Archive: European Union | Euro Euro
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
Czech euro adoption retreats further into distance
The media coverage surrounding the problems in the eurozone has - rightly
– focused on the seventeen countries that use it, as they attempt to
shore up efforts to stop the sovereign debt crisis from spreading. But what
of the ten that don’t, and especially those new members like the Czech
Republic, which must – at some point - adopt the euro under the terms of
their EU membership? More
Nearly three-quarters of Czech population oppose introduction of Euro, poll suggests
According to a recent poll conducted by the SANEP agency, nearly three in
four Czechs are against the introduction of the euro. Nearly half of the
respondents even say they would vote against joining the EU today – a big
shift from the result of the 2003 referendum, when 77 percent of the
country’s population voted in favor. David Král, director of the Czech
think tank Europeum, speaks about the connection between the financial
crisis and growing reservations towards the EU, and whether or not he found
the result surprising. More
Economist Jan Bureš: Czech economy relatively healthy, but cuts still essential
Jan Bureš is chief economist at Poštovní spořitelna, which is part of
the banking group ČSOB. Aged 31, he is one of the most visible Czech
economists of his generation, frequently appearing on TV and penning a
column for the magazine Respekt. Earlier on Monday I spoke with Jan Bureš
at ČSOB’s Prague HQ. My first question: almost exactly two years after
the collapse of Lehman Brothers triggered an international economic crisis,
what state is the Czech economy in today? More
Czechs sceptical about Brussels’ plan to review national budgets
In the wake of the Greek financial crisis, the European Commission has
proposed that the budgets of countries using the euro should be reviewed in
Brussels before they are approved by national parliaments. The plan has
provoked mixed reactions across Europe, and is likely to meet resistance
here in the Czech Republic.
More
Czechs escape direct costs of Greek contagion package but face stepped up scrutiny of public finances
European Union finance ministers have agreed a massive package of funding
to stop the spread of Greek financial crisis and save the euro zone from
collapse. The Czech Republic escaped lightly from the latest financial
commitments. But the wave of concern about European governments ability
to pay their way and not live on borrowed time and money will focus even
more attention on the fiscal steps of the next Czech government in power.
More
Will Greek debt crisis impact Czech euro adoption?
Member states of the Eurozone are discussing ways of helping Greece and its
debt-laden economy, while there are growing concerns about some other
countries that use the single European currency. But what will the crisis
mean for the Czech Republic, which is itself hoping to adopt the euro in
around five years’ time?
More
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