Thursday News Briefing

NEWS  

LIBYA President Václav Klaus will attend next week's extraordinary summit of EU leaders in Brussels to discuss the tense situation in north Africa, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported March 3. The March 11 summit will discuss the EU's stand on Libya and neighboring states, in the wake of sanctions by the bloc on the Libyan regime earlier this week. The EU is imposing an arms embargo, a travel ban and the freezing of assets of certain Libyan officials.  

PRESIDENCY The coalition parties have agreed with the Social Democrats on a two-round system for a direct presidential election, ČTK reported March 2. Prime Minister Petr Nečas has urged agreement to be reached in full on remaining issues such as presidential powers and the length of a presidential term by next month, in order to ensure a smooth passage into law in time for a public vote on Klaus' successor in 2013.  

MOVIE The director of 2010 action thriller Salt, which starred Angelina Jolie, is shooting a movie in Prague later this year, daily E15 reported March 3. Philip Noyce will shoot the spy film, titled Wenceslas Square, in the fall for release in 2012. The film is adapted from a short story by Arthur Philips set in Czechoslovakia at the end of the Cold War.  

BUSINESS  

VAT The Cabinet agreed yesterday to stick with the original pension reform proposal without any further changes. The lower VAT rate will be raised to 20 percent, with the exception of basic food items, which will continue to be taxed at the 10 percent rate. These items include bread, milk, raw vegetables, potatoes, unprocessed fish, baby formula and food for those with metabolic disorders. The unified VAT rate will go into effect this year Oct. 1.   

PENSION As a result of a recent European Court of Justice ruling, participation in private funds for pensions will become less attractive for men. The ruling requires payouts be equal among genders, despite the fact that men statistically do not live as long as women. Labor and Social Affairs Minister Jaromír Drábek said having separate standards for men and women would require differentiation also between obese people and smokers, according to the daily HN.  

ŠKODA CEO Winfried Vahland of Škoda said the brand is beginning the process of globalization, and it will be a turning point for the company. The daily HN interpreted this to mean that the demands of Indian and Chinese customers will take precedence over Czech customers.

WEATHER  

Prague, Czech Republic March 3. Clear. High: 5 C. Low: -3 C.