LN: Czech state hampers EU-Georgia deal over firm’s interests
ČTK | 10 March 2015
LN: Czech state hampers EU-Georgia deal over firm’s interests
Prague, March 9 (CTK) - The Czech Foreign Ministry has been using the association agreement between the European Union and Georgia as an instrument of pressure exerted on the Georgian authorities in order to protect the investments of the Czech Energo-Pro firm, daily Lidove noviny (LN) writes Monday.
The Foreign Ministry has repeatedly withdrawn the discussion on the EU-Georgia agreement from the programme of the Czech parliament session. By postponing the agreement’s ratification, the ministry wanted to change the decision of Georgian tax office to impose a special tax of an equivalent of up to 1.5 billion crowns on Energo-Pro that operates in Georgia, the paper writes.
Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD) admitted that he used the unrelated EU-Georgia deal as an instrument to defend the interests of a private company, LN writes.
"This is no ideal method. But I as foreign minister have only few other possibilities to do economic diplomacy and not play the role of a fool," Zaoralek said.
Energo-Pro refused to pay the special tax and it appealed the decision.
The paper writes that an analysis worked out for the ministry concluded that Energo-Pro protest against the tax is justified.
Jiri Krusina, one of Energo-Pro owners, told LN that the situation changed as the Georgian tax office has given up 70 to 80 percent of its claim. Negotiations about the payment of the rest of the sum are held now, he added.
The paper writes that the postponing of the ratification seemed to play the main role in this.
The Chamber of Deputies plans to deal with the association agreement on April 1.
Zaoralek told the paper that finances of the Czech state were threatened as the Czech exports bank and the Egap insurance company are involved in the Energo-Pro case. Hundreds of millions of crowns are at stake, he added.
Georgian Ambassador to Prague, Zaal Gogsadze, told the paper that it would be a mistake to connect the association agreement and the Energo-Pro activities in Georgia.
Energo-Pro runs 15 hydroelectric power stations, distribution companies and it is the biggest foreign investor in the country, having about one million customers, LN writes.
The EU-Georgia agreement has been ratified by about half of the EU members. The Czech Republic is the only post-communist state that has not ratified it yet, the paper writes.
