Czech press survey - Februar 20

Czechs, Slovaks, Hungarians and Bulgarians, too, were European model children before entering the European Union, but as soon as they joined it, they started misbehaving, Petr Sabata writes in the financial paper Hospodarske noviny.

CEZ is no charity delivering energy. However, EU countries, including Bulgaria, have civilised means to force it to observe the rules of the game, Sabata writes.

Only these and no other means should be used even before elections, Sabata writes in a veiled reference to Bulgaria's decision that may be motivated by its general elections scheduled for this July.

Seven years ago, no Bulgarian prime minister would have attacked CEZ. To be honest, short memory exists not only in Sofia, he adds.

Bulgaria is exporting its problems and Czechs should not allow this, Pavel Paral writes in his commentary in Mlada fronta Dnes.

It should it be put openly that what is happening in Albania and Bulgaria is a political problem, also relating to the pockets of Czech taxpayers, Paral writes.

It is a scandalous reality that the only reaction by the Czech Foreign Ministry was the offer of its head Karel Schwarzenberg to CEZ that if CEZ needs help, he will be ready to provide it, he adds.

The situation in which at first in Albania and now also in Bulgaria billions of crowns of Czech taxpayers are threatened is demanding a different reaction from the diplomatic service than its message "if anything happens, give us a ring," Paral writes.

However, can one expect anything else from a minister who believes that the notion of economic diplomacy is something vulgar?

Does Prime Minister Petr Necas really think that Czechs must give their wallets to all Balkan robbers who demand it? Paral asks in conclusion.

It is good for Czechs to have soldiers with "exotic skills," Zbynek Petracek writes in Lidove noviny, commenting on the Czech participation in the Malian mission.

When it was deliberated whether a Czech military unit should go to Mali, the reluctant question was asked: "Can we fight in the desert?"

This was in order. When the Czech state gets involved somewhere, it does not do so because it blindly follows some main stream, but to provide specific benefit to its allies, Petracek writes.

Hence the answer to the logic question: "Yes, we can basically fight in the desert. This is required by our tradition from Tobruk and primarily the soldiers who have experience from the Gulf War and Afghanistan," Petracek writes.

After many years, the Czech military is tuning down its expeditionary character. But it would be good to keep the people with "exotic skills," he adds.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz