The Czech Republic Pays for Immigrants to Go Home
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Unemployed Guest Workers and Their Kids Receive Cash and a One-Way Ticket as the Country Fights Joblessness

Prague -- During its manufacturing boom earlier this decade, the Czech Republic wooed immigrants with plentiful jobs and comparatively higher wages. Now the Czech government is paying them to go back home.

Four years ago, Uyanga Ganbold migrated from Mongolia to Plzen, an industrial hub 60 miles south of Prague, with dreams of a European education for her two children. But she lost her job assembling Panasonic televisions and is taking the government's offer of a one-time payment of €750 ($992), triple her monthly wages. "I've never held that much money in my hands all at once," said the petite 34-year-old before leaving in mid-April.

Trin Van Pham is a harder sell. The Vietnamese immigrant lost his factory job with Czech auto maker Skoda in December, but turned down a similar package to leave. "It's just a little bit of money," compared with the $11,000 debt he took on to get here, says Mr. Pham, 30. Besides, he says, "if I go back, I'll also be looking for a job. It's not easy to get one there."

Their reactions underscore the difficulties of unraveling the global work force this once labor-strapped nation created as it grew into a manufacturing hub. In 2007, foreigners scooped up nearly 40% of the new jobs created in the Czech Republic. In the last five years alone, the number of immigrant workers doubled to nearly 362,000 by the end of 2008.

With demand for exports down, unemployment has soared to a two-year high of 7.7%. Economists say the rate could hit 10% by year's end, and there are signs rising joblessness is pushing some Czechs to apply for the low-wage work they once left to foreign laborers. The Czech economy is set to contract by 2% this year -- a sharp fall from a growth peak around 7% in 2006.

In February, the government, fearing crime, homelessness and immigrants overstaying visas, launched a $3 million program to pay newly jobless migrants to go home. The pitch: €500 per legal immigrant, €250 for children under 15, and the cost of the tickets home. >>> By Joellen Perry | Tuesday, April 28, 2009

”The Way to Hell,” Says EU President
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE: BRUSSELS: Trans-Atlantic tension over the handling of the global economic crisis intensified on Wednesday when the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the European Union presidency, described the U.S. stimulus measures as the "way to hell."

Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek argued that the Obama administration's fiscal package and financial bailout "will undermine the stability of the global financial market."

Mr. Topolanek's comments, only a day after he offered his government's resignation following a no confidence vote, took European officials by surprise.

The rotating E.U. presidency lasts for six months and the country that holds it is supposed to speak on behalf of the entire 27-nation bloc.

The statement came just a week before a meeting of the Group of 20 leaders of the world's biggest economies in London which aims to forge an international consensus on the economic crisis. His comments also underlined potential ideological strains between Washington and Europe as President Barack Obama prepares to travel to Prague in less than two weeks for a summit intended to bolster transatlantic relations and show that the United States and Europe are united over economic policy. EU President Blasts U.S. Economic Stimulus >>> By Stephen Castle and Dan Bilefsky | Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fraud Investigators Raid BAE Agent's Austria Home
THE GUARDIAN: Serious Fraud Office investigating allegations of bribery and money laundering

British investigations into BAE, Britain's biggest arms company, appear to have revived today after it was disclosed that a key BAE agent has been raided.

Investigators from the Serious Fraud Office arranged for the agent, Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, to be raided in Austria.

Austrian prosecutors said the raids were carried out at the request of the SFO investigating allegations of bribery and money laundering.

The Austrian police seized a quantity of documents from the home and office of Mensdorff-Pouilly, who has been accused of receiving millions of pounds from BAE for promoting deals. He is the Viennese laird of a Scottish castle.

The SFO's investigations into BAE have been controversial as the government stopped its inquiry into Saudi arms deals. Critics have alleged that the government is soft on BAE and has placed the company above the law and effectively made it immune from prosecution - an accusation denied by ministers. Fraud Investigators Raid BAE Agent's Austria Home >>> Rob Evans | September 30, 2008

REUTERS:
RPT-Austria Raids Lobbyists in Jetfighter Bribery Probe >>> | September 30, 2008

WALL STREET JOURNAL:
Police Look for Bribery Evidence in Case Against BAE >>> By David Crawford and Daniel Michaels | October 1, 2008

THE TELEGRAPH:
Austrian Addresses Visited in BAE Serious Fraud Office Probe: Police in Austria have visited a number of addresses as part of a UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation into claims that defence company BAE Systems was involved in bribery to secure aircraft contracts in the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The police visited the Austrian home and office of Count Alfons Mensdorff-Pouilly, a lobbyist who owns a castle in Perthshire.

The SFO is thought to have asked the Austrian authorities for help with its continuing probe into the defence company. The lobbyist's lawyer, Harald Schuster, said any allegations of wrongdoing were groundless.

Despite abandoning its investigation into BAE's dealing with Saudi Arabia, the SFO has continued to look at the company's defence contracts in other countries, including South Africa and Tanzania. >>> By Russell Hotten | October 1, 2008

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