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The Czech Republic has so far failed to make full use of its membership of the European Union, the country’s prime minister, Bohuslav Sobotka, said after a meeting with Mr. Van Rompuy. Mr. Sobotka said the failure did not just concern accessing potential EU funding but also the Czech Republic’s ability to put forward its views and interests at European level. He said his centre-left government aimed to return the country to the mainstream of European integration.

Elections to the European Parliament are just over three weeks away, but as far as campaigning goes there is little to show for it in the Czech Republic. Low-cost campaigns and a notable lack of debate on European issues precede what look to be the lowest-profile elections in 2014. I asked Jakub Janda from the Prague-based European Values think tank why this is so.

Former Czech president and self styled euro realist Václav Klaus has said that the Czech Republic currently has no influence in the European Union. Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the country’s membership of the EU, Klaus said that what little influence the country might have had disappeared with the EU’s Lisbon Treaty. It had handed more powers to big states at the expense of the small, he said. Klaus said current Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka was kidding himself when he pretended Prague had a big role to play.

The performance of Czech members of the European Parliament is below average, according to the results of a study published by the European Values think tank. Out of an overall 22 Czech MEPs, Oldřich Vlasák of the Civic Democrats, Zuzana Roithová of the Christian Democratic Party and Olga Sehnalová of the Social Democrats were rated the most active, while the work morale of the others was mediocre to poor. The study evaluated the MEP's participation in meetings, the number of tabled resolutions, and the frequency of their speeches. It also involved a comparison with the work of MEPs from other countries.

The Czech foreign minister, Lubomír Zaorálek, on Monday began a three-day visit to Beijing aimed at improving relations with China in an attempt to boost trade between the two countries and attract Chinese investors to the Czech Republic. The two sides are expected to sign a proclamation with which Prague will commit itself not to question the occupation of Tibet. The Czech government’s decision, driven by the need to diversify the country’s business interests and break its export dependence on the EU has come under fire from human rights activists. Czech government officials counter that Prague is only adopting the official EU policy line towards China. It is the first visit to Beijing by a Czech foreign minister in 15 years.

Czech president Miloš Zeman is hosting a two day conference in Prague starting Thursday on the European Union’s relations with states from the former Soviet Union, the so-called Eastern Partnership. At least nine presidents are scheduled to take part, including those of Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Ukraine’s acting foreign minister Andrii Deshchytsia is also expected to attend. The Eastern Partnership was created five years ago with the then Czech presidency of the European Council a major impulse behind the move.

In his opening speech Eastern Partnership conference speech, President Zeman called on representatives to consider what sort of offer as intermediaries they could make in the current tension between Ukraine and Russia. The situation there could escalate into either invasion or civil war, and perhaps both, he warned. It would be too late for meaningful mediation if there were thousands of dead on each side it, Zeman said. The Eastern Partnership was a long term process which, while not laying down the foundation for EU membership, did seek to ensure that the EU had good neighbours on its borders, the Czech president added.

Comparative data released by the Czech Statistics Office on the 10th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s accession to the European Union indicate that the country’s export-oriented economy greatly benefited from the move. In the past ten years the country has seen its exports more than double.

The Czech Republic is facing proceedings at the EU’s Court of Justice over restricting the political rights of EU nationals residing in the country. They can run in local and European elections but are not allowed to join Czech political parties or form their own. This goes against EU law, and although lawmakers had years to adapt Czech legislation, efforts to end the discrimination have only recently got underway.

The European Commission announced on Wednesday it would continue its proceedings against the Czech Republic, along with Poland and Latvia, over the countries’ restrictions of EU nationals’ political rights. Under Czech law, citizens of other EU member states are not allowed to join a political party or form their own, and are at a disadvantage to local citizens when exercising their right to stand as candidates in local and European elections. That is contrary to EU law and goes against the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of nationality, according to the European Commission. The Czech Republic and the other two countries now have two months to address the issue or face proceedings at the EU Court of Justice.