Word: kodytek
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Dates: during 2005-2005
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...Europe having such a hard time creating jobs? Ask Svatoslav Kodytek and Tomas Lenc, two florists from southern Bohemia in the Czech Republic. Soon after their country joined the European Union last May, they tried to open two shops across the Austrian border, in the quaint medieval townlet of Gmünd and in nearby Waidhofen. They planned to hire locals, but ran into roadblocks from the very start. First, Gmünd's labor office told them bluntly that no more flower shops were needed in the area. Undeterred, they set up their stores. Authorities then took two months...
...take six months. The authorities quickly swooped in and fined them ?1,500 for illegally employing the florists. Enough was enough. At the end of last year, the two men shut down their Austrian operation just five months after opening the first store. "We were treated like interlopers," says Kodytek, 54, who, with Lenc, lost about ?27,000 in the failed venture. The authorities "were not looking for a way to make it possible for us to function. They were looking for a way to stop us functioning...
...Back in the Czech Republic, florists Kodytek and Lenc are nursing their wounds. Lenc is still fuming over a six-page letter from the Austrian Labor Ministry explaining why it is refusing his request for a florist's license - and informing him that he can appeal the decision for a fee of ?180. The mayor of Gmünd, Otto Opelka, who says his town is keen for new business blood, blames teething troubles; this was the first time a Czech firm had opened in the area. "In the future, things will run more smoothly," he says. "I think...
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