, and I'm convinced he
will ensure continuity in Finance Ministry policy," said Mertlik for the
economic daily Hospodarske noviny. Havel thanked Mertlik for his work
and said he regrets Mertlik's departure from the government.
The new minister, like Mertlik, said he considers gradual tax
increases inevitable in the future.
David Pilar/Stepan Vorlicek
Police Charge TV Boss Zelezny with Two Crimes
TV NOVA General Director Vladimir Zelezny was accused of two crimes
last week - damaging creditors and tax evasion - and questioned by
police. According to the charges, Zelezny paid a contract fine of 28
million USD to an unknown Lichtenstein company and sold part of his
property. He thus damaged his creditor CME, to whom he was ordered to
pay roughly the same amount by an international arbitration court.
Zelezny also allegedly failed to pay customs duties for valuable
paintings imported from Great Britain. "He is suspected of not paying
more than 6 million crowns in customs duties and taxes," said to the
daily Lidove noviny police investigator Vladimir Machala.
According to the daily MF DNES, Czech-American George Novotny
imported the paintings to the Czech Republic. Novotny, an American
citizen, falsely claimed the paintings were his own property, so the
customs officers could not demand customs duty. A painting valued at 24
million crowns by Marc Chagall was also among the imported paintings.
The investigation will continue, authorities say they suspect him of
further tax evasions. Investigators are looking into several other
criminal complaints linked to the dispute between Zelezny and the
American company CME.
Ales Borovan/Ondrej Maly
E-Business Top Theme at Prague Internet World
The fourth-annual fair Prague Internet World ended April 12 with
awards for the best and the most useful web pages, services and Internet
products.
Besides exhibitors, Internet companies and companies using the
Internet as an integral part of their presentation, the fair was
attended by communications specialists, media representatives, industry
bosses and the public. The conference was divided into nine sections
- nine different views on internet (e.g. technology, law, finance,
education, entertainment and children). The top theme was the
e-commerce, dominant at the E-SUMMIT - a meeting of politicians, top
Czech internet managers, industry leaders and journalists.
Vera Vonavkova/Ondrej Maly
NEWS IN BRIEF
* Miroslav Kalousek, vice chairman of the Christian Democrats whose
presence in the Four-Party Coalition's shadow government caused the
resignation of the coalition leader Cyril Svoboda, resigned from his
function April 12. He withdrew as trade minister in the shadow cabinet
and from his post in the coalition's Political Council as well. Kalousek
asked Svoboda and Hana Marvanova from the Freedom Union (US, another
coalition member) to explain their accusations concerning his work at
the Defense Ministry in previous governments.
* The population of the Czech Republic decreased by 11,552 people
last year. The country had 10,266,546 inhabitants December 31. The Czech
Statistics Office recorded the greatest decline - of almost 6,000 people
- in Prague. The Ostrava, Olomouc and Brno regions saw declines, too.
Only eight counties reported more births than deaths. The Prague-West
and Prague-East districts saw the largest increases.
* Two dead and one seriously wounded police officer were the result
of an April 17 exchange of gunfire in Protivin. A woman came to the
police station to report she had been raped by her former husband the
previous evening. The police were shot by the husband's illegally owned
weapon when they examined the house. One of them, aged 31, died on the
spot, while a 29-year-old officer died at the hospital. The third is in
hospital in Ceske Budejovice with serious head and chest injuries. The
attacker unsuccessfully attepmted suicide after the crime.
Petr Adam, Katerina Komadova, Gabriela Pribilova/Adam Fendrych
FROM SLOVAKIA
Slovak Television Crisis
Slovak Television (STV) is facing a deep crisis, but unlike the
Christmas personnel crisis at Czech Television (see Carolina 399-402),
this is a financial crisis. Amendments to the STV and Radio Act approved
April 11 will not solve the longterm problems of STV. The Czech case
did, however, influence certain elements of the amendments. STV did not
repay by April its debt of more than 100 million Slovak crowns to Slovak
Telecommunications (ST) for services provided.
Since the beginning of April, ST has stopped providing live sports
broadcasts and reports from the Slovak National Assembly. Hockey playoff
and football matches have been broadcasted by the Telenor company. STV
and ST agreed on June 1 as the new deadline for repaying the debt. Vice
Chairman of the National Assembly's Culture and Media Commission Jan
Budaj presented April 12 to the government a five-point plan for
repaying the debt. The governing coalition and opposition Movement for
a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) agreed with the plan. The plan calls for an
audit of service prices, which ST provided to STV and with the
reimbursement of unpaid concession fees from viewers.
News from Slovakia by Zdenek Sloboda/Sofia Karakeva
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* The Czech National Bank April 10 announced the foreign debt of the
Czech Republic fell to 814 billion crowns by the end of 2000; the 1999
debt was 822.5 billion crowns.
* Industrial production in the Czech Republic achieved a 12-month
increase of 6.5 per cent in February - and an increase of 8.8 per cent
when considering the lesser number of workdays this year. The Czech
Statistics Office announced the results April 10. The office's records
show the increase in January was 13.8 per cent. The increase is driven
by continuing foreign investments.
* A new model of the latest Skoda car, the Fabia sedan, will be
presented at the 5th Prague Motorist Spring exhibition April 19-22. More
than 86 exhibitors will take part, and a show of four old luxury makes,
including Ferrari and Porsche, will take place.
* The Chamber of Deputies April 12 approved a government bill to
transform the state-owned Consolidation Bank into the Czech
Consolidation Agency, effective September 1 and with a planned lifespan
of 10 years. The agency will not have a bank license; the state will
still guarantee its claims. The bill must be approved by the Senate and
signed by the president.
Economy in Brief by Adam Fendrych/Stepan Vorlicek
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid April 20)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.250
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 19.507
Great Britain 1 GBP 55.428
Denmark 1 DKK 4.590
Japan 100 JPY 31.819
Canada 1 CAD 24.828
IMF 1 XDR 48.946
Hungary 100 HUF 12.828
Norway 1 NOK 4.253
New Zealand 1 NZD 15.680
Poland 1 PLN 9.676
Slovakia 100 SKK 79.195
Slovenia 100 SIT 15.827
Sweden 1 SEK 3.793
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.389
USA 1 USD 38.777
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.512
Belgium 100 BEF 84.904
Finland 1 FIM 5.760
France 1 FRF 5.221
Ireland 1 IEP 43.489
Italy 1000 ITL 17.689
Luxemburg 100 LUF 84.904
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.542
Portugal 100 PTE 17.084
Austria 1 ATS 2.489
Greece 100 GRD 10.051
Spain 100 ESP 20.585
CULTURE
F. L. Wright's Living City Lived in Prague's Municipal House
April 15 saw the last visitor to the models and photos of buildings
done by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). The project,
created with the F. L. Wright Foundation, presented Wright's work in the
Czech Republic for the first time. A miniature organic town was built in
Prague's Municipal House (Obecni dum). Wright wanted to destroy cubic
houses and, inspired by Japan, he look for continuity between the inner
and outer space. His favorite materials were concrete, wood and raw
stone. That is also why his villas, family houses, civic centers,
schools, factories and galeries were relatively inexpensive.
The exhibition was divided into nine sections according to the
purposes of different buildings. At the end of Wright's career the
architect worked on his vision of the Living City - the ideal town. His
work culminated in The Solomon Guggenheim Museum of Modern Art in New
York.
Marketa Bartosova/Veronika Hankusova
SPORTS
Vsetin Wins Sixth Hockey Title
Slovnaft Vsetin, the juggernaut of the hockey extraleague in the
last decade, defeated Sparta Praha three games to one in the hockey
extraleague finals and avenged its loss in last year's finals to Sparta.
The game played April 13 brought the final decision as Vsetin won on
Sparta's ice 4-1 with an excellent performance.
Sparta lost the key third game 3-6 at home in a sold-out Paegas
Arena April 12. Vsetin returned to the extraleague throne after one
year's respite, the title was its the team's sixth in its seven years in
the league. The finals were evenly matched; the games were decided
mostly in the last period. Vsetin's line led by national team forward
Jiri Dopita was the team;s biggest weapon. Dopita scored four goals in
the third game of the series. Sparta relied on goalkeeper Petr Briza,
who, however, could not overcome numerous and crucial mistakes by
Sparta's defense.
Sparta did not extend the contract of coach Frantisek Vyborny, who
will lead the Polish national team next season.
Results of the Extraleague finals: Sparta - Vsetin 3-6 and 1-4.
Vsetin won the series 3-1.
The final standings of the hockey extraleague: 1. Vsetin, 2.
Sparta Praha, 3. Vitkovice, 4. Slavia Praha, 5. Znojmo, 6. Pardubice,
7. Litvinov, 8. Zlin, 9. Trinec, 10. Plzen, 11. Ceske Budejovice, 12.
Kladno, 13. Havirov, 14. Karlovy Vary.
David Pilar/Mirek Langer
Soccer League: Sparta One Win from Title
After a 24th-round 3-2 win on the field of last-place Plzen, soccer
league reigning champion Sparta Praha needs one win to ensure another
title. Sparta could celebrate victory April 21 if it defeats Bohemians
Praha. On the contrary, Slavia Praha's struggle to move into second
suffered when Slavia failed to defeat Pribram at home. Second place
guarantees a spot to the Champions League qualification round.
In Plzen, the home team played without any fear of Sparta and led
twice. At the end of the game, Sparta coach Ivan Hasek turned up the
team's offense and it paid off - young forward Tomas Jun scored this
first league goal.
Olomouc took advantage of Slavia and Pribram's tie by winning in
Drnovice and returning to second place. Drnovice's Vitezslav Tuma did
cut into Olomouc's lead; he is the top scorer of the league with 13
goals.
Results of the 24th round: Slavia Praha - Pribram 0-0, Bohemians
Praha - Ostrava 2-0, Blsany - Liberec 1-0, Drnovice - Olomouc 1-2, Ceske
Budejovice - Brno 2-1, Stare Mesto - Teplice 0-1, Jablonec - Zizkov
0-0, Plzen - Sparta Praha 2-3.
Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 57 points, 2. Olomouc 41, 3. Pribram
40, 4. Zizkov 38, 5. Slavia Praha 37, 6. Teplice 36, 7. Liberec 35, 8.
Drnovice 33, 9. Stare Mesto 30, 10. Bohemians Praha 30, 11. Jablonec
29, 12. Brno 26, 13. Blsany 26, 14. Ostrava 26, 15. Ceske Budejovice
22, 16. Plzen 15.
Petr Adam/Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Car racer Tomas Enge finished third in the second race of the
Formula 3000 FIA Championships in Imola, Italy. He earned four points
for the overall standings.
* Canoe racer Martin Doktor won two races in the opening event of the
flatwater canoeing World Cup in Gainesville, Georgia in the US. On the
lake where he won two 1996 Olympic gold medals, he defeated all
opponents in the 1000- and 500-meter races; he was defeated by Ukrainian
Dmitry Sablin in the 200-meter sprint.
* Czech tennis players will meet Romania in the Davis Cup
qualification round September 21-23. The Czech team, which has never
been relegated from the Davis Cup World Group and which lost in Sweden
in this year's first round, will have be the home-court advantage in the
tie against Romania.
* The Czech national hockey team lost in Slovakia 4-8 in a friendly
match April 11. Slovakia succeeded to avenge its one-day-old 1-3 loss in
Olomouc. The Czech team will also meet Russia during its preparation for
the 2001 World Championships, which will take place in Germany.
Adam Fendrych/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
As predicted, it snowed on Easter, which hardly surprised anyone.
Judging by the roofs covered with snow, the Czech ski resorts might
still be open in the summer. And winter? Is it getting warmer?
Definitely not, despite global warming we cannot expect tropical heat
for Christmas and it seems instead a new ice age is about to begin in
the Czech Republic.
Petr Adam/Adam Fendrych
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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