In the light of the 79th anniversary of the founding of the first Czechoslovak republic, Mlady Svet carries an article on Czech- Austrian relations today. Gone are the days when Jaroslav Hasek made fun of the Austrian emperor to Czechs'delight . Today Czechs and Austrians are re-discovering their common roots and Austria is an influential modern state which may assist the one-time rebellient Czechs in the process of EU admission, the weekly says. Today Austrians barely remember a time when Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians were part of their empire, since then Austria has moved towards prosperity, while the latter three countries spent four decades under communism. Business relations renewed after the fall of the Iron Curtain reflect this. " For many Czech firms a contract is a scrap of paper - Viennese-born architect Georg Lizner, who is of Czech descent, told Mlady Svet's reporter. Gone are times when a handclasp with a Czech businessman was binding" . Many people agree that the times when skilled Czech craftsmen had the proverbial "golden hands" and honesty was considered the best policy are well and truly gone, stifled under communism.

But some Czech craftsmen have renewed the family tradition and are the exception to the rule. Vienna -the historic city which bears a close resemblance to Prague - is full of reminders that Czechs once lived here and helped build it. At the time of the Austro- Hungarian empire three hundred thousand Czechs lived in Vienna and literally built half the city. Their cuisine became part of the Austrian cuisine. Czech pancakes, soups and strudel, or apple pie, are as popular in Vienna today as the traditional Hungarian goulash. To this day 80% of all Austrian dress makers are of Czech descent. When Austrians come to Prague they alone of all foreign visitors truly relish an hour spent in one of Prague's coffee and pastry houses - the local sachertorte is as mouthwatering as their own as are the hundreds of cream cakes and delicacies which Czechs and Austrians take with their coffee. For this reason too when Czechs fled the communist regime few wanted to go further than Vienna. It wasn't home but it was a fair resemblance. And Austria was generous with its hospitality. Whenever the former Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitsky wanted to emphasize the close ties between Austria and the Czech republic he would joke about the fact that premier Klaus' name was typically Austrian while his was typically Slav. And when Austria recently sent a lung specialist to see the ailing President Havel his name was Walter Klepetko - as Czech as they come. Today's Czech community in Austria is small - made up largely of the emigres who came after 1968 and they had no intention of building up a Czech community - their aim was to integrate and to integrate fast. The majority had no trouble doing so. "Of all the minorities in Austria Czechs give us the least trouble" the Austrian Die Presse wrote recently. There are no requests for bi-lingual signs or Czech to be used as an official language. Its almost as if they weren't a minority at all. ..

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While Czechs in Austria melt in the crowd - Czech Romanies in Dover have made themselves very visible. As the number of asylum seekers grew by the day -to the present 800 - the initially polite and reserved response of the mid-sized English town turned to open anger and hostility.

As the Prague Post reports, rumours are rife of over-generous state handouts, thieving and shoplifting binges. Almost no one has a good word to say about them here. "They can all go back to where they came from" says one local resident in much more colourful language. Another claims resentment has reached bursting point " There's going to be a God Almighty punch up - I can see it coming " he told the weekly. "It's a scandal" said Terry McNeill, an unemployed mechanic living in Dover. When one of us goes up for benefits we get thrown back time and time again. But they're giving money out to those gypsies like it was going out of fashion. And it's all going to come out of our bloody taxes."

Local officials are equally angry, the Prague Post notes. Each Romany costs the town 250 pounds a week - the Romany influx could cost the town up to two million -40% of the areas's reserve funds - and they want the British government to provide the cash. The Romany influx is so huge it has become a national responsibility, they claim. So far the British government is refusing to pay.

Jiri Hodac of the weekly Tyden notes in this respect that President Havel is not likely to have an easy time when he visits Britain. The president, who has had to postpone the visit due to a viral infection, is to meet with British prime minister Tony Blair to discuss the Romany exodus and among other things receive the Oxford University Award for promoting human rights and understanding on a global scale. However the warm welcome is likely to be peppered with some uncomfortable questions as to why Czech Romanies are fleeing the country. As for the Romanies themselves one of the 800 who are currently in Dover have challenged the Czech president to come to them for a face to face confrontation over the issue.