The President of the Czech Republic may lose the power to appoint and dismiss heads of permanent missions to international organisations. The amendment to the Foreign Service Act was recommended for approval on Wednesday by the Constitutional Law Committee of the lower house, as proposed by Libor Vondráček of the SPD. The amendment was criticised by the deputy chairman of the opposition ODS party, Karel Haas, who said the SPD was settling scores with the current head of state, Petr Pavel.

The changes to the Foreign Service Act are part of a broader companion amendment to a new draft law on civil servants that the government camp wants to replace the current service law with. „I find the proposal a totally unacceptable continuation of the SPD's fight against the President of the Republic. They have chosen the Civil Servants Act to do so, which I find petty and childish,“ Haas said.

According to him, no one has ever had any problem with the fact that the President appoints and dismisses heads of permanent missions, i.e. ambassadors, in addition to heads of embassies. Vondráček, however, argues in particular for some foreign adjustments. „It is a question of principle. We are a parliamentary republic, not a presidential republic,“ he said. But he does not hide the fact, as he pointed out, that he believes Paul is interpreting his powers broadly behind the amendment, despite his original promises.

„On the occasion when we are dealing with the general service law and things related to it, we wanted to adjust and refine its competences,“ Vondráček said. According to the justification, the foreign minister would delegate and dismiss the heads of permanent missions if the proposal is adopted. The minister already issues them with a letter of credentials, unlike ambassadors, who are given their credentials by the president.

idnes.cz/gnews.cz-jav