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The Finance Ministry is not planning to reserve money in the state budget, for emergency cases when an already completed project is not covered by the EU, mainly for the reasons of having violated EU rules and regulations. According to Finance Ministry spokesperson, Eva Novakova, the ministry's decision was made to force individual Czech ministries into processing and approving only the best projects that will guarantee EU funding. Should a project fail to get EU support, it will be up to the ministry responsible to cover the costs involved.

The foreign ministers of six central European countries met in the south-eastern town of Buchlovice on Friday to discuss regional cooperation and the results of the European Union summit that was held in June. At the summit in Greece, a draft constitution was presented as an attempt to form a legislative backbone for an enlarged EU after the current fifteen members welcome ten new mainly east European states next May. Fearing the larger states would become more powerful, the representatives of the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia met to find ways of jointly pushing for changes to the first draft constitution. At issue was a proposal for a simpler voting system in which a decision would pass if supported by at least half of all member states, representing at least 60 percent of the EU's population, a departure from the current system that favours small states.

Czechs are a nation of beer-lovers, and rare is the street which doesn't boast at least one pub. These vary enormously - on one end of the scale the swanky, upmarket bars that cater for tourists and the more discerning locals, and on the other, the traditional, old-fashioned Czech boozer. But that second variety - the simple Czech pub - could be under threat, as new, strict hygiene rules come into force. Rob Cameron has this report.

Mr Spidla and his Austrian counterpart Wolfgang Schuessel also said they were concerned at the prospect of "centralisation" in the European Union. The two men said it was vital to maintain the present system of equal rights for EU members. Smaller EU countries have expressed concern that the new draft EU Constitution, unveiled at the recent summit in Thessaloniki, gives too much power to bigger countries such as France and Germany. However Mr Spidla welcomed moves to give future EU members a full say in deciding on the future Constitution. The Czech Republic is among 10 countries planning to join the EU in May 2004.

This autumn will see the dramatic finale in formulating the final text of the new EU constitution, which, once complete, will provide a charter guaranteeing all EU citizens their basic rights. It's the first time such a charter will unite all EU legislation though several key points of contention remain. The Czechs for instance would like to see the continuation of the current system of a rotating EU presidency by country - to ensure fair representation across the board. The Czechs, set to join the European Union in May 2004, will also have as

Government reform plans and the future of the European Union dominate the headlines today. On the international front, the papers discuss whether the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was killed in the recent war and whether he had managed to destroy weapons of mass destruction before the US-led war erupted.

The last few days have seen two developments that could have a huge bearing on the Czech Republic's future. Firstly Czechs voted in a referendum ten days ago in favour of joining the European Union on the first of May next year. Secondly, last weekend's European Union Summit in Greece set out a first rough blueprint for reforms to the union, aimed at making the Brussels bureaucracy both more accountable and more efficient. In a few years Czechs could be in a very different EU than the one we've grown to know. To discuss these developments I'm joined

This week's topics: Our new voice - Mirna Solic. Czech towns which predominantly voted No in EU referendum. Referendum results divided into categories. Why pensioners supported EU membership. The referendum results in real numbers. Listeners quoted: Peter Genim, Adolfo Maiorana, Patricia Benti, Margret Hillson, Kenneth Brown.

The commissioner for European Union enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, also praised the Czech statement on Friday, describing it as a clear acknowledgement of European values. Mr Verhuegen said the statement confirmed the very essence of European integration, meaning bringing the people of Europe closer together and creating a firm basis for permanent peace.

The prime minister, Vladimir Spidla, has described the draft European Union constitution prepared by the European Convention as a good basis for intergovernmental talks on the future of the union. Mr Spidla was speaking at the Greek resort of Porto Carras at a conference attended by the leaders of the 15 existing EU countries and 10 countries which are set to join next May. The Czech prime minister also said on Friday that he had welcomed the opportunity to speak Czech during the negotiations; under a new rule delegates from candidate countries can now speak in their own languages at EU conferences. The Czech people voted to join the EU in the country's first ever referendum last weekend.