The Czech Republic will propose to its European partners that the ratification of the EU Constitution should continue but that the whole process should be delayed in the light of the French rejection of the treaty. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Wednesday that his three party coalition, which strongly backs the treaty, had given him a mandate to seek an extension of the ratification process at a summit of European leaders on June 16th. Mr. Paroubek said that the Czech government would press ahead with its information campaign on the EU Constitution despite calls from the Christian Democrats, one of the smaller parties in government, that it should be suspended, pending a decision by the EU leadership.
The prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia will meet on June 9th to discuss ways of getting European integration back on track after the French rejection of the EU Constitution. The talks will take place within the framework of a planned summit of Visegrad states, a lose alliance of Central European countries. Polish Prime Minister Marek Belka, who will host the meeting in Warsaw, said the Visegrad member states had unanimously agreed to devote part of the meeting to an exchange of ideas that might give new impetus to the process of European integration. The Polish Prime Minister repeated his conviction that Poland should ratify the EU Constitution and said that he wanted to help France to remain the locomotive of European integration.
An association of Czech property owners are planning to sue the Czech Republic for hundreds of millions of crowns in "moral damages" at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The association is citing contention with the country's policy of regulated rent. Over 2,000 property holders have filed a complaint.
Czech police have seized some 10 million illegally made cigarettes and arrested 18 members of a criminal gang operating in the north of the country. The raid also netted 70 tons of tobacco and 50 tons of materials used to make cigarettes, including tens of thousands of forged cigarette stamps. If found guilty, the gang members will face up to 12 years in prison for tax and customs evasion.
A Czech classical musician appeared on television on Tuesday to deny he was the mysterious mute pianist found last month wandering on an English beach. Tomas Strnad, a former rock musician who fellow band members claimed was the unknown pianist, appeared on three Czech television stations to say he had been misrepresented. Two Czech musicians had claimed after seeing photographs in the media that the unknown man was their former fellow rock band member Strnad. More than 1,000 people have responded to an appeal for information that could help identify the pianist, and have suggested about 250 possible names, British police said.
Thursday is expected to be partly cloudy with scattered showers and day temperatures between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius.
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