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A group of experts from the Un's nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, is in Hungary to report on the safety of the country's only power station, Paks. A reactor at the plant has been out of service after an accident left 30 fuel rods stranded in a cleaning tank close to the reactor. The plant's operators insist it is safe - but this hasn't stopped greenpeace activists protesting and calling for it's closure.

In poland the debate on the European Constitution is focussed on the way it addresses so-called Christian values. There are those who fear the EU may have the power to revoke Polish laws, like the controversial abortion ban. A left-wing party which is part of the ruling coalition has called for a liberalisation of the abortion law. This was siezed on by the anti-abortion lobby as an example of Poland being dictated to by the EU.

Slovenia will be one of those small Central European States joining in May next year and its politicians are emphasising the need to keep Slovenia's identity and sovereignty while at the same time being European.. ALojz Peterle, a former Slovenian Foreign Minister, talks about his experience as member of the convention on the future of Europe.

The second largest of the E.U candidate countries, the Czech Republic, has been holding a referendum this weekend on whether to join the European Union next year. But as they vote it remains unclear how many of them may in future choose to exercise one of their key rights as citizens of the union - the freedom to work in other EU states.

Poland like Austria has no nuclear power stations. But there are currently 72 power stations in Europe - including 2 in the Czech Republic, 2 in Slovakia, 1 in Hungary and 1 in Slovenia. The Krsko nuclear plant in Slovenia produces nearly 50 % of the country's electricity. But Greenpeace says Krsko doesn't meet EU security standards. It accuses the government of ignoring both demands from the EU and the fears of the local community about a nuclear accident. Are these claims justified?

At first sight the tiny vilage of Brhlovce in western Slovakia might not not seem worth a visit. There's no mobile phone signal, no water supply and just a handful of houses. So what is it that draws thousands of tourists to the village every year? For a start the accomodation is quite unusual...

In a referendum last weekend 78% of Poles said a big 'yes' to EU membership. But is the Polish government stable enough to now push through much needed reform ahead of EU entry?

A petition for a nuclear-free Europe is currently underway in Austria. It's been organised by Greenpeace. The environmental group wants to do away with the Eurotom treaty which regulates nuclear power in Europe. The agreement dates back to the 1950s and may remain unchanged as part of the EU constitution. Greenpeace is also asking Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel to form an alliance of anti nuclear states.

Anti-nuclear activists in Austria and Hungary are urgently calling for Hungary's only nuclear power plant, Paks to be shut down. The calls for closure follow a series of incidents in which radiation reportedly escaped from the plant. Still a recent survey of the Median Research Institute shows -that only 22 per cent of Hungarians are in favour of an immediate closure of the Paks plant.

In this week's , Poles head to the ballot box for the country's EU referendum, as the final leg of the Czech referendum campaign gets underway. We ask why the Slovak government has decided to introduce doctor's fees and increase the cost of prescriptions. Meanwhile in neighbouring Austria, strikes are held across the country in protest at the government's plans to reform the pension system. And as we hear in this week's programme, the thorny problem of pension reform is a region-wide issue.