Aktualne.cz CzechNews brings you a taste of this week's issue of its partner publication, English-language investigative weekly Czech Insider.
The new issue will be available here at 4 PM (CET).
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Black market in Czech visas flourishes in post-Soviet countries
Revealed - In the post-Soviet states, the black market in Czech visas is flourishing. And Czech authorities do not appear to be very concerned.
In some of the post-Soviet states, people who apply for a Czech visa in order, for example, to be able to study at a Czech university often need to pay between EUR 250 and EUR 1,000 to get a meeting with a Czech embassy official... (read more here)
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Big firms attack Labor Minister Drabek's policies
Revealed - The government of Prime Minister Petr Necas has said that the Czech Republic needs to become a knowledge economy.
However, Czech carmaker Skoda believes that the government's policies aimed at protecting the Czech labor market from foreigners are moving the country in the opposite direction.
Specifically, Skoda said that Labor Minister Jaromir Drabek prevents Czech firms from obtaining foreign experts... (read more here)
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Central bank's hands tied on economic contraction
Economy - The current economic deceleration is caused by the eurozone crisis and government budget cuts, said the Czech National Bank (CNB) in its economic outlook report.
Currently, the Czech central bank's two-week repo rates are at record-low level of 0.5 percent. Some members of the bank's board have indicated that there is a growing pressure on the bank to further cut the interest rate... (read more here)
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Czech Insider is an English-language weekly edition of Deník Insider ("Insider Daily"), a Czech subscription-only daily newspaper prepared by the creators of Aktualne.cz that provides original investigative insight into the top tiers of Czech politics and business.
Every Monday at 4 PM (CET), Czech Insider publishes the English translation of the most important stories from the previous week. You can get your subscription here or try a 14-day trial version.
