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The Czech government decided this week that its EU ambassador Pavel Telicka will be the country's first European Commissioner. Mr Telicka would seem to have the right experience - he was the man who led the accession negotiations on behalf of the Czech government. But his nomination follows an embarrassing few days for the Czech Republic: he was only asked to do the job after the government's first choice, former Environment Minister Milos Kuzvart, changed his mind at the last minute. That's being linked to a collapse by Prime Minister Vladimir

A large number of refugees leaving Slovakia head across the border to Austria. But Austria is also having troubles dealing with the inflow of asylum seekers - its main reception centre at Traiskirchen near Vienna is full to capacity. One response from Austria has been to ask Slovakia to move its asylum centres further East - but will this solve the problem? Kerry Skyring puts the question to Roland Schönbauer - a spokesman for the UNHCR in Vienna.

Although presidential elections are not due to be held in Poland until the end of next year, there's already a good deal of speculation on the possible candidates for the post. More than that, there's already been one victim of the race.

The Czech Republic saw the number of people using the Internet rise 10 percent in January, and one person in four now has some regular access to the web. But the numbers are still low in comparison to richer neighbours like Austria or Germany, - and the main reason is the cost. Radio Prague's Rob Cameron has this report from Prague.

Asylum seekers and how to deal with the numbers arriving in Europe continues to dominate the headlines: For example, the Dutch parliament approved controversial plans this week to expel up to 26.000 so called "failed asylum seekers" - some of whom have lived in the Netherlands for years waiting for legal status. The move is unprecedented in Europe and has been condemned by human rights groups. But it's not just Western Europe countries that are debating what to do with their asylum seekers - Slovakia too, has recorded an increasing number of asylum-seekers

One of Europe's last reminders of the iron curtain and the cold war has just been removed - more than a decade after the fall of the Berlin wall. A metal fence that has separated the Italian town of Gorizia from its Slovenian neighbour Nova Gorica since 1947 has been dismantled. It's been done as a gesture to mark the former Yugoslav republic's impending EU membership.

A large the number of people in central Europe are planning to leave their countries in search of a better job. Hungary is one such country - where a large number of highly qualified research and development people, have already moved overseas. This so-called 'brain drain' problem has long been recognised - but now one young businesswoman who returned to her homeland has created an organisation to encourage other young people to move their brains - and their business - back home. Regina Saphier is the founder of the Retour Office. Sándor Laczkó

After May 1st the Roma will be the European Unions largest minority. They are arguably Europe's most marginalized and persecuted minority too - Attacked in their homelands and often rejected as spongers elsewhere. At least that's how they're being portrayed in some British newspapers at the moment. Those reports have raised fears of a flood of Roma migration after EU enlargement. But is that really likely to happen.

The giant Gabcikovo dam on the Danube River has been a source of dispute between Hungary and Slovakia for over a decade. The Project was begun by Hungary and the former Czechoslovakia in 1977. The goal was to dam the Danube, all the way from Bratislava to Budapest and so generate lots of clean hydroelectric energy. The Dam was eventually finished by Slovakia after Hungary pulled out of the project in 1989. Hungary now says the re-channeling of the Danube for the dam has caused the Northern Hungarian region of Szigetkoz to dry up. Radio Budapest's

The Czech and Slovak governments this week appealed to the 15 European Union members to open their labour markets. Their appeal comes as Sweden, Britain and others say they will block migration from the new member states if there's a rush after the first of May when the EU enlarges - going against a long European tradition of free movement of labour. Britain says it will restrict social security benefits to prevent what Prime Minister Tony Blair calls the "pull factor" but insists it's not going back on a pledge to open its labour market to the