Tuesday News Briefing

Dobeš reverses field on university tuition; Kalousek repeats call to raise VAT, freeze pensions

Walter Novak

Students opposed Dobeš's plan to implement university tuition. Above, a sign reads "Education is not a business."

NEWS  

EDUCATION Members of the governing coalition have asked Education Minister Josef Dobeš (Public Affairs) to explain his backtracking on the implementation of tuition fees at public universities as part of his ministry's reforms to the tertiary education system, Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported Feb. 28. Dobeš announced Feb. 27 that fees would only be paid by students who exceeded the standard timeframe of study. Students and university leaders continue to oppose the reform.  

SLOVAKIA Around 1,000 people marched to the offices of the governing Slovak Democrat and Christian Union (SDKÚ) in Bratislava Feb. 27 to protest perceived widespread corruption, ČTK reported. Demonstrators petitioned the government to postpone the March 10 parliamentary election, which they said would happen under undemocratic circumstances unless the details of Gorilla, a leaked intelligence file purporting to show collusion between private investment firm Penta and high-level politicians, are thoroughly investigated.  

EU German Foreign Affairs Minister Guido Westerwelle will visit the Czech Republic March 5, ČTK reported Feb. 28. His visit comes at a time when the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom are the only two European Union countries who have refused to sign on to an EU-wide fiscal responsibility pact. Westerwelle is expected to address this issue, as well as the ongoing crisis over Greek insolvency, with Czech leaders.  

BUSINESS  

BUDGET Prime Minister Petr Nečas and Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said Feb. 27 it would be necessary to raise the value-added tax (VAT), slow the growth of pensions and raise taxes on the wealthy in the coming years to make up for steep budget shortfalls. Ministers in charge of economic affairs have also agreed that expenditures worth about 23 billion Kč would have to be frozen in the state budget this year owing to the weaker performance of the economy. Separately, the IMF announced a forecast of stagnation for the Czech economy this year.

COUNTERFEITING A total of more than 6,000 counterfeit and altered bank notes and coins of all currencies were seized in the Czech Republic last year, a year-on-year drop of 527, according to the Czech National Bank. A total of 4,541 of the counterfeits were Czech bank notes and coins. In 2010, the number of seized counterfeits of all currencies fell to 6,529 from 6,955 in the previous year. The Czech Republic is neither a source country nor a target country for fake money, and money counterfeiting is not a criminal activity that would be a pressing problem here, Pavel Hanták of the Czech Organized Crime Squad (ÚOOZ) said at the press conference.

FARMS The number of organic farms in the Czech Republic grew 11 percent year on year to 3,920 in 2011, and the share of area used for organic farming rose to 11.4 percent of total farm land from 10.5 percent at the end of 2010, the Agriculture Ministry said. In line with the ministry's action plan, approved by the Cabinet in December 2010, the share of organic farming should increase to 15 percent by 2015. The share of organic food on the total food market is to triple from the current share of almost 1 percent. The Cabinet's document also aims to reverse the shares of imported organic in favor of domestic organic products.