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Emperor Charles IV's coronation procession was one of the events marking the launch of the European Heritage Days in Prague last weekend. It is the first time that a post-communist country has been chosen to kick off the Europe-wide event.

Jeremy Rifkin is an American economist, philosopher, university professor and writer. He has written numerous books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, and has also been an advisor to many European politicians, including the former EU Commission president, Romano Prodi. He is very critical of the political right in the United States, and in his newest book, The European Dream, he suggests that the more social and collective approach to economic development that is often associated with Europe offers a powerful alternative

It has been just over a year since the Czech Republic joined the EU and the report card, in a sense is in. This week the European Commission released the results of the latest Eurobarometer poll - the first since ten new countries joined. It shows that Czechs - often seen as somewhat sceptical about the EU - are feeling increasingly satisfied with membership.

Finance Minister 'convinced' Unipetrol privatisation was transparent; Czech Republic pushes back target date for Euro adoption to 2010; First ever Czech foreign trade surplus posted for month of July; American broadcasting group CME has bought Galaxie Sport from PPF; Cabinet's draft bankruptcy law would give creditors' greater power; Denmark's Lego Group to relocate Swiss factory to the Czech Republic

The Czech government has approved a bankruptcy bill that should facilitate bankruptcies and increase creditors' powers. The Czech Republic has long been criticised for its existing bankruptcy legislation with proceedings dragging on for years and creditors in the end receiving only 17 percent of their claims, the lowest percentage in the EU. Bankruptcies in the Czech Republic by far exceed settlement with creditors. Some 4,000 petitions for bankruptcy are filed every year in the Czech Republic, while the cases of settlement number just several dozen.

The Czech Finance Ministry announced on Tuesday that the country wants to adopt the euro by 2010, around a year later than previously planned. The news came as little surprise - some officials have been admitting for some time that 2010 is the earliest date feasible, and even that, say analysts, is optimistic.

The Czech government will try to persuade EU states to axe their limits on Czechs entering their labour markets as of next April, Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek said on Monday. The Prime Minister said the government would particularly target France, Italy and the Netherlands. Only three EU member states - Britain, Ireland and Sweden -opened their labour markets fully to the Czech Republic when it joined the block in May 2004. The Prime Minister said the limitations could create the undesirable impression that Czechs are second class EU members.

Over 14,000 Czechs and 24,000 Slovaks have registered for work in the United Kingdom since May 1, 2004 when the Czech Republic and Slovakia joined the European Union along with eight other countries. According to the latest UK statistics, over 230,000 workers from the new member states have registered in the UK since last May; more than 50 percent of them Poles.

Former president Vaclav Havel is the greatest euro-optimist on the Czech political scene today while his successor Vaclav Klaus is the most euro-sceptic; this according to a poll of public perceptions by the STEM agency. Asked to name a pro-European politician, aside from Havel, respondents named three high-profile Social Democrat party members: former prime minister Stanislav Gross, the current man in the job, Jiri Paroubek, and ex-premier Vladimir Spidla, now a European Commissioner. Apart from Klaus, the poll found that people consider Civic Democrat leader Mirek Topolanek and Communist party head Miroslav Gerbenicek the most euro-sceptic Czech politicians.

A poll by the STEM agency found that only one in four Czechs want the ratification process for the EU constitution to continue. Four out of ten respondents said that the ratification process should be suspended, and nearly as many said they thought it should simply end. So far, 12 countries have ratified the treaty. Prague has joined several other capitals that have delayed or suspended plans to hold a referendum on the EU Constitution. These including London, Dublin and Copenhagen.