EMISSIONS

Japan has agreed to buy up to 20 million metric tons (22 million short tons) in carbon emissions from the Czech Republic, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun has reported. The emissions would be sold under the carbon trading system stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. The Czech Republic has promised to use profits from the deal to fund environmental projects such as renewable energy.

Vlastimil Tlustý of the Civic Democrats (ODS) will not support the Cabinet’s planned reforms without further modification, Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) reported April 10. Tlustý, the finance minister in last year’s short-lived minority government, wants the flat-tax reforms to mirror the ODS proposal from the 2006 election. Current Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek has called Tlustý’s proposition “absolutely unfeasible.”

Labor and Social Affairs Minister Petr Nečas hopes to compensate for increases in the value-added tax by increasing pensions 3.9 percent next year, MfD reported April 10. The move will cushion expected price increases in everyday goods such as food and drugs.

Foxconn Electronics plans to build an LCD display factory in Kutná Hora, central Bohemia, Hospodářské noviny reported April 10. The factory could employ up to 5,000 people. Foxconn has not yet made an official announcement on where its factory will be built.

State-owned brewery Budějovický Budvar will be transformed into a joint-stock company next year as a first step toward privatization, Hospodářské noviny reported April 10. Agriculture Minster Petr Gandalovič announced the move on a tour of the brewery. Budvar is the last state-controlled brewery.

A total of 30,105 new cars were sold in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 9.2 percent on the previous year, Právo reported April 6. Škoda continues to bestride the country, with a 39 percent market share; its closest competitors are Renault, with 6.45 percent, and Volkswagen, with 5.7 percent.

The European Commission fined the Czech Republic 12.3 million euros ($16 million/344 million Kč) for the stockpile of agricultural products it stored up before European Union accession, Hospodářské noviny reported April 5. The country exceeded its quotas for meat, fruit and rice, the commission said. The Agriculture Ministry said there was no proof that the country held food and vowed to fight the decision.

The Czech Republic posted a 13.6 billion Kč ($650 million) trade surplus in February, an 8.8 billion Kč rise year on year and the largest surplus in the country’s history, Lidové noviny reported April 5. The growth was supported by auto and electronics exports, while the mild winter limited gas and oil imports.

Industry and Trade Minister Martin Říman has dismissed Jiří Pěkný, director of the Czech Retail Inspection, Právo reported April 4. Říman gave the inefficiency of the office under Pěkný as the reason. Pěkný will be replaced by Jana Příhodová, former ODS representative for Prague 1.