Summary of newspapers of the previous day - 30. 6. 2009

Floods in region Nový Jičín destroyed 800 ha of land

Floods in the region Nový Jičín damaged at least 800 ha of agricultural land. On the entire afflicted territory of Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc region, meanwhile almost 800 farm animals perished owing to floods. It results from data of the Regional Agrarian Chamber Ostravsko and the State Veterinary Administration of the CR. The damage has not been reckoned yet. The biggest damages on agricultural land were caused by floods in the region Nový Jičín in cadastre of municipalities Jeseník nad Odrou, Životice, Ženklava, and in Žilina, a part of Nový Jičín. Local farmers have destroyed 500 ha of plant-crops and at least 350 hectares of meadows and pastures.

Czech veterinarians did not discredit themselves, on the contrary!

Our presidency ends. It was dealt only with “a half-year”, however, what can be managed in such a time! Considering a veterinary area it was many things. Though, according to Milan Malena, a general director of the State Veterinary Administration of the CR, we had prepared for “our” presidency intensively for all last year. Successes, which are worth mentioning, can be summarized in six points. Milan Matera spoken about evaluation of our work with his colleagues at the last meeting of the Permanent Veterinary Committee in Brussels.

“Crooked” carrots and bananas return to shop shelves from tomorrow

From tomorrow, the European Union will have by one absurd law less. Curved bananas, cucumbers and other similarly “deformed” fruit and vegetable will be allowed to return on shop shelves. Brussels has canceled an often criticized norm which reduced a sale of these products. “It is a good example of our effort how to decrease a useless bureaucracy. We do not have to regulate such things at the EU level”, Euro-commissioner Mariann Fisher Boel told. The change concerns 26 kinds of fruit and vegetable – for example apricots, onion or scallion. According to the norm fruit and vegetable must neither be deformed nor abnormally curved.

Country got money for internet from EU, it will repair cow-shed instead

Over 800 million crowns flew from Brussels. Czech country should have financed development of high-speed internet for the money. Such was an idea of the chief of European Commission José Barrosa. However, in the end, Czech countryside will use the money in other way: not for the internet but for modernizing of agricultural and food enterprises. So, among others, for repairs of cow-shed roofs, or for development of new food technologies. The first deputy minister of agriculture Ivo Hlaváč confirmed it to Lidové Noviny. Where the Euro-money will go is a matter of the Ministry of Agriculture because they fall in the Rural Debelopment Program.