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Thursday saw the launch of a new three way Czech dictionary; giving the English, German and French translations of thousand of Czech words. While the dictionary is far too big to be taken on holiday - its makers are hoping that it will enable citizens of the EU to discuss the issues that affect them, and keep up with what's happening in Brussels. Rosie Johnston was at the launch...

One out every four Members of the European Parliament — and two-thirds of the Czech MEPs — last month voted against adopting the European Constitution, that rather lengthy and complex document designed to govern relations between the now 25 EU Member States. Most Czech MEPs said they rejected the European Constitution because of the proposed formulas by which countries are "weighted" — meaning how much voting power they will have in future. If you have no idea what we're talking about, you're in good company —a newly released survey by the Eurobarometer agency

President Vaclav Klaus has warned that the Czech Republic may not be able to ratify the EU Constitution within the EU-set date, if the Constitutional Court does not launch a serious debate on the compatibility of the Czech and EU constitutions, according to the president's spokesman Petr Hajek. The President recently wrote a private letter to the head of the Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetsky asking him for his views on the subject of compatibility of the two constitutions and whether the Czech Constitution would have to be amended before the EU Constitution could be ratified. The president's spokesman said that Mr. Rychetsky's written answer had disappointed the president.

The latest Eurobarometer poll suggests that support for the EU Constitution among the public has grown in the past year with two thirds of Czechs now supporting it.

A new Eurobarometer survey suggests that the level of support for the European Union Constitution in the Czech Republic is at its historic high but also that Czechs are among the biggest Euro-sceptics in the EU. Last autumn almost two thirds of Czechs said they supported the EU Constitution, which is by 15 percent more than a year ago. Less than 50 percent of Czechs see EU membership as an advantage.

According to a newly released study, last year 308,308 people in the Czech Republic were licensed gun-owners. That's about 3 percent of the population. The Czech Interior Ministry says that about 632,000 firearms are now legally held in private hands, but the number of registered owners is on the decrease.

The Czech Republic received seven billion crowns (over 300 million US dollars) from the European Union more than it paid in during its first year as a member, the Czech Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The country contributed 18 billion crowns to the EU budget, but received almost 25 billion in compensation payments and from various funds. The difference was greater than Czech officials predicted at accession talks in Copenhagen in 2002.

There was good news for the Czech economy on Friday, when figures were released showing that 2004 saw the lowest foreign trade deficit since 1993. Both imports and exports increased last year after the Czech Republic joined the European Union, with exports rising particularly sharply. The industry and trade minister, Milan Urban, said in terms of euros per capita, the Czech Republic's foreign trade results exceeded those of countries like Spain and Greece, and were on the same level as the United Kingdom.

The Czech Institute of International Relations has just published a book on the evolution of Czech foreign policy since the country split from Slovakia in 1993. The book provides an in-depth look at the country's dealings with its foreign neighbours up to the time of EU accession in 2004.

European Parliament members from Eastern Europe are calling for a ban on communist symbols such as the hammer and sickle if the European Union decides to outlaw Nazi symbols, such as the swastika. Lawmakers from the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia said that any such ban should also cover communist symbols because of the killings and torture suffered by people in the former Soviet Union and the countries of the Eastern Bloc. The deputies wrote to the EU's Justice, Freedom and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini to press their demand.

President Vaclav Klaus has asked the Czech Constitutional Court to evaluate whether the European Constitution complies with the Czech constitution. Mr Klaus on Wednesday wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Court, Pavel Rychetsky, asking whether the ratification of the EU constitution ought to be preceded by amendments to the Czech constitution.

President Klaus has been keen to warn Czech citizens of the implications of ratifying the European Constitution, saying it would limit the sovereignty of individual EU member states, especially smaller countries like the Czech Republic. The constitution has also been criticised by the centre-right opposition Civic Democrat and Communist parties.