Pres. Petr Pavel and his wife, Eva, will start their two-day tour of the Pilsen region todaywith a visit to the local facilities of Japanese-owned Plzeňský Prazdroj brewery, which happens to be at the center of two of the country’s current business-related disputes. Pilsner Urquell beer is made in the CR and exported to Germany and other countries, and everyone who drives across the border to shop knows that this “premium export product” is one-third cheaper in Germany than in Czech stores. Why? Because the customer is Czech. As one of the founding members of the Initiative for Deposits, Prazdroj is also drawing the ire of mu- nicipal and regional officials who don’t want to lose their substantial income from recycling PET bottles. Pres. Pavel went out of his way to visit a Czech-owned company (Colt) on his trip to the U.S. but is now visiting a foreign-owned company at home. The diplomatic solution is to use today’s visit to a major foreign investor to again put Czech interests first.

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