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Prime Minister Petr Nečas is on a one-day working visit to Finland. He is scheduled to meet with his Finnish counterpart Jyrki Katainen and will be received by President Sauli Niinisto. On Friday morning the Czech prime minister addressed the Czech-Finnish Business Forum at a meeting of the European Democratic Union, an alliance of European conservative parties. Finland is an important trading partner for the export-dependent Czech economy, with a stable interest in Czech engineering products and Škoda cars. The Czech side is hoping to raise its traditional export commodities and is seeking new business opportunities in the fields of infrastructure and power production.

To be approved by the Czech Parliament, an Irish opt-out from the EU’s Lisbon treaty will require a three-fifth majority in both chambers, the Czech government said on Wednesday. The cabinet adopted the view that the opt-out from judicial and home affairs coordination complemented the European Union’s primary law, and as such needed to be approved by the so-called constitutional majority of lawmakers. Czech MPs and Senators may however choose to follow a different procedure in voting on the opt-out, the CTK news agency said.

In related news, President Miloš Zeman said on Wednesday that he would like the Czech Republic to be part of what he termed the EU ‘hard’ core or mainstream. The president outlined that, in his view, the EU needed joint foreign, defence and fiscal policies, as well as a harmonization of the tax system. His position differs from the more reserved stance taken by the country’s government led by Prime Minister Petr Nečas, although the country’s foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg, the chairman of TOP 09, is 'pro-Europe'. On Wednesday, the prime minister indicated that the government's foreign policy would not change because of the ceremonial flag-hoisting.

The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and the Czech president, Miloš Zeman, raised the flag of the European Union over Prague Castle on Wednesday morning. The move signals a marked change from the era of the previous Czech president, Václav Klaus, who refused to fly the EU flag.

President Zeman also signed an addendum to the bloc’s Lisbon Treaty enabling the creation of a rescue fund, which is also something that his eurosceptic predecessor refused to do. The president called the signing “symbolic” in importance as the fund has been functioning since last autumn. He also said that he was “convinced” that by the time the Czech Republic adopts the European currency, problems like those faced by Cyprus and Greece today will have been overcome.

This year’s flu season was markedly worse than in previous in terms of related deaths, the Chief Hygiene Officer Vladimír Valenta has said. The flu claimed 124 lives; 88 percent of those who succumbed were suffering from other respiratory illnesses or had heart conditions. According to the hygiene officer, a large part of the population underestimated the benefits of getting a flu shot; only five percent get the shot, compared to the EU average of 20 percent. Most of the flu cases this season were A/H1N1.

Czech President Miloš Zeman has made a gesture to distinguish himself from his predecessor in the eyes of Europe. While the eurosceptic Václav Klaus refused to fly the EU flag, on Wednesday Mr. Zeman raised the symbol over Prague Castle in the company of the head of the European Commission. The recently installed head of state also ratified the eurozone’s rescue fund.

The president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, is due to arrive in Prague on Tuesday evening for a short visit. Mr. Barroso will be welcomed by the Czech president, Miloš Zeman. On Wednesday morning the two officials will raise the flag of the European Union above Prague Castle; the move will signal a marked change from the era of the previous Czech president, Václav Klaus, who refused to fly the EU flag. President Zeman will also sign an addendum to the bloc’s Lisbon Treaty enabling the creation of a rescue fund, which is also something that his eurosceptic predecessor refused to do.

The percentage of senior citizens in Czech society is on the rise. However, it is still below the EU average. That is according to a Eurostat study quoted by the Czech News Agency. The survey, carried out between 1992 and 2012, found that the portion of over 65s in the Czech Republic grew from 19.1 percent to 23.4 percent over the decade in question. However, the EU average climbed to 26.8 percent in the same period.

An audit by the European Commission has arrived at the conclusion that the Czech Finance Ministry is partly to blame for malpractices in the process of drawing of EU funds in the Ustecky and Karlovy Vary regions, Czech Radio said on Thursday. Shirin Wheeler, a spokeswoman for the EU commissioner for regional policy, said the EC audit has confirmed both shortcomings in public tenders and insufficient control by the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry last week suspended the payment of European subsidies to the respective regions and expects them to cover the loss from their own budgets.

The Ústí nad Labem regional council has decided not to pay its share of a 2.6-billion-crown fine that the European Commission imposed on the Ústí and Karlovy Vary regions. The regional governments were fined for problems with some of the EU funding allocated through an operational program by the regions. The Ústí council said on Monday that it is not responsible for the mishandling of grants, and the regional governor Oldřich Bubeníček said last month that the Finance Ministry should pay for at least half of the fine.