Czech president Václav Klaus has neither signed nor vetoed the church restitution law, showing his reservations about the law and at the same time enabling it to take effect. The law enables Czech churches to get back properties worth CZK 75bn from the state, that were confiscated from them by the communist regime after 1948.
On top of that the state will pay CZK 59bn over the next 30 years as compensations for real estate held nowadays by municipalities, regions or individuals. Klaus claims to be concerned that the church restitution law will contribute to the political polarization of the Czech society and may harm the position of churches.
Czech political parties did not reach agreement on the church restitutions and majority of public is against it because of the high payout to the church it entails. Passage of the law was crucial for the stability of the current government, and Klaus said he did not want to escalate the level of political tension in the country by vetoing the law.
