Prague  - Czech financial group PPF said Tuesday it plans to withdraw its takeover offer for Czech generics drug maker Zentiva, pulling out from a bidding war with French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis.

"The reasons for our step lie in reasonable doubts about the real value of the company and also in recent attitudes of Zentiva's management," the financial group said in a statement.

Prague  - The Czech Republic welcomed the arrest of Serbian war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic as "a positive signal" by Serbia's new democratic government that brings Belgrade closer to the European Union, the Czech Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

The move opened a path to "much more intense relations between Serbia and the European Union", which would gradually bring Belgrade to the EU, the ministry said in a statement.

Prague - European Union membership candidate Croatia could join the bloc under the Treaty of Nice, which has defined EU institutions since 2003, rather than the still to be ratified Lisbon Treaty, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said Monday.

"The EU enlargement is not related to the Lisbon Treaty. ... Formally it would be possible to expand the current Nice Treaty by some amendment," he told reporters.

Prague - Czech power utility CEZ and Hungarian energy firm MOL are to set up a joint venture to build gas-fired power plants in eastern Europe, the companies said Monday.

MOL and CEZ are each to hold a 50 per cent stake and equal voting rights in the new company with a 8.3 million euros in fixed capital, CEZ said in a statement.

The venture, CM European Power International, plans to invest in gas-fired power plants in Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia and Slovenia, the company said.

Prague  - The quickly firming Czech koruna broke a new set of records Monday, appreciating by nearly 19 per cent against the euro and 30 per cent against the dollar in the past year.

The koruna, which first broke the psychological threshold of 23 koruny per euro on Friday, was trading for 22.92 koruny per euro and 14.44 koruny per dollar on Monday, according to Next Finance consultancy.

Analysts say the fast-paced appreciation is driven by speculation. "It is a bubble. The koruna is unreasonably strong," said Next Finance chief economist Vladimir Pikora.

Prague- The Czech Olympic Committee Wednesday nominated 130 Czech competitors f