Summary of newspapers of the previous day – 23.11.2011

Government approved amendment of EIA act

The government at it meeting today approved a draft law of the Ministry of Environment which changes the law of evaluation of impacts on the environment (Environment Impact Assessment Law - EIA). The aim of the submitted proposal is to secure a full and appropriate transposition of the concerned European instruction. The Czech Republic has already been convicted by the Law Court of the EU for incorrect implementation of the EIA instruction into the Czech system of law. The submitted amendment reacts to rebukes of the European Commission applied in so called sanction part of proceeding, so in a phase following the delivering of condemnatory judgement.

Government approved SZIF budget for next year

The government approved a draft budget of the State Agricultural Intervention Fund (SZIF) for the next year today. ČTK found it from information on the government web. The Fund should manage 39.3 milliard crowns the next year which is by more than four milliards more than this year. The Fund secures above all payments of agrarian subsidies. According to proposal of the Ministry of Agriculture the government could ask the Chamber of Deputies to approve the Fund´s budget together with a proposal of state budget of the Czech Republic for the next year.

Strategy against land loss

Austrian Federal Office for the Environment by virtue of the European Commission elaborated an actual study on land building over. The report contains a recommendations how to reduce continuing land development in the EU and to reduce impacts. About 275 ha of land decreased daily in the EU member states during the period 1990 - 2000. In recent year, experts recorded a slight improvement (272 ha/day). A half of areas is permanently built over, mostly by impermeable material like asphalt or concrete. A share of this way consolidated area in the EU increased by 3 % between 2000 and 2006; in some countries even by 15 %.

SVS ordered to withdraw from sale some kinds of fish fingers

The State Veterinary Administration (SVS) ordered to withdraw from sale some kinds of fish fingers because they contain low amount of meat. The stimulus was delivered by an association dTest which tested 14 kinds of the food in total. Three the cheapest marks failed: products Spar S-Budget, Euroshopper and fish fingers Tesco Value. These products are sold under their mark by chins Interspar, Albert and Tesco. “For example, we found out only 14 percents of fish meat in the Spar product; they declared 22 percents which is by inself very low amount”, Václav Beneš from the association dTest said to TV. He added that the remaining amount of fish fingers is breadcrumb, flour, starch, plant oil and water.