Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 30.10. 2007

Reduction of trade with veterinary goods will not meanwhile happen

In last week a mission from Food and Veterinary Office (with a seat in Dublin) could again make sure that we fulfill all conditions for trade with veterinary goods, especially with farm animals as European legislative imposes. A spokesman of the State Veterinary Administration (SVS) Josef Duben informed on it and added that no faults which could lead to a reduction of our trade with other EU countries were found out.

Gandalovič: Government counts on support of farmers from PGRLF

The government still counts on a support of farmers from the Subsidiary and Guarantee Rural and Forestry Fund which subsidizes interests to applicants and provides guarantees to accepted credits. The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič (ODS) said it at today's press conference and reported that the Cabinet had approved an amendment of act on agriculture which sets the existence of subsidiary fund. According to the minister a main reason of this step were former objections of the Supreme Control Office (NKÚ) towards PGRLF. However, the fund is supposed to stay a join-stock company although NKÚ criticized just this legal form.

New study: Game damages forests. Damages verge to billion

Outbreak of deers, roes and mouflons will damage almost half of young planted trees, so damages reach hundred million crowns yearly. It is reported in till this time unpublished study on game damages on forest growths which was produced by the Forest Ecosystems Research Institute and to which the ecological Hnutí Duha (Movement Rainbow) drew attention. “At average 44 percent of trees is damaged”, the document, in disposition of editors Aktuálně.cz, introduces. The report warns that damages in forests increase. In 2000 less than forty percent of planted trees were damaged. “It proved true that a trend of slow but obvious increase in share of damaged trees persists”, authors of the study state.

Hundreds of applicants run after support from program Environment

Although the European Commission has not approved the operation program Environment yet, the ministry has received 688 applications for spending. The State Fund of Environment (SFŽP), which controls European money, counts that the program will have been passed by the year end and that it will be possible to distribute 20 billion crowns for this year. In the first wave of applications which concerned the air and water protection, wastes, ecological education and renewable energy resources applicants enumerated total costs of their projects for 23 billion crowns. From it 18,1 billion crowns should come from the European fund. Roughly 70 percent of application came from municipalities; other 14 percent applicants were entrepreneurs.