Brussels to settle dispute over Prague's national library

Prague's municipal authorities are still playing for time in the dispute over star architect Jan Kaplický's futuristic design for a new Czech national library, Marek Švehla complains. Švehla reports that Mayor of Prague Pavel Bém's initial euphoria has cooled down considerably and he is now distancing himself from the project. "The City Council first passed on the hot potato to the ministry of culture, then to the competition authorities - to clarify whether the designer of such a project is also allowed to build it. The competition authorities are now passing the case on to the European Commission. This is like a bad joke: the very party [ODS, right-wing party] that never stops complaining about how Brussels is encroaching on national powers is now letting the European Commission have the last say about the construction of a building in Prague."

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