DEVELOPMENT

The top priorities of new Regional Development Minister Petr Gandalovič include quicker access to European Union funds and simpler solutions to disputes between landlords and the government, he said at a press conference Sept. 7. Gandalovič said the country could gain as much as 100 billion Kč ($4.5 billion) in Structural and Cohesion Funds from the EU annually between 2007 and 2013.

INFLATION

The Czech National Bank (ČNB) sees the increase of public finances with high deficits as a possible inflation risk, according to the minutes of an Aug. 31 bank policy meeting made public Sept. 8. The ČNB also expressed surprise over a recent fall in Czech exports. Some board members showed concern that energy prices could reduce the competitiveness of Czech producers.

EVASION

The Financial Police and the Customs Office arrested 17 people throughout the country Sept. 6 for tax evasion on fuel sales, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reported. Members of Litvínov-based company Setadiesel, including Director General Ladislav Mandík, were arrested near Most, north Bohemia. Unnamed sources interviewed by ČTK would not confirm whether the case was linked to the Unipetrol bribery scandal.

NOMURA

The Swiss Federal Court ruled against the Czech Republic Sept. 11 in its case against the Japanese company Nomura. The country sued Nomura over its management of a failed Czech bank, which caused the government to put the bank under forced administration. It will have to pay more than 4.7 million Kč in legal fees and court costs.

DEBT

More than 20 countries owe the Czech Republic a total of nearly 33 billion Kč, the Finance Ministry said Sept. 4. Iraq leads, with some 7 billion Kč. The countries of the former Yugoslavia owe a combined 2.3 billion Kč. Other debtors include Sudan, Russia, Algeria and Iran. In the early 1990s, countries owed the Czech Republic nearly 156 billion Kč.

BANKRUPTCY

Bailout agency ČKA will hold a tender Sept. 19 for the sale of its bankruptcy claims worth nearly 28.8 billion Kč, a ČKA spokeswoman told ČTK. The sale of the claims, which occur in two blocks, is part of a project aimed at ending ČKA's activities next year.