Nationalizing foreign chambers

Analysts agree that investment into the CR will slow down this year. One reason is that word is getting around that Industry Minister Martin Říman is holding up investment incentives. It won't help either that Říman's ministry has submitted a plan for nationalizing foreign chambers of commerce. There are a dozen of them, and they play a crucial role in encouraging companies to invest here. An amendment drafted by the quasi-state Economic Chamber would require all foreign chambers to become departments of the Economic Chamber itself. Some of the foreign chambers would likely prefer to shut down than to comply with a law that has no equivalent in Europe, or even China. The Economic Chamber is run by Jaromír Drábek, who was keen to become industry minister. He failed and is now looking to increase his own power in a way that would only hurt Czech industry.