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A new survey by the CVVM polling centre suggests that a third of Czechs have no knowledge of the Lisbon Treaty – a stalled EU-wide document designed to streamline the European bureaucracy. According to the poll, 43, percent of those surveyed said their knowledge of the document was “very superficial,” 80 percent stated that they had no interest in EU or Lisbon Treaty-related matters, with only 19 percent stating that they were fully aware of what the Lisbon Treaty was. The survey is likely to raise eyebrows in light of the fact that the Czech Republic will shortly assume the rotating presidency of the EU.

The war of words between the Czech and French presidents shows no sign of letting up. In comments made on Wednesday, Czech president Václav Klaus accused the French president Nicolas Sarkozy of playing a “dumb game” with the Czech Republic over EU matters. The comments came as a response to an earlier statement by the French president expressing regret that the EU flag does not hang on Czech government buildings. As was later pointed out by analysts and also Czech politicians, the EU flag only fails to hang at the President’s official residence, the Prague Castle – the Czech president has steadfastly refused to hang the flag there, arguing that the castle is a symbol of the Czech Republic and not Europe. France is the current EU president and will hand over the reigns to the Czech Republic on January 1st. It is widely assumed that many French diplomats including the French president have concerns about the direction of the impending EU presidency, particularly in light of the Czech president’s outwardly Eurosceptic stance.

Prime Minster Mirek Topolánek said on Tuesday that he plans to announce changes in the centre-right coalition government before the end of the week. A reshuffle has been on the cards ever since the coalition’s crushing defeat in regional and Senate elections in October but the prime minister had postponed the move until his own party confirmed his mandate as party leader and head of government two weeks ago. The three party ruling coalition has been racked by infighting and defections which have weakened its position in the lower house, making it difficult to push through further reforms and undermining its position ahead of the EU presidency.

One of the things Czechs want to focus on during the country’s upcoming EU presidency is deepening Europes relations with Israel. The Czechs are even hoping that a first-ever summit between the EU and Israel could be held at some point during the first six months of 2009. On Monday, the Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Aboul Gheit came to Prague for talks with Czech President Václav Klaus, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and other officials. His mission was to make sure that the voice of the Arab world is also heard, and that the Czech presidency

A two-day summit of the European Union in Brussels, which concluded on Friday, was the last before the Czech Republic assumes the rotating EU presidency. Leaders of 27 EU member states agreed on a common energy and climate policy, a recovery plan for the European economy and approved a number of Irish-inspired concessions on the Lisbon treaty. All this was good news for the Czechs who will soon be in the spotlight as the next country presiding over the European Union.

In today’s One on One, Jan Velinger’s guest is the economist Petr Mach, a former advisor to Czech President Václav Klaus and the head of the conservative think- tank CEP - the Prague-based Centre for Economic and Politics. All eyes have been on the 33-year-old since he announced recently that he and colleagues would be founding a new right-wing political party, one that would take a tougher stance on the European Union, specifically the Lisbon treaty. The idea is also to present conservative-minded voters at home an alternative to the Civic Democratic

Hundreds of token gifts are being prepared for the country’s upcoming EU presidency. What does Baby Jesus look like? Leading Czech artists have had a go at painting him. And, a gorilla wins a dieting contest. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

Citing diplomatic sources, the Czech news agency ČTK has reported that the European Commission will provide a subsidy of almost 400,000 euros for events related to the Czech EU presidency in the first half of 2009. The EC will reportedly subsidise events such as so-called “Eurofestivals” to accompany informal meetings by EU ministers. Six open-air festivals, including music and discussions, are to be held over six months. The first will take place in Luhačovice, south Moravia, during a meeting of EU labour and social affairs ministers on January 23. The last, on June 1, will complement an informal meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Brno. The remaining festivals are to take place in Olomouc, Ceské Budějovice, Karlovy Vary, and Ustí nad Labem. The EC will also subsidise a conference marking the 5th anniversary of enlargement of the EU by ten new members (including the Czech Republic) in 2004.

The fragile balance of forces on the Czech political scene has tipped slightly in favour of the opposition parties, after Social Democrat renegade and later independent Michal Pohanka announced on Thursday that he was giving up his mandate in the lower house of Parliament. This is bad news for Prime Minister Topolánek’s shaky coalition government which now has just 96 certain votes in the lower house. Once Mr. Pohanka is replaced by an MP loyal to the Social Democrats the opposition will have 97 votes at its disposal.

The Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has opposed plans put forward in the Lisbon Treaty to lower the number of EU commissioners by a third. Speaking ahead of a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, Mr. Topolánek stated that all EU states should have an EU commissioner. The comments were specifically made in response to alleged Irish demands that the country will get to keep its EU commissioner. Ireland and the Czech Republic currently stand alone in Europe as states that have not ratified the Lisbon Treaty. Speaking to the Czech news agency CŤK, the PM also stated that the tax sovereignty of the Czech Republic should be guaranteed. The Brussels meeting is designed to find a way forward following the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum earlier this year.