Summary of newsmakers of the previous day – 9.1.2008

Czech Point already works

A network of contact places Czech Point was started at the beginning of January in the Czech Republic. An aim of the project is to provide people with verified statements from central state accountings and registers on one place. Thanks to the Czech Point, so the Czech posting verification information national terminal, a citizen does not have to go to several different offices of the state administration. I don't want to boast but the project Czech point we have successfully finished. It is a small step for Czech bureaucracy but a big step for Czech citizen, the Minister of the Interior Ivan Langer (ODS) said yesterday when in the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Pankrác (a building of former Centrotex) he inaugurate the activity of other workplace of this public register.

European Commission counts on a ban of hens breeding in small cages

According to yesterday report of European Commission it will not be allowed to raise laying hens in close cages after the year 2012. Animal protectors are keen on it, however, breeders are afraid of a sudden rice in price of eggs. In spite of breeders' objection the Commission plans to forbid keeping of laying hens in close cages till 2012 as the instruction from 1999 counts on it. Some breeders offered to prolong the term with an explanation that particular cages would be removed in the moment when it end their usable life. However, according to a Euro-commissioner for health, Markos Kyprianu, there is any reason to postpone validity of the ban. On the contrary he highlighted many advantages which the measure will have for comfort of raised hens but also for the own consumer because demand for so called “bio” products grows all the time.

Government passed novel of water law

The Minister of Agriculture Petr Gandalovič put forward a novel of water law at a government meeting in Wednesday. As a spokesman of the ministry Petr Vorlíček informed today, the amendment of act was passed and it will significantly enable realization of flood-protection measures. “For building of flood-protection measures it is necessary to secure pieces of land, therefore we introduce the novel of water law which will enable in an extreme case to expropriate the piece of land for a building. An expropriation is possible only in a case when it is not possible to get the piece of land in other way, for example by buy-out or by an exchange of pieces of land for others”, the minister Gandalovič says to the novel.

Brussels will order more green energy

One of the most controversial and the most important proposals which Brussels will introduce this year is getting a more concrete form. Exactly in two weeks it will show itself how EU members will share in an ambitious aim to increase use of green energy to twenty percents. It was stated by the Union already in March. It should help to reduce emissions as well as dependence on import of energy raw-materials. Nevertheless, it is not clear till this time how particular countries will share in this engagement. A fifth increase of share of renewable resources on the total energy consumption till 2020 is an average over the entire twenty-seven to which particular states will contribute differently.