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The Czech Industry and Trade Ministry has merged the foreign branches of the state run agencies CzechInvest and CzechTrade into a single network of trade missions. The merger is part of a new export strategy that defines 12 priority countries for Czech exports and so-called areas of interest covering 25 countries. The country is seeking to boost exports to Brazil, China, India, Iraq and the United States, among others. By the end of 2013 the Czech Republic should have 70 offices in 56 countries the world over.

The Czech government on Wednesday approved a proposal aimed at making the Czech system of drawing subsidies from European funds in 2014 to 2020 more intelligible and less demanding in terms of administration, Deputy Prime Minister Karolína Peake told journalists. Control of how European subsidies were being used would also be made easier, she said at a press conference after the cabinet meeting. The proposal was drafted by a working group with the participation of the Local Development Ministry, the Finance Ministry, and the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry.

The European Commission sent 9.3 billion crowns worth of subsidies to the Czech Republic in August. These are the first funds the commission disbursed to the Czech Republic after it suspended cash flow in March. The suspension of subsidies to Czech ministries came as a result of the European Commission’s concerns over lack of controls and problematic auditing. The funding had been partially renewed in July, after Czechs fulfilled all of the commission’s requirements and improved the auditing system, Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said on Monday. The ministry expects that the European Commission will pay out a total of 29 billion crowns in subsidies for the whole of 2012. So far, the Czech Republic has received 13.6 billon.

Czech hotels will next year adopt the European star rating system as set by the Hotelstars Union, the Czech hotels and restaurants association said on Wednesday. The Czech Republic joined the Hotelstars Union, an international association of hotels and restaurants active in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and eight other countries, in 2010. Since then, over 400 Czech establishments have met its quality standards and are allowed to display the stars. However, the system in each country was different. As of 2013, hotels that meet the union’s qualifying standards will be given a unified rating while those already holding one will have to reapply.

Anti-corruption police raided the offices of the state CzechInvest agency in Prague on Wednesday. The reason for the raid is not yet known; police and CzechInvest officials were unable to comment as the investigation is ongoing. According to the Czech Press Agency, the company’s electronic systems were taken offline and employees were sent home. A press release made by the Social Democratic Party in July accused the company’s director of trying to quietly privatise one of its main functions, which is to manage European grants and draw investors into the country. CzechInvest denied the allegation.

Nearly 190 million crowns, or more than 9.2 millions US dollars, from two EU operational programmes, was between 2007 and 2011 paid in breach of the rules, according to a report by the Czech Supreme Auditing Office released on Monday. The audit found the Jihozápad and Moravskoslesko programmes frequently breached public procurement legislation and lacked sufficient control of the funds, the auditing authority said. In some cases, money was paid for projects that were never completed. Representatives of the two programmes in question said did not agree with the results of the audit.

The regional leadership of Central Bohemia will take steps to try and end a contract with one its representatives in Brussels, Marek Semerád, says news website idnes. The Social Democrat representative, reportedly 10th on the candidates’ list in regional elections in the autumn, has come under media scrutiny – and criticism from the opposition – for an unusually ironclad contract he signed with former regional governor David Rath (currently awaiting trial on corruption charges). The contract apparently can only be dissolved through mutual agreement or will remain valid until 2013. According to the daily, in addition to his official activities, Mr Semerád also conducted private business in Brussels, raising questions over potential conflict-of-interest. The official denied he had received any word the region was planning to let him go.

The USAID agency ranked the Czech Republic third among post-communist nations in the sustainability of the civil society sector for 2011. In its annual report, the US Agency for International Development said the Czech NGO sector scored above average in the fields of advocacy and public image but low in financial viability which was affected by the ongoing economy crises. Oldřich Haičman, the head of Charity Czech Republic, the largest Czech NGO, said the survey reflected the reality as many NGOs have been hit by the financial crunch.

South Bohemian city of České Budějovice sees more use of the drug methamphetamine, or pervitin, than almost anywhere else in Europe, according to a new study. Researchers from Norway and 11 other countries, including the Czech Republic, attempted to study drug habits by sampling residues from the wastewater of 19 cities. The study also showed wide-ranging drug habits in various countries, with Antwerp for example showing the highest use of cocaine. In methamphetamine use, České Budějovice was led only by the Finish cities of Helsinki and Turku. The researchers say their process can be used to determine the size of the drug market in a given city.

The European Commission will resume payments into seven Czech operational programmes, Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas said on Monday referring to a telephone conversation with European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn. Payments into 14 out of 17 Czech programmes were put on hold earlier this year over control and auditing issues. After a review of a Czech strategy to remove these problems, the European Commission will renew payments in the coming days, Mr Nečas said. The Czech Ministry for Regional Development said around 900 million euro could be released as part of these programmes until the end of 2012; however, it’s not clear if and when funding of the remaining programmes could resume as well.