Archive: European Union | Euro Euro
Nečas urges caution, referendum on euro in wake of Zeman comments
The rather moribund debate over when to join the single European currency
has been revived in recent days, with the Czech president Miloš Zeman
telling a German newspaper his country could adopt the euro within five
years. The eurosceptic government is rather more cautious; prime minister
Petr Nečas reiterated after a meeting with the head of the European
Council on Thursday that his government had no plans to set a date for
adoption. More
Sceptical Czechs threaten to veto EU ‘banking union’
European leaders meeting in Brussels have agreed a timetable for the
creation of a single banking supervisor for the eurozone. All 6,000 banks
in the eurozone would be regulated by the European Central Bank; a
mechanism that would essentially create a European banking union. But
several countries are extremely sceptical, and they include the Czech
Republic. More
Former US secretaries of the treasury discuss Eurozone crisis and the US approach to it
The annual international conference USA and European Union Days, which took
place in Prague earlier this month, focused this year among other issues on
the recent European currency and budgetary crisis, as well as on the
economic situation in the US. Czech Radio’s Václav Sochor spoke to two
former US secretaries of the treasury under the Clinton administration,
Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers, about their views on the ongoing crisis
in the Eurozone, and their country’s approach to it. More
New manifesto seeks to revive debate about Czech position in EU
An initiative by several Czech NGOs and members of the country’s business
community seeks to stir up debate about the Czech Republic’s position
within the European Union. The manifesto, entitled Confident Czech Republic
in a strong Europe, calls on MPs and government officials to ensure that
Czechs remain at the core of the EU. In this edition of Marketplace, we
talk to some of its authors and signatories and looks at what impact, if
any, the initiative might have on the Czech debate about the future of the
European Union. More
Czechs content with EU banking, pro-growth deals
At a two-day summit in Brussels which ends on Friday, EU leaders agreed to
set up a joint banking supervisory body to oversee banks in eurozone member
states. They also approved a plan to boost growth in the bloc and agreed on
a roadmap towards fiscal union in the euro zone. Czech officials, who
initially expressed concern over proposals that the new banking authority
should also supervise banks in countries outside the monetary union, seem
content with the summit’s outcome. More
Czechs welcome outcome of Greek elections, but remain cautious on fiscal compact
The Czech crown firmed upon news of the election victory of pro-EU parties
in Greece and all the day’s papers commented on Europe’s palpable sigh
of relief. Although not a euro-zone member, the Czech Republic has
nevertheless watched the Greek drama unfold with considerable concern. More
PM Nečas hints Czechs might stay out of EU’s effort to save the euro
The EU’s plan to save the euro has in recent days divided the Czech
political scene. While the fiercely eurosceptic President Václav Klaus
said the country should stay out of the planned loan to the IMF, Foreign
Minister Karel Schwarzenberg noted the Czech Republic would have little
choice but to approve it. On Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas came
out to clarify the government’s position – and hinted that if it were
up to him, the government would say no. More
Plan to save euro met with mixed reactions among officials and pundits
While the Czech Republic has not yet made a final decision as to whether to
contribute 3.5 billion euros to the IMF package intended to save the common
European currency and the eurozone, the Czech Foreign Minister says the
country can either join the majority of EU countries in their efforts and
remain in the centre of further integration, or face marginalization in the
union. More
Czech Republic delays final decision on eurozone
More than 10 hours of negotiations in Brussels, lasting well into the early
hours of Friday morning, were not enough to produce agreement by all 27 EU
member states to back key changes to the EU treaty in the face of the
eurozone debt crisis. More
Czech government prepares for bad times
Standard & Poor's fuelled fears of a crippling economic crisis in
Europe on Monday, issuing a dire warning of an unprecedented mass downgrade
of eurozone countries’ credit ratings if EU leaders fail to deliver a
fast and efficient solution to the region's debt crisis. Although France
and Germany promptly threw their weight behind a reform plan which would
reinforce governance within the alliance, scepticism remains high and even
non-eurozone members such as the Czech Republic are bracing for the worst. More
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