Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 27.-29.7.2007

Europe recovers from bluster of weather

Fires fed with heats still troubles many areas of Southern and Central Europe, above all in Greece and Italy. Forest fires in east Slovakia started slowly to step back and also in the Great Britain which was damaged by floods in consequence of record downpours the situation improved at least temporarily. Hundreds Greek firemen fought for the fourth day with tens forest fires which decimates on many places territory of continental Greece and its islands. A situation is hard especially in Pelopones where still 15 000 hectares of vegetation burns. Flames have already damaged over hundred of houses. Moreover, they killed three civilians and five firemen last days.

Dangerous dye was approved in the Czech Republic by the EU legislative

A dangerous dye E 128 (red G) which can give rise to cancer in an organism has been allowed in the Czech Republic by one of the EU regulations. Just the European Union has decided last week to forbid the dye because its experts had found out that it can cause cancer. According to the Ministry of Agriculture the ban should come in force from today. It seems that the Czech Republic simply took over the permission with other union regulations in frame of taking over European law. Before that no Czech regulation mentioned this type of dye. It results from a comparison of both regulations which by request of Aktuálně.cz was realized by a chief of the Czech Union of Meat Processors.

Millions from Brussels will come already this year

Seven hundred and fifty billion crowns. Such it is a sum which the Czech Republic will draw from European funds in period 2007 - 2013. The European Commission accepted Czech requirements today in Brussels as well as so called National Strategic Referential Frame. The document signed by the Minister for Local Development Jiří Čunek and the European commissioner Danuta Hübnerová is about to secure money soon for example for rural development, transportation and enterprise. “We will strive to spread means throughout the republic so that people and industry would stay in the same areas as now”, the vice-premier Čunek said after a negotiation.

Milk prices break records

There is nervousness on milk market; it brings rise in price. A the beginning of year a liter of bold-faced pasteurized milk cost 14,52 crowns in shops, last week its price moved by one crown higher, according to the statistic office. It is the most in last at least eight years. What is a cause of this year's almost seven-percent rise in price? According to dairy-men and businessmen it is a great increase of demand for milk products in the European Union and Asia, a low milk production in Germany and France, and a failure of supplies from Austria cased by big drought. “Milk on a large scale is bought out mainly by dairy-works which have dryers”, says a chief of dairy-work in Jaroměřice, Jiří Věžník. It is just dry milk which abroad is interested mostly in, and its price went up on European market from the beginning of year almost by forty percent.