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Insufficient corporate governance, convoluted legislation, low investor interest — and, in the early days, the availability of easy loans with few questions asked — have for over a decade made the Czech bourse the last place domestic companies went to raise cash. That may be about to change.

In just over two weeks time Czechs will go to the polls to vote in their first ever elections to the European Parliament. Thirty one parties and political groupings are registered and fighting for voter support. From the big league players to virtual unknowns, all are telling Czechs that they alone can best serve their interests in the European Parliament.

Now that the latest EU enlargement has finally been ratified, there are some who are already thinking about the further expansion of the Union. One region that will surely be considered in regard to any future enlargement is the Balkans, which is slowly beginning to stabilise after a decade of ethnic conflict. Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla has already publicly backed the idea of pushing the EU's borders eastwards to include the Balkan countries.

Rob Cameron's guest in this week's One on One is the writer Ivan Klima, one of the most important cultural figures in the Czech Republic. Ivan Klima was born in Prague in 1931, and during the war was sent to the Terezin concentration camp - his father was Jewish, although he himself was raised as a Protestant. He later became a successful author, but was labelled a dissident by the Communist authorities and his writings were banned.

Another name has appeared on the list of unconventional candidates for the June European Parliament elections. Beside such people as the former porn star Dolly Buster and the highly controversial businessman Viktor Kozeny, also known as the Pirate of Prague, Czechs can give their votes to a real heir to the throne.

European Union foreign ministers - including the 10 newcomers - are meeting in Brussels to break the long deadlock over the proposed European Constitution. Insiders predict that 95 per cent of the draft Constitution that emerged from the Inter-Governmental Conference in December will be adopted at the June 17 - 18 meeting of the European Council. But consensus on the other 5 per cent — especially voting rights — appears elusive at best.

On Thursday the Slovak prime minister, Mikulas Dzurinda, made his first visit to Prague since both Slovakia and the Czech Republic took the historic step of joining the European Union, just three weeks ago. Mr Dzurinda and his Czech counterpart, Vladimir Spidla, signed a memorandum committing their countries - for 75 years part of the same state - to maintaining their unusually close ties within the Union. During Mr Dzurinda's visit Radio Prague's Alexis Rosenzweig spoke to Petr Jezek of the Czech prime minister's office, and asked him how he saw

This Tuesday, representatives of Roma communities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary have come together in the Moravian capital Brno to find ways of helping Roma to feel less isolated in society and improve their social standing in Central Europe. Education, employment, health care, social services, housing, and activities for the younger generation are being discussed by Roma social workers, teachers, local authority officials and representatives of ordinary Roma citizens at the two-day conference, which is part of a broader four-year

As the Czech Republic knuckles down to making the most of EU membership, the success of Ireland within the European Union is often cited as the benchmark for it to emulate. But is this a fair comparison? A discussion in Prague on Tuesday, which included former Irish Prime Minister Garret Fitzgerald, looked at lessons Czechs can learn from Ireland's experience.

What do other Europeans know about the Czechs? This Tuesday saw the release of an unusual survey in the Czech capital.