?Deutsche Presse-Agenteur | 24 November 2010
Prague - The Czech government agreed Wednesday that foreigners could buy farm land in the Czech Republic after a seven- year ban negotiated under the country's European Union entry terms expires in May 2011, officials said.
The measure requires approval by parliament. Prime Minister Petr Necas' three-party, centre-right cabinet has a safe majority of 118 seats in the lower house to push through the measure.
While most old EU members banned citizens from the bloc's newcomers from working freely in their countries for up to seven years, the Czech Republic demanded exemptions on land and real estate sales to foreigners.
Agricultural groups have opposed the cabinet's decision to remove the barrier on farm land purchases, arguing that Czech farmers will be priced out.
'Our farmers cannot compete in capital with the foreign ones when buying land,' Jan Veleba, who heads the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic, told the German Press Agency dpa.
But government officials and analysts do not expect a surge after the exemption is lifted, as foreigners have already been buying farmland through local middlemen or companies.
It is unknown how much Czech farm land is currently in foreign hands. Foreigners were allowed to directly buy Czech real estate in 2009.
