Final Word from Thursday, July 16, 2009
If ČEZ gets its way in the Senate next week and secures Kč 68bn in free carbon credits, shareholders will no doubt be excited about the prospect of a windfall profit. Favored suppliers such as Appian's Škoda Holding, Gazprom's Škoda JS and Atomenergoprom's TVEL will no doubt be delighted as well, because ČEZ will be in a position to pad its untransparent procurement and foreign-expansion deals without hurting its bottom line. Less transparency means more opportunity for Russians to tighten their grip on the Czech energy sector. In an open letter to Obama yesterday, former Central and Eastern European leaders (Havel, Walesa, etc.) said that Russia uses overt and covert means of economic warfare to advance its interests in the region. It's interesting that Sen. Alexandr Vondra, who helped put together that open letter, was also lobbying in the Senate yesterday to give free carbon credits to ČEZ.[Czech Republic Valdas Adamkus, Martin Butora, Emil Constantinescu, Pavol Demes, Lubos Dobrovsky, Matyas Eorsi, Istvan Gyarmati, Vaclav Havel, Rastislav Kacer, Sandra Kalniete, Karel Schwarzenberg, Michal Kovac, Ivan Krastev, Alexander Kwasniewski, Mart Laar, Kadri Liik, Janos Martonyi. Janusz Onyszkiewicz, Adam Rotfeld, Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Lech Walesa]
Glossary of difficult words
to get one's way - to get or do what one wants in spite of opposition;
carbon credits - CO2 allowances;
prospect - the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring;
windfall - a piece of unexpected good fortune, typically one that involves receiving a large amount of money;
Appian/Škoda Holding - a maker of turbines and other equipment whose ownership is unknown;
to pad - to inflate the amount of an expense report or invoice;
bottom line - the final total of an account; profit.