Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 18.1.2007

AU: Strengthening of crown shortens incomes from subsidies as much as by billions

Strengthening of Czech crown shortens crown incomes from European subsidies to domestic farmers by hundreds of millions to as much as billions crowns yearly, a chairman of the Agricultural Union Miroslav Jirovský said to ČTK. The stronger domestic currency leads also to a pressure on a decrease in farm prices because it cheapens imports of agricultural commodities from the EU countries. “Unfortunately, it mostly does not show itself in agricultural inputs”, Jirovský pointed out. However, the strengthening of crown does change nothing on that farm subsidies after the accession in the EU grow significantly. According to Jirovský, farmers would receive in subsidies by about two billion crowns more in 2005 if the exchange rate of Czech crown remained at the level of 2004. In 2006 they were deprived of about a billion by the year-on-year strengthening; this year it can be over 600 million, the Union chairman said.

Few payment; farmers without taxes

Agrarian trade unions demand so that people in agriculture whose wage will not exceed 150 000 crowns per year were liberate from payment of income taxes and insurance premium for social and health insurance. Agricultural farmers should not, according them, to pay on behalf of these workers tax payments for social and health insurance. The presidium of agricultural trade unions negotiated with representatives of agricultural unions in agriculture on a situation in the resort. “One of consequences of low wages in agriculture is also that young people are not interested in work in this resort. With this it is connected also a problem of replacement the missing employees by cheap foreign labour”, it is written in a declaration issued by representatives of Trade Union of Agriculture and Nutrition Workers - the Association of Free Trade Unions of CR.

Hundreds of vanes will grow in the Czech Republic

People from Dukovany surrounding in Vysočina have a problem: the firm ČEZ wants to build here almost forty hundred-meter wind power stations. Many local people who had got used to a coexistence with a nuclear power station are frightened by a view of tens of vanes. However, people from Dukovany are not alone. Investors prepare building of hundreds of vanes all around the country; so, the Czechs will have to get used to propellers in their surroundings. And moreover, consumer will pay no small amount of money for energy more friendly to the environment. “Next years their delivery will ten-multiply to 500-1000 megawatt”, Josef Sedlák, a director of the firm ČEZ - Renewable resources, which prepares the project of wind park near Dukovany, estimates.

Kofola acquired most in producer of food supplements

A front beverage firm Kofola acquired 80 % share in the company Gree-Swan. It is a significant producer of curative food supplements; for example it produces the preparation GS Chondro helping in pain of joints. Hospodářské noviny (HN) inform on it in its today's issue without publishing the value of transaction of the firm. “We will use the cooperation in marketing, purchase, development and research. Hereat, common projects will not concern only the Czech market”, said Jannis Samaras, the head of Kofola to HN.