OLAF at the Castle
Amid all the political news yesterday about the possible fall of the Nečas cabinet was a short report on Czech TV's Události. Viewers learned that OLAF, the EU's anti-fraud office, has been looking into the David Rath case to determine whether EU funds were misused in the Central Bohemian region. It's clear, ČT said, that the investigation will intensify this fall. The head of OLAF will even reportedly visit Prague in the coming months, possibly Nov., to confer with politicians. Readers of Reflex learned on Aug. 9 that the supreme state prosecutor's office, headed by Pavel Zeman, and its OZHFK financial-crime unit have been working with OLAF for two years. A logical conclusion from this is that the EU has been a force in the recent spate of corruption- related arrests. This has apparently not been lost on Václav Klaus. When he received Pavel Blažek and Petr Lessy at the Castle in July, he said both times that we should not succumb to "external influences." Perhaps he'll want to expound on this when OLAF's boss visits Prague this fall.
Glossary of difficult words
to confer - to have a discussion; to exchange opinions;spate - a large number of things or events appearing or occurring in quick succession;
to be lost on someone - to fail to influence or to be noticed or appreciated by someone;
to succumb - to fail to resist (pressure, temptation, or some other negative force);
to expound on something - to present and explain (a theory or idea) systematically and in detail.