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6 The Krakow Post P O L A N D R E G I O N A L N E W S Italian PM Prodi, Pope hail new PM Donald Tusk Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi hailed late last week the prospect of better relations between Poland and its neighbors as he hosted his new Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. Tusk took office last month promising to repair damage caused by the previous conservative government’s tough line towards Russia and the EU. Improved relations between Warsaw and Moscow and Brussels were in the interest of the whole of Europe, Prodi said after talks with Tusk. He said Poland and Italy would work together to help formulate an energy policy for Europe, which relies on Russia for much of its gas supplies, and a long-term relationship with Moscow. Prodi said both countries would hold regular top-level meetings, the first of which could be early next year in Poland. Tusk for his part said there were no points at issue between himself and Prodi. Following their talks the Polish leader went on to the Vatican, where Pope Benedict XVI wished him every success in governing largely-Catholic Poland in a 20-minute meeting. A Vatican statement said the two discussed subjects “relating to Europe and Poland’s international role.” Tusk said afterwards that he had told the pope he would always be welcome in Poland. (AFP) Belarus opposition party elects new leader Belarus’ main opposition party, the Popular Front, elected a new party leader, Lyavon Barshchevsky, at a party conference in Minsk Sunday. Barshchevsky, the 49-year-old co-founder of the party, received 211 votes out of a possible 236. Former Popular Front leader Vintsouk Vetsherka was elected the party’s senior vice president. Barshchevsky is a translator, teacher, man of letters and linguist. He was a member of the Belarus parliament from 1990 to 1995. Very strict laws constrain the activities of Belarus’ political parties, limiting any challenges to the power of President Alexander Lukashenko. Last month the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee passed a resolution expressing “deep concern” about the Minsk authorities’ use of the criminal justice system to “silence political opposition and human rights defenders.” (AFP) Ex-Czechoslovak prosecutor appeals jail sentence A former Communist-era prosecutor will appeal her eight-year jail sentence for her role in the 1950 show trial and execution of a Czech national hero and three others, her lawyer said early last week. “We received the (sentence) decision last week and lodged an appeal,” defense lawyer Zdenka Havlikova told the CTK news agency of her client, 86-year-old Ludmila Brozova-Polednova, who was convicted of murder in early November. Brozova-Polednova is the last surviving prosecutor involved in the death sentence of Milada Horakova, a former WWII resistance hero and Czechoslovak lawmaker. The three others sentenced and executed a half century ago were Jan Buchal, Zavis Kalandra and Oldrich Pecl. Communist authorities, who seized power in a coup at the start of 1948, charged Horakova and a handful of accomplices with plotting to overthrow the state. Her courageous self-defense and refusal to play the role plotted for her in the show trial resulted in Horakova becoming one of the main symbols of the anti-Communist resistance. Horakova’s sentence was cancelled in 1968 but her name was not fully cleared until 1990, soon after the fall of the former Czechoslovak Communist regime. The Communist regime executed a total of 243 people for political reasons between 1948 and 1989. (AFP) Arrest warrant on tycoon Krauze lifted the krakow post The arrest warrant for business tycoon Ryszard Krauze has been lifted. One of Poland’s richest citizens can now come back to Poland and will not be automatically detained. The opposition Law and Justice party suggests that this decision is connected with the taking over of the Ministry of Justice by Zbigniew Cwiakalski. Krauze, owner of Prokom, one of Poland’s biggest software companies, and many other businesses, is charged with false testimony as well as obstruction of justice in connection with an action of the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) against Ministry of Agriculture employees, which failed after an information leak. According to prosecutors, Krauze, former Interior Minister Janusz Kaczmarek, former Police Chief Konrad Kornatowski and Jaromir Netzel, the former chairman of the country’s biggest insurer, PZU, were the people responsible for the failure. The arrest warrant was issued on Aug. 30. Krauze since then has remained abroad, officially on business. The warrant was lifted on Nov. 15, a day before the new Donald Tusk government stepped into office. In this cabinet, Cwiakalski replaced Zbigniew Ziobro, who personally appeared at many press conferences devoted to Krauze’s case. The opposition party responded to the lifting of the warrant with a press conference at which it called this decision scandalous and pointed to the fact that Cwiakalski was the author of an expert opinion which was used by Krauze’s pleaders. Some Law and Justice politicians called on Cwiakalski to resign. But the justice minister said the decision on Krauze was taken before he assumed office and he didn’t even know about it until last week. He also declared that his expert opinion was only based on Supreme Court verdicts and not on Krauze’s situation. According to Cwiakalski, Krauze’s case will be handled the same as that of any other citizen and when back in Poland, he should testify. Even though the arrest warrant was lifted, the charges against him weren’t. Cwiakalski’s candidacy for the justice post was strongly opposed by Law and Justice as well as President Lech Kaczynski. They both pointed out that in the past Cwiakalski was an advocate of people charged with corruption and that this stands in opposition with his new role of chief prosecutor – an office which is automatically held by the justice minister. Cwiakalski argued that he is no longer an active lawyer and stressed that in the past many advocates had become justice ministers. He was also backed by Tusk, who expressed his full trust in him. Chechen independence leader takes part in Polish TV debate agence france-presse Poland risked the ire of Russia early this week after Chechen independence icon Akhmed Zakayev, who is wanted by Moscow on terrorism charges, appeared on a talk show on Polish public television. Zakayev came to Poland to take part in an edition of the popular program “Warto Rozmawiac” (Worth Talking), which was broadcast in the evening by the TVP2 channel to mark World Human Rights Day. “I want to thank the Polish people for your help,” Zakayev said on the program. “The fate of Poles and Chechens has much in common,” he said. “You have proved through your determination and sacrifice that freedom can be achieved. You are an example to us,” he added. Chechnya’s violent struggle for independence from Russia broke out after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It attracted support from some Poles, who draw parallels with their own nation’s years of resistance, both violent and peaceful, first to imperial Russian and later to Communist rule before Poland broke free from the then Soviet-dominated Communist bloc in 1989. But Moscow has accused Zakayev of involvement in terrorist acts. Zakayev was once the envoy to Europe of former Chechen separatist president Aslan Maskhadov, who was slain in 2005. He currently lives in Britain, where he has had political refugee status since 2003. British authorities have sparked Moscow’s anger by refusing to extradite him, citing lack of evidence and concerns about the integrity of the Russian judicial system. Russia regularly denounces countries that host visits by Zakayev. In June, for example, France found itself under fire after Zakayev came to the eastern city of Strasbourg to attend a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the human rights and democracy body. Zakayev’s latest appearance comes as Poland’s new liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk tries to mend fences with Russia. Tusk has to contend with two years of increasingly chilly Polish-Russian relations during the two-year incumbency of his predecessor, conservative nationalist Jaroslaw Kaczynski. Hungarian Cuisine and More... DECEMBER 13-DECEMBER 19, 2007 Christmas approaches with shopping madness the krakow post Christmas is coming soon and with it a fury of shopping. Shops are trimmed with Christmas trees, silver chains, reindeer, Santa Claus and snowflakes appear on shop shelves and carols are heard everywhere from dawn to dusk and beyond. All that is to make people feel the Christmas spirit and to open their wallets and for once in the year to forget about saving money. Merchants have waited for this moment all year. The average Pole will spend 240 zloty for presents this year (Ipsos). One out of 10 will spend more than 500 zloty. The more educated people are the more money they spend. Men, who often say they’re not going to spend much, end up spending more than women (on average men 245 zloty women 236 zloty). “We will buy even more next year,” said economist Witold Orlowski. “If the economy develops people buy more and that is right.” Internet shopping also is feeling the Christmas crush. Shopping online is becoming more popular because it is easier than traditional shopping. This is especially true of busy big-city dwellers. Online shopping can be done regardless of the time of day, which is one reason e-markets will be most popular just before Christmas, said Jaroslaw Sobolewski, analyst and e-business expert working for Interactive Advertising Bureau. Poles spend huge amounts of money on Christmas, often using credit—as merchants rub their hands in delight. Analysts say some Poles may run up a bln zloty in debt this season. Hypermarkets and banks have credit to offer. Bank counters are located just next to cash desks. Consumers can get money quickly and easily. At Media Market and Saturn credit covers as much as 60 percent of sold commodities. Shops try to lengthen the Christmas shopping season. Many start with promotions and sales of Christmas trees even in November. Shopping peaks Dec. 15-17. “It is a kind of exaggeration. Just yesterday we bought chrysanthemums and candles and now we are made to buy Christmas trees. In the past it was possible to buy a Christmas tree just two days before Christmas. Ornaments we made ourselves. We had enormous joy. Now every part of Christmas is aimed at just spending money,” said Jadwiga Doroszkiewicz, a pensioner. Poland at Christmastime differs from other countries. In Great Britain, for example, the first Christmas decorations can appear as early as September. In the U.S., Christmas shopping starts on socalled Black Friday, the fourth Friday of November, the day after Thanksgiving. “Christmas decorations on display almost everywhere are to make us think about presents and consequently to use credit,” says Tadeusz Poplawski, sociologist and chairman of the faculty of marketing and enterprise at Technical University of Bialystok. Such spending is dictated by Christmas “temples of consumption,” the huge market centers. Such centers make the greatest profits with small shops trying to keep up. Christmas, a time of reflection, meditation, joy and love, changes into a race between shops. Stary Kleparz Pharmacy Momotown Hostel 28 Miodowa St. tel. 012 4296929 info@momotownhostel.com www.momotownhostel.com 10% discount with this ad! We speak English and French. Rynek Kleparski 14 Tel.: (0) 12 430-0410 www.starykleparz.pl
DECEMBER 13-DECEMBER 19, 2007 Schengen creates panic among visa-less Americans cc:sa:Diliff B U S I N E S S The Krakow Post 7 European Commission says Polish steelmaker misused state aid agence france-presse The European Commission said early this week that Polish steel maker Huta Warszawa misused state aid for restructuring in 2003, before it was bought by Arcelor. Under a restructuring of the Polish steel industry, the company received around 50 million euros ($73.5 mln) of state aid, mostly in the form of a guarantee for a loan to fund investments in 2003 and 2004. However, the Commission found that around 30 mln euro ($44 mln) of the loan was used in 2004 to pay off several old debts, which was not part of the restructuring plan. The Commission calculated that the loan guarantee gave the company an interest subsidy worth two million euro, which it has agreed to pay back. The company was taken over in 2005 by steel group Arcelor, which itself has since been bought by Mittal Steel to form the world’s biggest steelmaker. Huta Warszawa is one of the bigger producers of steel in Poland and has the capacity to churn out nearly one million tons per annum. Czech gov’t cancels tank contract after series of problems Downtown Prague. agence france-presse More European borders come down this month and there is panic among Prague’s large U.S. community with a last minute rush to get visas in order or quit the country. Eric Snow, a 32-year-old from San Diego, California, went through a six-month bureaucratic nightmare when he decided to upgrade his visa. Corry O’Brien, a 53-year old retired government worker, who came to Prague with thoughts of a long stay is cutting it short rather than risk becoming an illegal alien. Traditionally, U.S. citizens with a 90-day tourist visa took a three hour train ride from Prague to the Czech Consulate in Dresden, Germany, to get an extension there. Many used the system to live and work undeclared as permanent tourists. The EU’s so-called Schengen zone has changed all that. The zone, where passports are not checked once a traveler is inside, will be extended on Dec. 21 to the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. But it means that Americans and other expats in Prague will have to go outside the zone to get a new visa, and that means going to the Ukraine, Switzerland or Romania as some of the nearest destinations. And tourist visas now only allow residence within Schengen countries for three months in any six-month period. Snow feared he would have to endure a 90-day exile outside the Czech Republic “somewhere in the East” as he wrestled with getting his new visa. “I was afraid I might have to leave the country, or at least go away for a time. I did not want that, I have made a life here,” exclaimed the English language teacher. “This Schengen thing came out of the blue,” exclaimed O’Brien. “I thought I could go somewhere for the visa extension but I did not know I could not come back for 90 days,” added the grey-haired collecter of “cultural experience” whose family is CALL TO ADVERTISE: Andrzej Kowalski, Marketing Manager, +48 (0) 798-683-160 Hotel Eden ul. Ciemna 15 31-053 Krakow Tel. 012 430 65 65 eden@hoteleden.pl www.hoteleden.pl of Czech-Irish descent. “I did not realize you would have to go to Switzerland or some non-EU country. I can hardly afford to stay here because the dollar has dropped so much,” she added, referring to the halving in the dollar-koruna exchange rate since 2000. “To me its a shame I feel I have to go, but I will not break the rules,” she concluded. Snow feared he would face the Schengen sanctions if he did not get his new visa before the old one expired. At one stage in his personal paper chase and trial, Snow witnessed a Czech consulate and the foreign police squabbling over who should deal with his papers. That followed a trip to the Dresden consulate that he later found he did not need to make. Like most other foreigners trying to unscramble Schengen, Snow tried at first to work out himself what to do by searching an expats’ web site. “It was completely wrong,” Snow mused. He brought his mediocre knowledge of the Czech language to bear on official information sources, but found them lacking and eventually hired an “agent” to circumvent the administrative maze. His first agent got him nowhere but a second one got him to his grail, albeit around 5,000 koruna (190 euro/$279) poorer. “I would never try to do this on my own. Get an agent is all I can say,” he concluded. The U.S. Embassy in Prague estimates there are 5,000 Americans in the Czech capital but an unknown number of the 400,000-500,000 U.S. tourists each year stay behind. According to Snow many Americans are taking their children out of Prague’s English language schools because of Schengen. But visa-enabling agents are enjoying a boom. “We have got about half again as much interest as we did at this time last year,” said Nora Vinduskova in her small central Prague office, adding that Australians, Canadians, Japanese and Thais as well as Americans are her main clients. agence france-presse The European Court of Justice late last week upheld the right of EU companies to shift activities to another member state, dealing a blow to trade unions seeking to prevent so-called social dumping. However in the same ruling, regarding a Finnish shipping company’s move to sail under the Estonian flag, the court also ruled that unions were allowed to take collective action to persuade a company not to decamp to a cheaper location and workforce. That right, the court in Luxembourg ruled, only applies where jobs or employment conditions are “jeopardised or under serious threat.” The general ruling resulted from a particular case involving the London-based International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and the Finnish shipping company. The federation was unhappy that the Finnish shipping company, Viking, in a cost-cutting move, sought in October 2003 to staff one of its passenger ferries, the loss-making Rosella, with a cheaper Estonian crew and sail it under the Estonian HOTEL EDEN announces our annual festive CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR’S PARTIES. We also provide EXCEPTIONAL CATERING SERVICES for your own holiday parties or functions throughout the year. EU court defends right for firms to move abroad to save costs flag for its Tallinn-Helsinki trips. The ITF sent a circular to all its affiliates asking them not to deal with the Viking Line, with the threat of sanctions attached. This had the effect of preventing Estonian trade unions from entering into negotiations with Viking. After Estonia joined the EU in 2004, Viking brought the case to the British courts seeking to force the ITF to withdraw its circular and asking the court to order the Finnish Seamen’s Union, an ITF affiliate, to honour its right to reflag the ferry. Britain’s Court of Appeal referred the case to the European Court of Justice which ruled Tuesday that the union action amounted to “restrictions on the freedom of establishment ... (which) cannot be objectively justified. “Such a restriction can be accepted only if it pursues a legitimate aim such as the protection of workers,” the court said, throwing it back to the British courts to decide whether the collective action went “beyond what was necessary.” REGISTER FOR FREE TODAY BE FIRST! SEND YOUR CV NOW MAKE YOURSELF VISIBLE TO EMPLOYERS IN IRELAND, UK AND MIDLAND EUROPE REGISTER NOW ON www.snazzyjobs.ie NEW EMPLOYMENT PORTAL LAUNCHING NOVEMBER 2007 agence france-presse The Czech government said late last week it had canceled a 798-mln-euro ($1.17-bln) light tank contract with Austria’s Steyr-Daimler-Puch. “The contract has not been properly fulfilled and within the timeframe agreed” and accordingly it was cancelled on Monday, Defense Minister Vlasta Parkanova told a news conference. The contract, one of the largest ever in Czech military history, was for the supply of 199 Panur tanks. The tanks already built had not passed control tests and “there were a whole series of problems,” Parkanova said, without giving further details. “The terms of the contract are confidential,” she said, while adding that the delivery of the first 17 tanks in November as agreed had not happened. “Our decision may seem radical at first but we are convinced it is right. Any concession [on the terms] on our part would have only led to others,” the minister said. The local office of Steyr-Daimler- Puch declined to comment, wanting first to study the statement.
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Local superintendent may change face of educational ... - Krakow Post

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