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The chairman of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Valery Giscard d‘Estaing, has said the convention is a unique chance for new European Union countries, such as the Czech Republic, to decide as equal partners on the future shape of Europe. Mr Giscard made the statement after talks with Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla in Prague on Friday. Mr Giscard praised the Czech representatives at the convention, and Mr Spidla said he was pleased they were active and visible. The Convention on the Future of Europe is to prepare a new constitution for the EU by the middle of this year. The Czech Republic and nine other countries are due to join the union in May 2004.

The prime minister has also been telling journalists about his government's preparations for a mid-June referendum on European Union membership, which will be the first referendum in the country's history. Mr Spidla said the coalition's campaign would be informative and of a political character rather than a ‘sales campaign'. Government ministers will explain both the pros and cons of joining the union in the coming months, added Mr Spidla.

Only one day remains until the end of 2002, a year which has brought events both good and not so positive for the Czech Republic. In August, devastating floods hit parts of the country causing damage worth tens of billions of crowns. In November the Czech Republic hosted a historic NATO summit during which the Alliance invited seven East European states, and a month later, the country was invited to join the European Union, together with nine other countries, at the EU summit in Copenhagen. And what can the Czech Republic expect in 2003, after

The Central Bank has called on the Czech government to adopt reforms in public finances that would make it possible for the Czech Republic to adopt the currency of the European Union, the euro, as early as 2007. In a statement released on the bank's internet site Friday, the Central Bank said that analysis had shown that overall the situation was favourable for the Czech Republic to join the Eurozone relatively quickly. But, the bank stressed the need for some changes in economic policy to ensure the opportunity would not be missed. At the same time the bank has conceded that the outlook for current fiscal policy is not entirely consistent with the quick adoption of the euro. Criteria which must be met in order for the country to adopt the European currency requires, for example that the public finance deficit not exceed 3 percent of the Gross National Product. Current budget policy indicates, however, that by 2006, the public finance deficit could exceed 6 percent of the GNP.

The Central Bank has called on the Czech government to adopt reforms in public finances that would make it possible for the Czech Republic to adopt the currency of the European Union, the euro, as early as 2007. In a statement released on the bank's internet site Friday, the Central Bank said that analysis had shown that overall the situation was favourable for the Czech Republic to join the Eurozone relatively quickly. But, the bank stressed the need for some changes in economic policy to ensure the opportunity would not be missed. At the same time the bank has conceded that the outlook for current fiscal policy is not entirely consistent with the quick adoption of the euro. Criteria which must be met in order for the country to adopt the European currency requires, for example that the public finance deficit not exceed 3 percent of the Gross National Product. Current budget policy indicates, however, that by 2006, the public finance deficit could exceed 6 percent of the GNP.

The right-of-centre Civic Democratic Party, the ODS, has criticised the terms for the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union, negotiated at the EU summit in Copenhagen last week. The summit saw the Czech Republic, along with nine other candidate countries invited to join the European Union in May 2004. On Wednesday ODS deputy chairman Jan Zahradil proposed the Lower House pass a resolution calling the results of the negotiations "unsatisfactory". He called the EU's terms worse than in previous expansion, and added the EU was poorly prepared for expansion in general. During the debate on the issue, the Freedom Union's Pavel Svoboda, the head of the Chamber of Deputies' European integration committee, countered Mr Zahradil by saying it was "a petty debate", adding that the Czech Republic would have missed an historic chance if it hadn't come to an agreement now. Mr Svoboda called on the Lower House to pass a resolution saying EU accession talks had been a success. In the end the Civic Democrats' proposal was voted down, while the government's assessment passed.

Less than a month after the Czech Republic hosted a historic NATO summit - which invited seven former Eastern Bloc nations to join in a landmark expansion, the country took part in another important conference, this time in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The European Union extended invitations to ten mostly ex-communist candidate countries after completing tough negotiations which followed years of preparations on both parts.

The Czech delegation returned home from the Copenhagen EU summit with a satisfactory deal on the Temelin nuclear power station which has for years been a thorn in the eye of neighbouring anti-nuclear Austria. In recent years some pressure groups in Austria have threatened to try and block the Czech Republic's accession to the EU unless Temelin is shut down. Austria's far-right Freedom Party went as far as to launch a nation-wide referendum in January this year in an effort to make the shutdown of Temelin a condition for Czech EU entry. Although

Leaders of the European Union reached a historic agreement in the Danish capital Copenhagen on Friday, setting out the financial terms for expanding the EU to take in ten new countries, the Czech Republic among them. Those expecting the summit to run into difficulty were proved wrong - the EU 15 and the ten leading candidates for membership managed to reach a compromise, and there is now little to prevent them joining in 2004. Rob Cameron was in Copenhagen, and brings back a special report.

Two topics dominate today's front pages, the EU summit in Copenhagen and Sunday's election of the new chairman of the opposition Civic Democratic Party at the party's congress in the West Bohemian spa town of Frantiskovy Lazne.