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In 1989, at the time of the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia, most of the international media focused on those events. Even later, during the process of transition to democracy, the Czech Republic occasionally caught the attention of the world. Today - 15 years after the fall of communism - events in this country have disappeared from the front pages of the international press. Why is that? And does this lack of interest work both ways? Are Czechs interested in what's going on in other countries?

The Czech government has earmarked 200 million crowns or 6.6 million euros for a public information campaign on the EU Constitution. According to the head of the government's department for European affairs, Petra Masinova, the campaign will be explicitly informational in its first stage and will reflect different opinions. The government of Prime Minister Paroubek has not yet decided how the treaty will be ratified, although the Prime Minister has indicated that he favours a referendum.

The exact nature of a Czech-run camp where hundreds of Roma—mainly children—died from disease, hunger or abuse during the German occupation has long been a polarising issue for the nation's politicians. But the stench of the pig farm built above the mass graves of the Lety u Pisku "concentration camp" back in the 1970s has now, metaphorically speaking, travelled all the way to Brussels. The Czech Republic has been singled out in a European Parliament resolution for failing to remove the pig farm and create "a graceful memorial" to honour victims

More than fifty percent of Czechs believe that the European Union should have a common constitution, according to a recent poll carried out by the CVVM polling agency. Six out of ten respondents said that a referendum should decide on the approval of the EU constitution in the Czech Republic and an absolute majority of respondents said that they were not informed about the content of the European constitution at all. The new government of Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek announced that the ratification of the EU Constitution was its top priority.

The new Czech prime minister, Jiri Paroubek, has laid out the policy programme of his coalition government. At a news conference in Prague on Tuesday, the prime minister said its main objective would be to ratify the European Union Constitution. He said he hoped the issue would be put to a public referendum at the same time as general elections next summer. The prime minister also said he would support exports and small and medium-sized businesses.

Mr Paroubek's new government faces its first test on Friday, when it will undergo a vote of confidence. The prime minister says he is positive it will receive the backing of all 101 government deputies.

On Tuesday morning Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek presented the policy agenda of the new government. Or should we say 'new-old' government, as all but four Cabinet ministers from the previous government of Prime Minister Stanislav Gross remain in office. The new governing coalition also consists of the same political parties as before - led by the Social Democrats. What are the priorities of this new-old government? How do they differ from those of the previous government?

The Vice-President of the European Commission, Margot Wallstrom, who's on a visit to the Czech Republic, has presented her ten arguments in favour of the adoption of the EU Constitution. The CTK news agency wrote that although she never mentioned the Czech President Vaclav Klaus, Ms Wallstrom's ten arguments came across as a response to Mr Klaus's ten objections to the EU Constitution that he recently published. While Mr Klaus warns that European countries will lose their right to create their own laws and the Czech Republic's decision-making power will be reduced, Ms Wallstrom argues that the constitutional treaty will bring fairer and more efficient decision-making in the EU and will simplify its legal system.

President Vaclav Klaus's office has rejected a call from the chairman of the Lower House of Parliament, Lubomir Zaoralek, for a public debate on the European Union Constitution. The president's spokesman said Mr Klaus was already leading the debate, and indeed had been the first person to raise the issue. President Klaus has been described as the only head of state in the European Union to be publicly opposed to the EU Constitution, and was recently involved in a dispute over the issue with two leading members of the European Parliament.

Meanwhile, the government European affairs information committee has said a planned campaign to persuade Czechs to vote Yes to the Constitution will cost slightly less than originally planned. However, it is still not clear whether ratification will be decided by a referendum or by Parliament.

This time last year, the Czech Republic joined the EU amid much fanfare. But now that the country has been an EU member for over a year, what effect has it actually had? One Year On, a conference held by Czech Europhiles in Prague on Wednesday set about tackling this very question.

Roztoky, which is just a fifteen minute drive from Prague, is a quiet little town overlooking the River Vltava. With the exception of its beautiful chateau, it is not a place that has tended to attract much attention. That was until last month, when a row broke out between town councillors and some local residents over an order that the administration said had come from Brussels.