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Copyright (c) 2009 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
By: Ian Willoughby
* The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, has signed the European Union's
Lisbon treaty, allowing the document to come into force around Europe.
* The president's move follows a Constitutional Court ruling that found
that the Lisbon treaty did not contravene Czech law.
* The European Commission says the Czech economy should grow by 0.8
percent next year.
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Czech President Vaclav Klaus signs Lisbon treaty
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The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, has put his signature to
ratification of the European Union's Lisbon treaty, allowing the
document to come into force across the whole of the 27-member bloc; the
Czech Republic was the last state in the EU to complete ratification of
Lisbon. Mr Klaus released a statement saying he had signed the treaty
at 15:00 on Tuesday, only hours after the Czech Constitutional Court
ruled that it did not contravene the Czech constitution.
In a statement, the Czech president said he had expected the court to
rule in favour of Lisbon. However, he also said that its verdict had
not been legally neutral but represented a biased political defence of
the document. Mr Klaus also said the Czech Republic would cease to be a
sovereign state once the Lisbon treaty was implemented.
The caretaker Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, co-signed the Lisbon
treaty later on Tuesday afternoon, meaning that ratification has been
completed on the part of the Czech Republic. The document must now be
lodged in Rome.
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Court rules Lisbon treaty not in contravention of Czech law
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The Czech Constitutional Court delivered its verdict on Lisbon shortly
after 9 on Tuesday morning. A group of Eurosceptic senators loyal to Mr
Klaus had sent a complaint against the Lisbon treaty to the court,
which delivered its ruling a week after holding a public hearing on the
matter.
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Civic Democrats claim right to choose European commissioner as winners
of last elections
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With the subject of who will become the Czech Republic's next European
commissioner sure to heat up in the wake of Mr Klaus's signing of
Lisbon, his former party the Civic Democrats have said they should be
allowed to make that choice. Leader Mirek Topolanek said on Tuesday
that the party deserved that right as they had come first in the last
elections to the Czech lower house. Mr Topolanek also said he would
discuss the matter with Prime Minister Fischer and the leader of the
Social Democrats, Jiri Paroubek, on Wednesday. Mr Fischer has said that
if the political parties cannot agree on a candidate, his interim
cabinet will select one themselves by the start of next week.
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European Commission offers more positive forecast for GDP growth than
Czech ministry
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The Czech economy should grow by 0.8 percent in 2010, according to a
newly released forecast from the European Commission. Its prognosis is
rather more positive than that of the Czech finance ministry, which
expects a 0.3 percent rise in gross domestic product next year -
following a fall of 5 percent this year. The European Commission said
the Czech Republic had come out of a recession in the second quarter of
2009 after real GDP had stabilized; it predicted mild growth in the
final two quarters of 2009. Looking further ahead, it forecast growth
of 2.3 percent in 2011.
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Civic Democrat MP admits improper acquisition of academic title
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Civic Democrat MP Marek Benda has admitted that his academic title was
acquired improperly at the law faculty at Plzen's University of West
Bohemia. The faculty has been embroiled in controversy since it emerged
that some students had received academic qualifications there without
having done the necessary work. Mr Benda, who is chair of the lower
house's constitutional-legal committee, said he had neglected some
formalities in connection with his doctorate. He has asked to be
allowed to defend his dissertation again once it has been completed.
Former justice minister Jiri Pospisil, who was appointed dean of the
disgraced law faculty on Monday, said he would seek legal advice on
whether that was possible. Meanwhile, the Social Democrats have called
for Mr Benda to step down as chair of the constitutional-legal
committee.
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Austrian company selling mobiles for elderly enters Czech market
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An Austrian company says it is hoping to sell 30,000 mobile phones for
the elderly on the Czech market every year. A representative of the
firm Emporia said its target market were the 1.5 million people in the
Czech Republic over the age of 65. A number of other companies are
already selling mobiles for seniors in this country.
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Czech hockey star Tomas Kaberle named Star of Week in NHL
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Czech ice hockey player Tomas Kaberle has been named first Star of the
Week in the NHL. The defenceman received the accolade after registering
two goals and 10 assists in four away games for Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Czech player, who is 31, was credited with helping Toronto take
points in all four games, though the club suffered three overtime
losses.
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Weather
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The grey weather we've been having should give way to clearer skies in
the coming days, though we can also expect rain. Forecasters say
temperatures will reach up to 9 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Current Affairs
Czech Republic takes unique approach to forcing official business onto
electronic highway
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The Czech Republic has launched an ambitious and in some ways unique
project to get all public institutions and businesses onto the
electronic highway for the purposes of official communications. But the
launch of the so-called data box project has been accompanied by
indifference from users and some teething problems.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/121853
Current Affairs
Respekt's Jan Machacek: ratification delay has hurt the Czech Republic
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The president's unexpected last-minute demand and the delays
surrounding the Lisbon treaty's ratification in the Czech Republic have
not gone down well in Brussels and where many now see the Czech
Republic as a troublemaker. Will Tuesday's verdict finally send out the
right signal? A question for Jan Machacek, commentator for the weekly
Respekt.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/121852
Current Affairs
President Klaus signs Lisbon treaty
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After months of fierce opposition, Czech President Vaclav Klaus on
Tuesday gave in to mounting pressure and signed the Lisbon treaty, just
hours after the country's Constitutional Court ruled that it was fully
in line with Czech law. His signature concludes the treaty's full
ratification by the EU, opening the way to extensive reforms within the
27-member alliance.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/121851
Special
Festival of post-1989 Czech film at Lincoln Center in New York
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Some of the most important Czech films since 1989 have been screened in
a kind of mini-festival that has just come to a conclusion at the famed
Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York. Six days. 16 films. 10
guest speakers. The series? The Ironic Curtain. Czech Cinema since the
Velvet Revolution.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/121849
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