On 9 May 2012 the Government approved the Code of Ethics for public officials and public administration employees by the Ministry of the Interior, which is a part of government´s strategy against corruption. The aim of the Code is not only minimize corruption, but also ensure clearer competences and rules for public officials and public administration employees in which situations they might get into private sector-public interest conflict and how to react. Moreover it defines the standards of professional behavior of an employee in relationship to public and to other employees.

The press release and full version of the Code of Ethics in Czech you can find here.

An important step was made in the trade relationship between the EU and the U.S. Under the agreement the EU and the U.S. will recognize all the companies certified as Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) in the EU. AEOs in the EU will receive benefits when exporting to the US market, and the EU will reciprocate for certified members of the US Customs-Trade Partnership against terrorism (C-TPAT). Mutual recognition will enable the companies to benefit from faster controls and reduced administration for customs clearance. The agreement will come into force on 1 July 2012.

OGP is an international initiative by the US administration to support effective, transparent and accountable governments and its state administration. Since September 8 founding governments together with 47 governments joined the OGP. The Action Plan of the Czech Republic was approved on April 4 and reacts on a need to improve access to data, improve effectivity of the state administration and encourages public participation in decision-making processes at national level.

The Czech Minister of Defense Alexandr Vondra and the U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a ´Reciprocal Procurement of Defense Equipment and Services Agreement´ on April 18. The agreement is very significant for Czech defense industry companies, which can apply directly for public contracts by the U.S. Department of Defense. Czech firms could only be subcontractors for U.S. enterprises so far. The document entered into force upon signature. The press release in Czech you can find on the pages of the Ministry of Defense here and the full text of the agreements also in Czech and English and other information you can find on the pages of the U.S. Embassy here.

The AmCham Best Regulator Project facilitates discussion and interaction between regulators and regulated entities in the Czech Republic with the aim to develop high quality markets regulation. The questions to be answered by the project are: 1. What is important for each participating regulator to communicate to their clients in order to gain their respect? 2. How do regulatory activites influence the business community / regulated entities and in which aspects, in the clients’ view, could these activities be improved? Take a couple of minutes for our AmCham Best Regulator 2012 Survey to help us answer the second question. The survey will be available until March 30, 2012.