Senate economics committee rejects church restitution bill

The Senate economics committee has recommended that the upper house reject the government’s proposal for church restitution. The bill will be voted on next week in the Senate, which is controlled by the opposition. Should it be rejected, the proposal will head back to the Chamber of Deputies, where the government will require 101 votes to overturn the Senate vote. Under the draft legislation, the Czech state would return some 56 percent of the physical property worth around 75 billion crowns; for the rest, Czech churches and religious societies would receive some 60 billion crowns in compensation over a period of 30 years.