Europe Intelligence Wire articles from January 2006

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from January 2006

Paroubek promises higher wages, resolute struggle against crime.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek (Social Democrats, CSSD) has promised an uncompromising struggle against corruption and serious crime as well as further raising of the standards of living in...

Ny rekord i SMS- og MMS-trafikken Reutersnyttarsaften.
January 1, 2006... (From Hugin) (Oslo, 1. januar 2006) Mer enn 25 millioner tekstmeldinger (SMS) og narmereReutersmillion bildemeldinger (MMS) gikk gjennom Telenors mobilnett Reutersnyttarsaften i ar. Det er ny rekord, bade for tekst- og bildemeldinger. ...

Record-high SMS and MMS traffic on New Year's Eve.
January 1, 2006... (From Hugin) (Oslo, 1 January 2006) More than 25 million text messages (SMS) and close to 1 million picture messages (MMS) passed through Telenor's mobile network on New Year's Eve. These are record figures, both for text and picture...

Ericsson Racing Team ready for a wet 'n' wild ride.
January 1, 2006... (From Hugin) 1 January 2006 - One day before the start of leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race, the members of the Ericsson Racing Team are enjoying their last moments of peace before entering a whole new wild world: the Southern Ocean. ...

CLIFF FALLER AIRLIFTED TO SAFETY.
January 1, 2006... (From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases)) ] MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY Duty4 CLIFF FALLER AIRLIFTED TO SAFETY Northern Police Control in Inverness contacted Stornoway Coastguard at 10:31 this morning...

CROSS CHANNEL CO-OPERATION IN SEARCH.
January 1, 2006... (From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases)) ] MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY Duty 5 CROSS CHANNEL CO-OPERATION IN SEARCH Portland Coastguard have been assisting their French Coastguard colleagues throughout...

JOINT OPERATION BETWEEN IRAQI AND BRITISH SECURITY FORCES.
January 1, 2006... (From Government News Network (Was Hermes-Government Press Releases)) ] MINISTRY OF DEFENCE 1 January 2006 JOINT OPERATION BETWEEN IRAQI AND BRITISH SECURITY FORCES SEES IN THE NEW YEAR Headquarters Multi National Division South East...

President calls for responsibility and self-confidence in New.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom called for responsibility and self-confidence ahead of this year's general elections, in his New Year's Address on public radio and...

The homeless find closed shelters at New Year.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - The majority of day-time homeless shelters in Budapest have been closed down for New Year, as funds for their services at weekends are not provided from the central budget, a...

MTI's news schedule, January 2-8.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - MTI's daily news service in English expects to include coverage of the following events from January 2 to 8: January 2, Monday: - Economics Minister Janos Koka and...

Snow chains required for crossing into Hungary.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - It will be mandatory for all cars crossing into Hungary to have snow chains among their accessories as of midnight on Sunday, the border guards spokesman told MTI in a release....

New year's first Hungarian baby a girl.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - The new year's first Hungarian baby was born in Miskolc, NE Hungary, fifteen minutes after the clock ticked into 2006, hospital director Gyorgy Harto told MTI. The baby...

Limited Russian gas supplies to Ukraine not to affect Hungary,.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - Hungarian consumers will not suffer from Russia's halting its gas deliveries to Ukraine, Economics Minister Janos Koka said on Sunday. "Hungary's gas supply is safe. Both...

MOL calls on big gas consumers to use oil.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - Hungary's oil and gas company MOL has called on its large consumers to switch from gas to oil on Monday, the company's PR director told MTI. "We have instructed certain...

UPDATE - MOL calls on big gas consumers to use oil (adds.
January 1, 2006... (From Hungarian News Agency (MTI)) Budapest, January 1 (MTI) - Hungary's oil and gas company MOL has called on its large consumers to switch from gas to oil on Monday, the company's PR director told MTI. "We have instructed certain...

HIGHLIGHTS - Government Rebukes TVP Television Station.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The governing Law and Justice (PiS) party is exerting real pressure on state-owned media. An allegedly unbalanced item concerning the prolonging of the Polish mission in Iraq caught the attention of Konrad...

INBRIEF.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) President Lech Kaczynski spoke of a just and caring Poland in his New Year's Eve address to Poland's citizens. The death of Pope John Paul II was in his opinion the most important event in 2005. Kaczynski...

Government Dissatisfied with TVP.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Konrad Ciesiolkiewicz, the spokesman for Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz's government, reproached the Wiadomosci news programme on TVP public television for dishonesty and exploiting people's emotions when announcing...

President Signs One Baby Bonus Bill.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) President Lech Kaczynski has signed the so-called Baby Bonus Act prepared by the government. It stipulates that mothers of the newly born who come from poor families will get a ZL1000 one-off child bonus. The...

Tusk: Gov't Fails Facing Difficult Tasks.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Following the first major defeat in the Sejm for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which last week failed to reject the child benefit bill proposed by the League of Polish Families (LPR) and postpone...

Market Dips As Foreign Investors Flee Poland.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The last session of the year failed to impress investors, who lost some of their assets as the blue chip index WIG20 closed down 1.4 percent. Consequently, the previous year's scenario when the major indices...

2006: Predictions and Hopes.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) 2006 will be good for the economy, provided politicians do not spoil what is good and honour their promises to repair what is bad - such is the common belief expressed by representatives from the worlds of...

Wozniak: Russian-Ukrainian Gas Dispute Will Not Affect Poland.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Minister of Economy, Piotr Wozniak has assured the public there should be no gas shortages in Poland due to Russia cutting off gas supplies to Ukraine. "Individual consumers will not be affected," said Wozniak....

Electricity and Gas Prices Set to Rise Sharply.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The new year will see the price of electricity, gas and some postal services rise substantially. In contrast, petrol prices should fall, writes Gazeta Wyborcza daily. Despite hikes in energy prices, they should...

2006 Without Changes in Taxes.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The government will soon announce its plans for tax reforms in 2007, and it intends to convince the National Bank of Poland (NBP) to reduce interest rates, Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz revealed in an...

GDKKiA to Speed Up EU Funds Absorption and Road Construction.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The beginning of 2006 will be marked by numerous tenders to be organised by the General Agency for National Road and Motorways (GDDKiA) which so far has been heavily criticised for its inefficiency in using EU...

Polish Salaries Rose in 2005 Slightly.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Last year the average pay rise in companies was slight as its purchasing parity increased only by 1 percent. Moreover, the rise did not compensate for inflation in sectors with weak trade unions and in regions...

ARiMR Distributed EUR1bn Among Farmers.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Nearly EUR1bn was transferred to farmers by the Agency for Agriculture Restructuring and Modernisation (ARiMR) under the EU direct payments scheme for 2005, Iwona Musial, the ARiMR's spokeswoman said. "In the...

Police to Announce Tenders Worth ZL200m.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Police is to announce several tenders for IT equipment and services with an estimated value of more than ZL200m. The most important projects are linked to the integration with the EU Schengen Information System...

Polish Companies on the EU Market.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Generally, Polish companies are performing quite well on the European market although their profits are lower than a year before. Only fishermen are dissatisfied with their results. The first year of Poland's...

INBRIEF.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The Grupa Lotos oil company signed a contract on Friday for the sale and supply of oil to Shell Polska. The value of the agreement is estimated at ZL410m and the contract will be in force throughout the entire...

Gov't Has Serious Doubts Regarding Pekao-BPH Merger.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The Polish government is reluctant to allow the merger of Pekao and Bank BPH, because it fears a monopoly, increased prices for banking services, and a transfer of money abroad, the Puls Biznesu daily claims...

Minister Mikosz Interviewed about Main Goals.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) In his interview for the PAP agency Andrzej Mikosz, the treasury minister, revealed some new initiatives for 2006. According to him, the state should be the moderator in economic processes. Although negotiations...

Historic Year at Warsaw Stock Exchange.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) 2005 was the best year in the history of the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE), read the WSE communique published on Friday. "It was a year of record highs, the highest turn out with major indices setting new maximums...

PGNiG Has Plan B for Gas.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The Russians kept their promise. They have begun to decrease the supply of gas to Ukraine on Sunday. Fortunately the Ukrainians were ready for such a move and NAK Naftogaz monopoly stored sufficient gas to last...

Elektrim Hopes to Regain PTC.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Elektrim is eagerly awaiting the session of the supervisory board at Elektrim Telekomunikacja (ET), in which it owns a 49-percent stake and yet has no influence over the company's management. The session was...

BOS Shareholders Dismiss CEO.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The main shareholders in the BOS bank - Swedish financial group SEB and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW) - finally reached an agreement and managed to close their...

Polish Post Announces its Strategy.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The new head of Poczta Polska (PP), Zbigniew Niezgoda is not going to conduct a revolution as he finds the course being taken by PP to be correct. Comparing the present situation to that of 1998 he feels that...

Bioton Thinking of Further Takeovers.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) "Bioton will record profits in 2005 several times higher than in 2004," said the company's CEO Adam Wilczega. In 2004 Bioton's net profit reached ZL5.8m, whilst its net income amounted to ZL128.75m. The...

Google Finds Polish Market Lucrative.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Google is entering the Polish market as it seems to have good potential. Therefore Polish internet companies are racking their brains as to whether the giant will prove dangerous for their interests or whether...

No Change in Top Mobile Telcos.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) 2005 brought no change to the ranking of mobile phone operators as Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), operator of the Era network, remains number one, followed by Centertel, operator of Idea, and Polkomtel,...

Warbud's Capitalisation Brings Results.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Warbud, a company operating on the flat and commercial property construction market, will finish 2005 in the black. "We should record a net profit of around ZL10m," said the company's CEO, Wlodzimierz...

PKP Cargo Opens New Chapter with New CEO.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) The new year saw changes in the management of PKP Cargo railway transport company. President Jozef Kowalczyk was replaced by Wladyslaw Szczepkowski, a law graduate linked to banking sector. The new PKP Cargo...

Bogdanka Posts Smaller Profits, But Plans to Increase Spending.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Bogdanka coal mine has announced its approximate results for 2005. Net profit amounted to nearly ZL70m compared to ZL136m in 2004. "Last year was also very good for the mine as coal prices soared while...

Stalexport Will Get ZL380m for A-4 Road Construction.
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Signing a loan agreement worth ZL380m will most probably save Stalexport Autostrada Malopolska (SAM) from losing its licence for the construction of the A-4 motorway. The funds take the wind out of minister...

Andersen Business Consulting on WSE?
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Andersen Business Consulting (ABC), a Warsaw-based firm, has recently been transformed into a joint stock company, and is aiming for a public offering on the Warsaw stock exchange. "We are thinking about the...

Will Conflict with UniCredito Swell to Size of PZU Affair?
January 1, 2006... (From Polish News Bulletin) Is Poland's Treasury Ministry's opposition towards a merger between leading banks Pekao and BPH likely to lead to a similar conflict to that with Eureko, the Dutch investor in insurance company PZU, asks...

Klaus believes people will go to polls, campaign will be decent.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - President Vaclav Klaus called on people in his New Year's Day speech today to take part in the general election in June because they will thus demonstrate their co- responsibility for the...

Havel rules out possibility of seeking presidency again.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Former president Vaclav Havel said today he is not going to run again for Czech presidency though he said he agrees with lawyers that this would theoretically be possible after a five-year...

Gasparovic criticises impact of reforms, politicians' behaviour.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Jan 1 (CTK) - Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic criticised Mikulas Dzurinda's government for the serious impact of of its austerity-based reforms on citizens' standards of living, in his New Year's...

Czechs to choose new government, municipal assemblymen in 2006.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - The elections to the Chamber of Deputies, scheduled for June, are undoubtedly the most highlighted political event of the starting year 2006. The elections will fill in the 200 seats in...

Experts like Klaus's call for polls participation, responsibility.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Leaders of all parties in parliament said that they consider President Vaclav Klaus's New Year's speech today to be balanced and they did not have any fundamental objections to it. They...

Czech 2005 budget will show roughly Kc57bn gap -- Paroubek.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - The Czech state budget for last year will show a deficit of some Kc57bn, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Czech Television's discussion programme Questions of Vaclav Moravec today. ...

Janda wins Four Jumps Tour event as first Czech after 16 years.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, Jan 1 (CTK) - Jakub Janda became the first Czech ski jumper to win a Four Jumps Tour event after 16 years when he beat Finns Jann Ahonen and Matti Hautamaeki in...

Temelin nuke plant relaunches first unit after two weeks.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) CESKE BUDEJOVICE, South Bohemia, Jan 1 (CTK) - The first unit at the nuclear power plant Temelin, shut down due to a defect on a pump two weeks ago, was relaunched on December 31, spokesman Milan Nebesar has told...

Election year starts with sharp Paroubek-Topolanek duel.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - PM Jiri Paroubek (Social Democrats, CSSD) and Mirek Topolanek, opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) head, accused each other of lies, facts manipulation, ignorance and arrogance on Czech...

Small investors trade shares for Kc100bn on Prague bourse in 2005.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Small investors traded shares worth an estimated Kc100bn on the Prague Stock Exchange (BCPP) last year, the bourse said in a press release. BCPP CEO Petr Koblic described the figure as a...

Czech economic growth will remain high this year -- experts.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Czech economic growth should remain fast and slow down only negligibly to below five percent this year, wage growth will be higher than inflation, the number of unemployed should decrease and...

Havel says grand coalition would be worst election result.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Former president Vaclav Havel said today that he is afraid of the possible emergence of a grand coalition of the senior opposition ODS and the senior ruling CSSD after the June general...

Parties unlikely to agree on pension reform by elections.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - The five parties in parliament are unlikely to sign an agreement on the fundamental parameters of the future pension system by the June general election, PM Jiri Paroubek (senior ruling...

DHL wants to build seven terminals for Kc1bn in CzechRep--press.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Logistics company DHL wants to build seven new terminals in the Czech Republic by 2008 and invest roughly Kc1bn in the project, DHL CEO for the Czech Republic Jiri Stojar told the weekly Euro....

Havel rules out possibility of seeking presidency again.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) (adds statements by Paroubek, Topolanek in paras 10-14) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Former president Vaclav Havel said today he is not going to run again for Czech presidency though he said he agrees with lawyers...

Slovak President Gasparovic decorates 20 personalities.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Jan 1 (CTK) - Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic decorated 20 personalities with state awards on the occasion of the national holiday, anniversary of the establishment of the Slovak Republic after the...

Czech firms export arms worth over Kc0.5bn to China --press.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Czech companies export arms worth hundreds of millions of crowns to China despite the embargo imposed on the Asian country by the European Union, the weekly Euro writes with reference to a new...

Prague stages traditional New Year's fireworks display.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Thousands of people filled the Vltava embankment and the bridges spanning the river in the centre of Prague tonight to see a huge fireworks display on the Letna plain towering above the Vltava...

Archbishop Sokol says tsunami, hurricane were God's admonition.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Jan 1 (CTK) - The Katrina Hurricane in New Orleans, USA, the earthquake in Pakistan, the end-2004 tsunami in south Asia and the devastating storm in the High Tatras, east Slovakia, were not only natural...

Pitr's lawyers want to talk to judge on his return to CzechRep.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - The lawyers of wanted businessman Tomas Pitr want to talk to the judge on his possible return to the Czech Republic on Monday, Nova television reported today. Pitr told Nova today that he...

CTK's Business News In Brief.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) CR to see more foreign tourists in 2006 after record in 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------ PRAGUE - The number of foreign tourists visiting the Czech Republic could grow to up to...

Slovakia sees lower pressure of Ukraine gas, supplies sufficient.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) BRATISLAVA, Jan 1 (CTK) - Slovensky plynarensky priemysel (SPP), which transports natural gas from Ukraine to the Slovak- Czech border, has reported today a decline in pressure in the pipelines after Russia's...

Summary of the main business news published by CTK on Jan 1:.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE - The Czech state budget for last year will show a deficit of some Kc57bn, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Czech Television's discussion programme Questions of Vaclav Moravec today. PRAGUE - Czech...

European constitution most likely inheritance for next government.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - The Czech Republic has decided to deal with the future of the European constitution, the ratification of which PM Jiri Paroubek's (Social Democrats, CSSD) government made its priority, after...

Four percent of men interrupted work to look after child - survey.
January 1, 2006... (From Czech News Agency) PRAGUE, Jan 1 (CTK) - Four percent of Czech fathers have in the past interrupted their job or business for at least one month to look after a child under four years of age all the day, and only some of them...

Battling Ingleside earn draw against leaders.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Leaders Bcsj dropped their first points of the season in Under-10 Division A with a 3-3 draw at Ingleside. Ingleside won the first game 2-0 thanks to a Jordan Milburne brace, but in the second game goals...

Bitton comeback to end Stoke's winning run.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Luke Starr BITTON Boys Under-16s came back from a 2-1 deficit to end leaders Stoke Lane's 100 per cent Division I record. Ryan McKillop and Luke Green put Stoke in the lead, but Rob Smailes netted for...

DOWN EAGER TO MATCH PAULTON.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Andy Stockhausen ODD Down boss Chris Mountford believes his players must match arch-rivals Paulton Rovers or risk being regarded as a "flash in the pan." The Premier Division protagonists clash at Combe Hay...

Domone is taking punt on Ray to sting Clyst.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Convention will not dissuade Hallen boss Gary Domone from taking a gamble on Ray Johnston in tomorrow's First Division summit meeting with Clyst Rovers at Moor House Lane. Having established a reputation as...

Swift: We're taking it one at a time.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Highridge are keeping their feet on the ground after going top of the Gloucestershire County League. The Lakemead Grove-based side were champions in 1999-2000, but finished fifth last season. They have...

Period home which has it all.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) This generous-sized Georgian home in Cotham, Bristol, positively "oozes character" according to the agents, Maggs and Allen - but it does require some updating. It's in Sydenham Hill, and is on the market...

Watchdog dave gives a voice to city's tenants.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Council tenant Dave White is heading a new watchdog which has been set up to publicise the council's major consultation exercise over the future of its housing stock. Dave and his team of eight who form the...

We can end purton's run, says jones.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Winterbourne United boss Stewart Jones has set his sights on taking a major scalp this weekend. The Bristol club are hell-bent on becoming the first side to beat Hellenic League Division I West leaders...

Let's now have the real deal.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Andy Stockhausen WILL the real Paulton Rovers please stand up. After the shock surrender at Dawlish came the recovery at Backwell. Now the Somerset club face their biggest test of the season at Screwfix...

Pucklechurch hit by cory's double blast.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Scott Harding (Brislington): The right-back was outstanding. THE pressure was on Brislington to win to ensure second position in the League and they delivered with two goals from Cory Clark in the first half...

Double delight for high-flying shirehampton.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Shirehampton Colts B Under-12s moved second in Division IV with back-to-back wins on Sunday and Tuesday. Their first three points came courtesy of a 6-0 thrashing of St Nicholas B, who were undone by efforts...

Keynsham set boss deadline.
January 1, 2006... (From Bristol Evening Post) Keynsham Town have set a deadline of April 21 for applications for the manager's job at Crown Field. Previous boss Tony Cornelius left last month to take over at Brislington and Gary Silverthorne is in...