CZECH ECONOMY HAS STRONG FOUNDATIONS EFFECTIVE PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT PERSONNEL AGENCIES PROVIDE VALUABLE SERVICES US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA HAS ACCEPTED AN INVITATION FROM THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE COUNTRY PRESIDING OVER THE EU COUNCIL, MIREK TOPOLÁNEK, TO VISIT PRAGUE THE CZECH REPUBLIC PRESIDING OVER THE 03-04 COUNCIL OF THE EU IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2009 2009 pzvꩪª¡ nvsmêjv|yzlz® nêj êt>êiêêêêêêêêêêêêêêêꡤê nêÆêjêj êw:>êê꣢êêêêꥣê u5êhêjêj êêêêêꤨê nêj êzêêêêêêêêêêêêêêêêêêêê nêj êr?5êoêêêêêêêêêꨥê kpzjv}lyêv|yêovypvu­­­ê jvtwhuê hukêzvjphs l}lu{z êê¡ êê¢ ¢ªªêê ¡¨ªê ê ê ¡¢ªêê ¨ªê }lsrêwsꡤ¡ ¥¤¢ê¢¡êwljêwvkêzu %rv| ê ê êê jljoêylw|ispj ¥ªêê £ªêê ®êФ¢ªê¤©©ê¨¦¡ê¡¡¡ ®êФ¢ªê¤©©ê¨¦¡ê¤¤¤ ¾®êÍ­ nwz®ê¥ªÏ¤¡³¤¦³³êu±êꡥϤ¤³§³³êl ­­ CZECH BUSINESS AND TRADE Czech Business and Trade Economic Bi-monthly Magazine with a Supplement is Designed for Foreign INTRODUCTION Partners, Interested in Cooperation Questions for the Prime Minister of the Country Presiding with the Czech Republic over the Council of the European Union 4 Issued ECONOMIC POLICY by PP AGENCY s.r.o. as an exclusive commis- Czech Economy Has Strong Foundations 5 sion for the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic KALEIDOSCOPE EDITORIAL BOARD: The Czech Republic Faces Up to Crisis 8 Milan Hovorka (Chairman), Ivan Angelis, Zdena Czech Economy Is Approximating EU 10 Balcerová, Růžena Hejná, Josef Jílek, Zdeněk First Biotechnology Cluster Established 10 Kočárek, Tomáš Kopečný, Marie Pavlů, Pavla Podskalská, Josef Postránecký, Libor Rouček, Prague: Place Suitable for Business 10 Jiřina Semanová, Jiří Sochor, Jarmila Škvrnová INVESTMENT MANAGING EDITOR: Experience with Business in the Czech Republic 11 Ivana Šmejdová Free Enterprise for Europe in the 21st Century 11 EDITORS: Effective Protection of Investment in the Czech Republic 12 Jiří Bouzek, Jaroslava Bradová REGULAR COLLABORATORS: CZECH TOP Eva Tomášková Innovation for the Automobile Industry 13 Honeywell Expands Production in the Czech Republic 13 TRANSLATION: Vlasta Benešová, Alena Kenclová, Robert YOUNG STARS Krátký, Lucie Pavlíčková, Dagmar Šímová, Radiography: International Acclaim for Czech Scientists 14 Halka Varhaníková READ: SERVICES Mathew Booth, Pearl Harris, Ivana Kadlecová, Personnel Agencies Provide Valuable Services 16 Zuzana Pavlíčková GRAPHIC DESIGN: REGION Art Director: Nina Nováková Ústí nad Labem Region 18 – 34 Graphic designers: Romana Holíčková, Jiří Hetfl eisch Production: Tamara Machotová, Anežka Zvěřinová PRESENTATION OF FIRMS DEADLINE: 23/1/2009 HOCO BAUELEMENTE, spol. s r.o.; CHEMOTEX Děčín a.s.; KABELOVNA Děčín Podmokly, s.r.o.; KAREKA, spol. s r.o.; Lázně Teplice v Čechách a.s.; Meteor Polymer © PP Agency Products spol. s r.o.; REGATA, a.s., závod hotel HORIZONT; RESTAMO HOLDING a.s.; Company with the ISO 9001 certified quality Severočeské doly a.s.; Tiskárna Horák s.r.o.; VINYL-FLEX, s.r.o. management system for publishing services ADDRESS: Myslíkova 25, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic PRAGUE GETTING READY FOR THE VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES Phone: +420 221 406 623, +420 221 406 626 Fax: +420 224 930 016 e-mail: [email protected] The Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mirek www.ppagency.cz, www.mpo.cz/en/minister- Topolánek, has confirmed, after the March emergency and-ministry/ministry/default.html summit in Brussels, that the President of the United States, Barack Obama, will visit Prague on 4 April, 2009. Press run: 13.500 copies. The number of printed and The reason for President Obama’s visit is a summit of sold copies of the journal is verifi ed by auditor, HZ the European Union and the United States, which was Praha, s.r.o., member of PANNELL KERR FORSTER originally scheduled for June in Washington. As the Worldwide. It is not allowed to reproduce any part EU Council presiding country, the Czech Republic has of the contents of this journal without prior consent been striving to organise the EU – USA summit. Barack from the editor. Attitudes expressed by the authors Obama has also been invited to the Czech Republic of articles carried by CBT need not necessarily be by President Václav Klaus. It is expected that the US consistent with the standpoint of the Publisher. MK President will be accompanied by his wife, Michelle. ČR E 6379, ISSN 1211-2208 „Podávání novinových zásilek povoleno Českou poštou, s. p., odštěpný Prague will not host the most powerful man of the závod Přeprava, č. j. 3468/95, ze dne 24/10/1995“ United States for the first time. The previous visit by a US President to Prague was that of Barack Obama’s Cover photo: ČTK, EU2009.CZ predecessor, George W. Bush, in 2007. 3 | INTRODUCTION Questions for the Prime Minister of the Country Presiding over the Council of the European Union of other points in the document. to Russian gas supplied to Europe creat- Basically, our objective is job protec- ed psychological pressure and had hard tion – we want to bring people nearer to economic impacts in some countries. work, and not to labour exchange offi ces. A joint energy policy and limitation of And so, our priority is the side of off er; we energy dependence is an absolute must support enterprises to preserve jobs even of the European Union. at the cost of sending their people to training fi nanced by the state. Strong sup- The EU describes this year as a year port to consumption would be a mistake of creativity and innovation. What in our conditions. We have a small open do these terms mean to you in the EU economy and support to consumption context? would only increase imports and worsen When you say Europe, one of the fi rst our balance of trade, and would not help words that cross my mind – immediately to maintain jobs. It is important that most after the word freedom – is innovation. of the measures are already functioning, Capability to discover, to invent, to come because they did not have to go through with new, more eff ective and cheaper the process of legislation. manufacturing procedures, this is what Mirek Topolánek Europe means. For more than a millen- How do you rate the Czech Govern- nium, this capability has been the main ment’s activity at the head of the comparative advantage of the continent European Council to date? which does not abound in size, wealth, Our activity at the head of the European material resources, and cheap labour. And Council has clearly shown that we can so it is no wonder that we tend to return cope with the management of the agenda to these values, which helped us to attain connected with the Presidency. Our work success, at the time of the economic crisis. at the time of the gas crisis was appreciat- Support to innovation is also one of my ed by everybody. The priorities we chose personal premiership priorities. The motto for our Presidency have already proved to “sustainable growth through innovation” is be very topical in some respects. I recall not a mere empty ideological phrase, but that our 3E priorities are Energy, Economy, an urgent need. Only innovation will en- and the European Union in the world. able us to respond to the future changes in I shall make the fi nal judgment in June global demand, to seek new markets, and 2009 at the end of our Presidency. The off er products which we can sell at both most important task is, of course, counter- good and bad times – irrespective of the ing the impacts of the world crisis. This will disadvantage of more expensive labour. As you mentioned in the previous issue, be dominant in the regular sessions of the the Czech Government had established European Council and the two extraordi- Can you give examples of important the National Economic Council (NERV). nary summit meetings which I have con- events awaiting the Czech Republic in What have been the results of the NERV vened for this purpose. the role of the presiding country? activities to date? The date of the Eastern Partnership NERV has made more than 250 sugges- The discontinued gas supplies from Rus- Summit has been set for 7 May. Held tions of possible measures to counter the sia opened the question of the energy on its background will be the Southern crisis. Following talks with the ministers dependence of the EU... Corridor Troika Summit* to discuss the concerned with the economy, we framed For a long time, we have been advocates Nabucco pipeline project. Besides top- the Government’s anti-crisis plan, which of a strong joint energy policy. It is natu- ical summits, such as the informal meet- I introduced on 18 February 2009. The ral that if the European Union fails to ac- ing of the heads of state on the financial document includes twelve principles, by quire energy raw materials from diff erent crisis held early in March, we are prepar- which we were guided, and seven basic sources, its freedom and independence ing, on request of the Commission, the areas of measures. The Government then will be threatened. This is why we sup- European Union–China Troika Summit, approved a lower rate of social insurance, port the Nabucco gas pipeline project. which was postponed during the pre- reduced tax burden of enterprises, sup- It is an economic as well as a political vious French Presidency. port to business and private investment, project. I also regard it as a kind of test of regional transport service, and a number European integration. The two-week halt More information about the * The "Troika Summit" - the three negotiators are the Prime Minister or President of the presiding country, the President of the Czech Presidency is available European Commission, and the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy at www.eu2009.cz National Bank Archives Office Czech Republic, Photo: of the Government of the Czech | 4 ECONOMIC POLICY Czech Economy Has Strong Foundations There is no doubt now that the STABLE BANKING SYSTEM their foreign parent banks may of course be Czech economy will not be spared by The current fi nancial crisis is in fact re fl ected in the results of the Czech subsidi- a crisis of the banking system.