Final Word from Wednesday, March 23, 2022
The CR is one of the EU countries most reliant on energy from Russia and also one of the EU countries pushing the hardest for restrictions on trade with Russia. Finance Min. Zbyněk Stanjura told Václav Moravec of Czech TV on Sun. that the Fiala government wants all Russian banks to be disconnected from Swift. When asked how Europe would then pay for oil and gas, Stanjura said he really doesn't know. He understands Germany's reluctance to cut off Russia completely, he added, but the political aspect should be more important than the purely commercial one. Germany won't allow Europe to shut off the valves, but this doesn't have to be an obstacle. The Fiala government could declare a state of emergency and ban imports of Russian energy for a trial period. As Stanjura said, all democratic countries have systems in place for fuel rationing. Why not try it for a month? It would send a clear signal to Vladimir Putin, and voters would finally realize what their government is seeking. [ Czech Republic Television OVM Petr natural Ukraine ]
Glossary of difficult words
to ration - to allow each person to have only a fixed amount of (a commodity);
reliant - dependent on someone or something;
reluctance - unwillingness or disinclination to do something;
valve - a device for controlling the passage of fluid or air through a pipe, duct, etc.