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The Czech government plans to make a bid for the future European institute for equal opportunities for men and women to be based in Prague. Hungary and Slovenia have also expressed interest. The proposal for such an institute to be set up, preferably in one of the EU newcomer states, was made by the Czech Euro commissioner Vladimir Spidla. If it is approved by the European Parliament, the institute should start work in 2007.

The Czech Republic issued Eurobonds worth one billion euros on Friday, the second time the country has raised money in this way. Investors have until March 18 to buy the bonds, which will come to fruition in 15 years time.

The Czech government on Wednesday approved a referendum bill that would allow the public to decide about fundamental issues relating to the country's internal and foreign policy. If it gets through parliament, it will open the door to a referendum on the EU Constitution.

The Czech Republic is world famous for its beer: but what about wine? Since the fall of communism in 1989, both new and established winemakers began buying high-quality, select grapes from abroad — in any case, the Czech climate precludes mass production of the cheaper table wines abundant in the Mediterranean — and in the years ahead of accession to the European Union, a mad rush to plant new seedlings saw a veritable bounty of viniculture.

The Czech government has approved a proposal for a new constitutional law that would allow ordinary citizens hold referendums on important internal and foreign state policy. Under the bill, a referendum could not be held on issues that question constitutional principles and fail to respect the country's international obligations. Citizens would, however, be able to vote on the European constitution, which has to be ratified by all EU member states before October 2006. In order to be passed, the bill has to be supported by 120 of the 200 deputies in the lower house and three fifths of Senators.

In this week's One on One, Rob Cameron speaks to Vladimir Müller, the Czech Republic's deputy foreign minister for Europe. How will the Czech Republic ratify the EU constitution, with a eurosceptic president installed in Prague Castle and continued political turmoil delaying the announcement of a referendum?

With the British six-month presidency of the EU starting in July, the UK Minister for Europe Denis MacShane made a one-day trip to the Czech Republic on Thursday to discuss various European issues with his Czech counterparts. As well as meeting the Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda, Minister MacShane gave a lecture at Prague's Charles University on a matter that has aroused great controversy in both countries - the planned European constitution.

It has been three months since the new European Commission was sworn in. Among its 25 members there are also ten commissioners from the new EU countries. The European Commissioner from the Czech Republic - its former Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla - is responsible for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. How has he been doing in his new position? What are his policy priorities?

The president of the United States, George Bush, is in Europe at the moment, on a visit that is being seen as a concerted effort to patch up US-European relations. On Tuesday he was in Brussels for a NATO meeting, which was also attended by the Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, and the Czech prime minister, Stanislav Gross. I spoke to Radio Prague's Gerald Schubert, who is in Brussels, and began by asking him what Mr Klaus and Mr Gross had to say on the issue of US-European relations.

The Czech President Vaclav Klaus will attend Tuesday's meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels with US President George W. Bush. The Czech Prime Minister Stanislav Gross was originally scheduled to attend the meeting along with president Klaus but Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, rejected the participation of two Czech representatives. Both Mr Klaus and Mr Gross will attend this week's meeting of NATO leaders with Mr Bush.