http://radio.cz/en Latest articles on 'Foreign policy' - the Czech Republic and foreign policy en Wed, 23 May 2012 15:52:10 +0200 Wed, 23 May 2012 15:52:10 +0200 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Radio Prague CMS 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Radio Broadcasting cr@radio.cz (Cesky Rozhlas) webmaster@radio.cz (CRo Webmaster) http://radio.cz/en/article/148088 Prague and Lima have been marking the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations this week through a number of events, including a ceremony in Lima preceding the return of an historic Czechoslovak-built tank to the Czech Republic. The LTP 38, as it is known, was built for Peru in the 1930s, designed specifically for high terrain. Originally, there were 24 of the armoured fighting vehicles. Wed, 23 May 2012 15:52:10 +0200 urn:uuid:61e95093-e59a-5c92-beda-817d1400c0cd http://radio.cz/en/article/147685 On Sunday, Socialist contender François Hollande swept to victory in France’s presidential election. However, French voters in Prague favored the conservative incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy. Why are French citizens who cast their ballot in the Czech capital more conservative, and what is the significance of Socialist Hollande’s win? Mon, 07 May 2012 14:53:02 +0200 urn:uuid:f6f40c60-bfd4-575d-a477-7b694c5e0768 http://radio.cz/en/article/147410 The Czech Republic spends around 430 million crowns a year on foreign aid, financing various development projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Moldova, Mongolia and other countries. The government is increasingly trying to involve Czech firms and businesses in the process so that they find a foothold on local markets where they could continue doing business even after the government-sponsored projects finish. But Věra Venclíková, the head of the Czech Business Platform for Foreign Cooperation says that getting Czech firms interested is no easy job. Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0200 urn:uuid:d60b8931-c49c-5938-bea0-62402fd40a3d http://radio.cz/en/article/147244 This Thursday saw the hosting of a Culture Plus event at Prague’s Černín Palace, co-organised by the Czech Foreign Ministry. On the table was the topic Culture & Diplomacy – namely how culture, including the arts, can be used to promote greater communication and understanding. Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:22:13 +0200 urn:uuid:89e9a001-f310-571e-84d0-620a9fe50e56 http://radio.cz/en/article/147173 The Czech Foreign Ministry has vowed that in spite of severe austerity measures, this year’s budget for the country’s foreign development aid will not suffer any cuts. The Czech Development Agency is planning to spend over 430 million crowns on development projects mainly in countries that have been earmarked as priority recipients, including Mongolia, Ethiopia, Moldova, Afghanistan, and others. Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:11:30 +0200 urn:uuid:224ae641-836c-50e7-8803-0d686297d421 http://radio.cz/en/article/146845 On a brief working visit to the Czech Republic, German chancellor Angela Merkel met with Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas and President Václav Klaus in Prague on Tuesday. Two issues dominated the agenda: a new EU fiscal compact that is being pushed by Germany as well as differing approaches to energy policy in both countries. Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:21:39 +0200 urn:uuid:755ebcbb-1992-5c0a-aee0-8327ebaadacd http://radio.cz/en/article/146851 Angela Merkel’s current visit to Prague is the fifth since she became German chancellor. But Ms Merkel often stayed in Prague even before she entered politics. In the 1980s, she spent some time at the then Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences where she worked at the department of theoretical physics. Professor Rudolf Zahradník recalls the times when the future German chancellor was a member of his team. Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:21:39 +0200 urn:uuid:3548d356-a6cf-5d74-bdb6-b24da5de642b http://radio.cz/en/article/146297 Voters in neighbouring Slovakia made a powerful statement at the weekend when they handed an overwhelming victory to the centre-left party SMER, which now has a strong enough mandate to form a single-party government. What that statement means though has been interpreted variously in the Czech Republic, where the current centre-right government has reached record lows in popularity. In the view of Foreign Minister and chairman of the TOP 09 Party Karel Schwarzenberg, the poll should be a lesson for the Czech government that corruption doesn’t pay, even amid positive right-wing policies. The Czech Social Democratic Party on the other hand was quick to interpret the election result as an indictment of failed policies that have often mirrored the reform measures passed and proposed in the Czech Republic. For an expert’s view on both those statements we turned to political scientist Jiří Pehe: Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:43:05 +0100 urn:uuid:f6a459ec-d78e-5e83-b041-aae18c0635e8 http://radio.cz/en/article/146057 Twenty-five of 27 EU member states signed the European Union’s new fiscal compact in Brussels on Friday - but the Czechs were not among them. Prime Minister Petr Nečas together with British Prime Minister David Cameron have opted not to support the treaty, which is aimed at enforcing budget discipline in the union and prevent meltdowns within the eurozone as was seen with Greece. Fri, 02 Mar 2012 15:51:49 +0100 urn:uuid:cbd8a747-a9b9-5976-bc18-b783b45159c8 http://radio.cz/en/article/145785 Czech MEP Zuzana Roithová has confirmed that jailed former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko has failed to receive adequate medical attention and is in serious condition. The MEP travelled to Kiev last Friday and was allowed to inspect medical records, which reportedly showed a decision should have been taken on surgery regarding the politician’s lumbar spine. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:50:37 +0100 urn:uuid:9918ec85-01b4-5514-8d07-556435e8c4b3 http://radio.cz/en/article/145614 The Constitutional Court on Tuesday made a landmark ruling regarding the difference in pensions between the Czech and Slovak Republic. Cases exist where Czechs who worked in the other half of Czechoslovakia now receive the lower pension rate of the Slovak Republic. According to the new decision of the court, such citizens never worked in a foreign country and thus are entitled to compensatory payments to raise their pensions to Czech standards. Among the chaos this creates for the Social Affairs Ministry now is that fact that the ruling directly contradicts the European Court of Justice. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:18:47 +0100 urn:uuid:798a3171-dc9d-5c19-a4ea-d1414f85cd6e http://radio.cz/en/article/145615 A Czech soldier serving in Afghanistan’s southern province Logar has been awarded the United States Armed Forces Bronze Star Medal. Staff Sgt. Michal Novotný who is squad leader of the Prostějov reconnaissance unit was decorated for helping to save the life of an American soldier. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:18:47 +0100 urn:uuid:1b9c7c59-a626-59bc-b505-e7af5611c624 http://radio.cz/en/article/145409 The Czech government on Monday unveiled a new export strategy that is to help Czech exporters find new, fast-developing markets. The move aims to boost the country’s economic stability amidst concerns over the deepening debt crisis in the euro zone. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:10:13 +0100 urn:uuid:9090d702-ab26-5eac-b9f1-c6eb8b20422e http://radio.cz/en/article/145036 Czech troops may stay in Afghanistan until the end of 2014. Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra, who is in the United States on a working visit, said he would ask the Czech Parliament to extend their mandate by another 24 months, as their current mandate will expire by the end of the year. However, the opposition has criticized Mr Vondra for announcing his plans without a prior debate in the lower house. Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:32:20 +0100 urn:uuid:6949cc1e-a24e-5480-a076-eac8bb3b7e94 http://radio.cz/en/article/144963 The early 1960s saw dramatic developments in the Cold War, with the building of the Berlin Wall and then the brinkmanship of the Cuban Missile Crisis. But there were also signs of a greater pragmatism in East-West relations. One channel for dialogue was a series of international gatherings, where scholars and public figures discussed how to reduce the risk of armed conflict. These were known as the Pugwash Conferences, named after the town in Canada where the idea was first launched back in 1957. In September 1964, one such conference was held in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0100 urn:uuid:81ab2747-ae08-55f3-92af-81ea1ea56b7e http://radio.cz/en/article/144598 The Czech Republic will grant political asylum to Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of the jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Mr Tymoshenko reportedly filed his petition at the end of last year with the Czech Interior Ministry which is resolved to comply with the request, according to the foreign minister. Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:34:25 +0100 urn:uuid:48888d76-4d94-54fc-aac9-eb14108a9332 http://radio.cz/en/article/144510 Three Czechs who were detained and charged with espionage in Zambia have returned home. They showed up unexpectedly at their doorsteps at the end of the year and have refused to disclose any information regarding the nature of their escape. The Czech Foreign Ministry which made an all out effort to secure their release through regular diplomatic channels has put an information embargo on the case. Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:55:58 +0100 urn:uuid:090ccef6-b709-5f45-8a0f-f1c53edbbdd0 http://radio.cz/en/article/144366 The Czech police will investigate whether the Czech communist party leader broke the law when he sent condolences on the death of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. In his letter, Czech communist party chair Vojtěch Filip said, among other things, that the late North Korean dictator sacrificed himself for the well-being of his people. Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:11:09 +0100 urn:uuid:15543391-ecfa-5801-bcd1-dcc2ffac226b http://radio.cz/en/article/144382 What appears to be gross bureaucratic incompetence may cost the Czech Republic billions of crowns. The country’s belated bid to become a party in the ongoing criminal case against the former managers of the Czech mining firm Mostecká uhelná, involving billions of crowns now frozen in Swiss bank accounts - has been thrown out by a Swiss court, leaving the Czechs out in the cold. Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:11:09 +0100 urn:uuid:a6da0bc0-c540-579e-afa2-06ddaf02b061 http://radio.cz/en/article/144001 A Czech military plane brought five injured Libyans to Prague for treatment on Monday night. All are in need of surgery which overcrowded hospitals in their homeland are unable to provide. An appeal from Libya for European countries to help treat their wounded has led to the Czech government extending its Medevac aid programme for children to adults with serious medical problems. Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:17:51 +0100 urn:uuid:e3e27e79-8df3-51ab-a702-8dbf37b28c56