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Risk capital, private equity or venture capital; whatever you choose to call it, investment in high-risk but high-yield start-up companies has been rather sluggish here, according to the Chairman of the Czech Venture Capital Association, Jaroslav Horak. According to a recent survey of the EVCA, the European venture capital association, there is plenty of room for improvement in the Czech legal and tax environment.

The Czech government delegation to the EU summit in Brussels returned home to an ongoing domestic crisis. While other EU heads of government faced criticism over the adoption of the first European Constitution, the Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla is literally fighting a battle for survival. Following a stormy debate over the weekend, he has decided to put not only his own future but that of the entire Cabinet on the line - by calling a vote of confidence in the three party governing coalition.

European Union leaders met again in Brussels on Friday after failing to choose a new EU president in talks the day before. Brian Kenety spoke with Radio Prague correspondent A.R., who is covering the EU summit, on the Czech agenda at the talks, the likely shape of the EU Commission, and whether Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla still has a "mandate" to negotiate after his party's poor showings in the recent EU elections.

Crown drops on fears of political instability. Draft 2005 budget in circulation. Tax breaks for married couples, families with children. Popular Eurobond issue increased by 50 percent. Power utility faces $25m arbitration claim.

Czech leaders join their EU colleagues in Brussels this week, for a summit expected to be dominated by tough talks on the planned European Constitution. However even if the EU does manage to hammer out a compromise, the document's future is far from assured. Many governments - including the Czech government - have hinted they will put the draft to their people in a referendum. But could this be inviting failure, in the wake of European Parliament elections characterised by apathy on one hand and success for Eurosceptics on the other?

The governing coalition led by Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla was soundly defeated at the weekend in this country's first-ever European parliamentary elections. But anger against incumbent governments and a shift to the right were not unique to the Czech Republic.

With thirty percent of support, the opposition right-of-centre Civic Democrats are clearly the winners of the European parliamentary elections. Jan Zahradil, will be one of the nine Czech Civic Democrats spending the next five years in Brussels:

In the first ever European Parliament elections in the Czech Republic, the largely unreconstructed opposition Communist Party took second place with 20.26 percent, or six seats out of the 24 available for Czech Euro-MPs. Pavla Horakova asked the Communists' number one candidate, Miloslav Ransdorf, why he thought his party was so successful in the election.

In the past four days, over forty percent of the electorate in the twenty-five European Union member states went to the polls to elect new members to the European Parliament. Just a week before the elections, the EU commissioner for enlargement Gunter Verheugen warned voter apathy could result in the election of anti-EU factions: "I must say that I'm really worried about the fact that everywhere low turn out can produce strange results. There is the danger that even anti-European formations and organisations could win sufficient support to have

Both rightist and leftist opposition parties beat the ruling centre-left coalition in the European Parliament election at the weekend, just weeks after the Czech Republic joined the European Union. With all votes counted, the parliamentary opposition parties won 15 seats to just four for the coalition. The left-of-centre Social Democrat party won just two of 24 seats on offer.