Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 12. 1. 2011

Amendment of act on phytosanitary care should secure compatibility with EU regulations and remove useless bureaucracy

The government passed a draft law on phytosanitary care on Wednesday. The main sense of the amendment was to leave out provisions of their parts which are newly adjusted by directly usable regulation of the European Union. The amendment is another contribution in fight against useless and rampant bureaucracy. “The aim of amendment is to leave out those provisions from the law on phytosanitary care which are newly adjusted by directly usable regulation of the European Union. It will also ease orientation of users in the law and will complete needed competences of the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Phytosanitary Administration”, the Minister Ivan Fuksa summarizes principles of the amendment.

Almost eighty million crowns will help to farmers affected by last year´s spring and summer floods

Farmers can use in total 79 million crowns of subsidies to moderate damages caused on agricultural property by floods in may and June 2010 and subsequently in August 2010. The Ministry of Agriculture has successfully finished a notification procedure and the European Commission has approved grant programmes. A reception of applications for grant provision starts on the 17th of January 2011. After a signature of the Minister of Agriculture, there are at disposal financial means in height of 50 million crowns for farmers who were damaged during the floods in May and June 2010. 29 million crowns are prepared to moderate damages caused by floods in August 2010.

SVS returned more than 4 tonnes of chickens in Poland owing to water content

In recent days, the State Veterinary Administration (SVS) has withheld and returned back to a Polish producer more than four and half tones of chicken meat because of excess water content. SVS spokesman Josef Duben informed ČTK on it. The limit was exceeded due to a way in which Polish producers cool down chickens. The European legislative permits three cooling methods for chicken meat: by air, by air with spraying, and in water bath. Veterinarians but also Czech processors and farmers have warned for the long term that cooling meat by water brings certain risks. Besides a higher risk of contamination of in such a way cooled down meat with various microorganisms, for example salmonellas, the meat can contain also a higher volume of water.

Czech water managers fall behind in spending of endowments

Domestic water managers fall in spending of European grants behind their colleagues from other European countries. According to the internet server Euro.cz, since 2007 till now, they have spent only 9.4 percents of almost 50 billion crowns which they can receive in endowments by 2013. It ranks them in a tail of an imaginary scale. According to a chairman of Water Supply and Sewerage Association of the Czech Republic (SOVAK) František Barák, the main party guilty is a critical cooperation with the State Environment Fund and the Ministry of Environment, which denies this criticism. „Among main snags there are an insufficient communication with experts, using of monopoly consultants, a political populism towards municipal owners, often arrogance of former ministers, directors and officers“, Barák stated.