Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 26.10. 2006

New program should support Czech pond fish culture

A preventive measure should prevent tragic floods consequences. Fishermen could get 4,5 billion crowns for clearing of ponds from mud and improvement of their technical state, including dams. A new program of the Ministry of Agriculture whose main purpose is protection against floods should enable it. It is counted with a half of billion crowns in a proposal of the state budget for these purposes. Other financial resource would be the European Investment Bank and the National Property Fund. Czech fishermen would welcome such a support because they are not able to solve the problem themselves. It is out of their economic possibilities. It is estimated that there is about two hundred million cubic meters of mud in the ponds.

Vladimír Eck became new SZIF director

The government on its yesterday’s negotiation on the proposal of the Ministress of Agriculture Milena Vicenová appointed a new director of the State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SZIF) Ing. Vladimír Eck. Táňa Králová, the spokeswoman of the ministry informed on it. According to her from a selective procedure which was announced in September and had four rounds, he was definitely the most suitable candidate.

EU warns against excessive drinking of alcohol, however, it refrained from action

195 000 people die due to excessive drinking of alcohol in the European Union yearly and alcohol selects the highest tax among the young. The European Union published it, however, it did not take own steps and only called on member states to do more in fight with alcohol. The report appeals to producers of alcoholic beverages to use responsible marketing practices. It recommends so that age limits for sale and spirits consumption were kept better and so that young drivers must not have any or only a low content of alcohol in their blood. However, the report outlining the Union’s strategy does not recommend so that warning against health consequences appear on bottles as it had been written before publication of the document.

SZPI founded out breaking of law on foods

French trade chain Carrefour has not succeeded in a court with an effort to impeach a part of fines which it had got for sale of food of poor quality or deception of customers. The chain lost three actions in which it wanted to impeach fines from the State Agricultural and Food Inspection (SZPI). The regional court in Brno dismissed the action of Carrefour and confirmed fining in the total height of almost 190 000 crowns.

Source: Agris, 27.10.2006