Prague - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs a grouping of the 16 countries that use the euro, said Thursday that Europe may see a "timid" economic revival in late 2010 if new financial sector regulations and stimulus packages kick in.

"If the rules of new regulation really enter into effect and stimulus plans will be enforced on both sides of the Atlantic, I believe that we could see the first signs of economic recovery at the end of 2010," Juncker said through an interpreter during his Prague visit.

"But this revival will be very timid at first," he added.

Prague - The Czech Republic's economy slowed down significantly in late 2008, confirming that falling demand in Western Europe was choking the export-dependent economy, revised government data showed Wednesday.

The country's gross domestic product (GDP) shrunk by 0.9 per cent in the last three months of 2008 compared to the previous quarter, the Czech Statistical Office said, revising down its earlier estimate of a 0.6-per-cent contraction.

It was the first quarter-on-quarter drop in a decade, the statisticians said.

Prague - Czech exports dived and the jobless rate climbed in early 2009, according to government data released Monday that showed that falling demand from Western Europe was pulling down the country's export-reliant economy.

The exports plunged 24 per cent in January, the largest annual drop in the Czech Republic's 16-year history, the Czech Statistical Office said.

Prague - Regulators of five Central European EU states warned Wednesday against lumping them all together in the same financial basket.

"Each of the Central European states has its specific economic and financial situation and these countries do not form any unified region," said a statement issued by Czech, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian and Slovakian authorities.

Prague - Skoda will go ahead with production of its offroad concept, the Yeti, with a production-ready model to be presented at the Geneva Motor Show, the Czech car maker has announced.

The offroader will retain the Yeti name of the concept first revealed in Geneva in 2005 and use much of the VW Tiguan technology from the parent company.

It remains unclear whether Skoda will pursue the idea of a pick-up based on the Yeti with a variable roof system that could transform a convertible into a pick-up.

Prague  - While the skiing world praised the Nordic fest that returned to Eastern Europe for the first time in nearly four decades, the event received a much sterner report card at home.

"The Czechs showed that countries have a chance even if they haven't hosted big events before," said Gian-Franco Kasper, the president of the International Ski Federation.

His statement sharply contrasted a headline in the Czech press on Monday that billed the two-week Nordic ski championships in northern town of Liberec "a dead end."