Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 5.4.2006

Floods will burden budget with five milliards

Jiří Paroubek’s government will help people who were afflicted by this year’s floods, by increase of the state budget by five milliard crowns. They will serve as a reserve for removal of damages or for flood-protection measures. People afflicted by floods will be also able to ask for a credit for renovation a of living with a low interest rate without difference of age. According to the government spokeswoman, Lucie Orgoníková, the budgetary deficit will not be changed because also budgetary incomes should rise by five milliard crowns. According to Monday’s expression of the Minister of Finance, Bohuslav Sobotka, the budget will be strengthened by money from privatization and from dividends, the most from the firm ČEZ. The Parliament should negotiate a proposal for a budgetary change in an accelerated reading.

Farmers can ask for support for stores reconstruction

The Minister of Agriculture, Jan Mládek, announced the tenth round of acceptance of applications for a financial aid from the Operational program Agriculture. A spokesman of the Ministry of Agriculture, Tomáš Loskot, informed about it. The applicants can propose their applications in following terms at seven regional departments of the State Agricultural Intervention Fund in Prague, Brno, Hradec Králové, České Budějovice, Ústí nad Labem, Olomouc and Opava. The deadline for acceptance of applications is the last day at 12 o’clock a.m.

Growers of sugar beet should get compensation 13 000 CZK/ha for market reform

Growers of sugar beet should get a compensation of about 13 000 crowns per hectare in the economic year 2006/2007 for impacts of the sugar reform in the EU, also for a land which they will not sow for this season. It will stem from a referential period 2005/06 when sugar beet occupied about 65 000 hectares. For this year a fall is estimated to 50 000 hectares. The contribution is about to partially compensate decrease of guaranteed price of sugar beet to farmers and will be financed by the EU. A regulation arranging some conditions of payment of this money will be negotiated by the government on Wednesday.

An additional payment of direct payments to farmers will rise to about 7,4 mild. CZK this year

Farmers should get, in frame of national evening-up of direct payments from the EU, about 7,39 milliard crowns, so roughly by 450 million more than last year. The state will so pay the direct subsidies, key agricultural supports, to 65-percent level in the old member EU states. It results from data of the Ministry of Agriculture. The regulation adjusting payment of this money will be negotiated by the government on Wednesday.

Source: Agris, 06.04.2006