PRAGUE, Dec 10 (CTK) - Following is a chronology of the most

important economic events in the Czech Republic in 2002: OCTOBER 1 - Gas prices for households drop 7.4 per cent on average, monthly flat charges remain unchanged. 3 - 4th BSE case detected at Sestajovice farm in Central Bohemia. 7 - Government includes Obrabeci stroje Olomouc, Elite and Metra Blansko in its revitalisation programme. 9 - With a five-year delay, the Czech Republic and EU sign in Brussels supplementary document to the Europe Agreement, which allows state support to Czech steelworks until the country's EU entry. The EU thus agrees with retroactive legalisation of the support since 1997 and allows Prague to continue providing it, probably till the spring of 2004. 14 - Government cancels privatisation of 63 per cent of Unipetrol after Agrofert Holding, the winner of Dec 2001 tender, announced at end-September it cannot complete the transaction because privatisation terms have changed. 17 - Lubomir Volenik (ODS) appointed as head of the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) again, president Vaclav Havel refuses to appoint former CSSD deputy Frantisek Brozik as vice-president. - CKA chooses US investment group Appian Group as potential buyer of Skoda Holding. In November Appian Group submits binding bid to CKA, offering Kc800m for 48.4 per cent of Skoda Holding shares. 21 - Government approves 2003 state budget with a Kc111.3bn deficit, revenues of Kc684.1bn and expenditures of Kc795.4bn. The Chamber of Deputies passes the government-sponsored draft in the first reading on November 8. 22 - Deputies elect eight members of new FNM presidium. 24 - Czech Republic closes economic competition chapter within accession talks with the EU thanks to the Netherlands which two days before, as the last EU country, removed its objections to allowing state assistance to Czech steelworks after EU expansion. - CNB okays entry of Italian financial group Invesmart into Union Banka. 30 - Some 3,000 dissatisfied farmers gather in front of the Government Office in Prague to protest against conditions of the Czech Republic's EU entry and ask for bigger state support for agriculture. 30 - Government approves outlook of budget deficits decreasing from Kc111.3bn proposed for next year to Kc107.1bn in 2004 and Kc102.6bn in 2005. It also okays amended law on credit unions which stipulates that credit unions will have to raise share capital in future from current Kc0.5m to Kc32m. 30 - Prague High State Attorney's Office completes evaluation of several complaints from special parliamentary commission enquiring into IPB case, concluding that no suspicion of crime has been confirmed in connection with putting IPB under forced administration in June 2000 and its subsequent sale to CSOB. 31 - FNM presidium elects Jan Juchelka as FNM head. - CNB cuts all three key rates by 0.25 percentage point, with repo rate down at 2.75 per cent. NOVEMBER 5 - International rating agency Standard & Poor's lowers its long-term local currency ratings of the Czech Republic to A+ from AA minus, and its short-term local currency ratings to A-1 from A-1-plus. 11-15 - Last part of arbitration between the Czech Republic and CME company over a $0.5bn compensation for the latter's investment in TV Nova takes place in London. 11 - ERU announces increase in gas prices for households by 4 per cent on average as of January 1, 2003, while electricity prices in some areas are to fall by 1.7 to 9.1 per cent. 13 - Government decides to resume talks with Israeli firm Housing&Construction on terms of contract for construction of D47 motorway from Lipnik to Ostrava in North Moravia. Daily Hospodarske noviny reports on November 29 that the state is to pay Kc215bn to Housing&Construction for D47, that is, Kc90bn more than declared by the government. 18 - Cabinet rules that contract with British-Swedish consortium BAE Systems/SAAB for the purchase of Gripen fighters will not come into force, given the condition that it has to be approved by the Chamber of Deputies. 18 - Constitutional Court cancels that part of government decree on sugar quotas that concerns their size. 21 - Resin unit of chemical producer Spolek pro chemickou a hutni vyrobu (Spolchemie) is almost completely destroyed by fire. 27 - Cesky Telecom board of directors dismisses CEO Premysl Klima. DECEMBER 1 - Czech Republic eases trade in beef, beef products and cattle with all EU countries, with the exception of Portugal, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from where imports are to be freed as of January 1, 2003. 2 - Government raises minimum monthly wage by Kc500 to Kc6,200 as of January 2003. 5 - The National Property Fund FNM and the Czech Republic file a lawsuit against Nomura Principal Investments for breach of contract in the case of Investicni a postovni banka IPB, seeking damages of up to Kc263bn.

	Czech economy in 2002: January - March
	Czech economy in 2002: April - June
	Czech economy in 2002: July - September
	Czech economy in 2002: October - December

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