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The Czech Republic has joined Poland and Germany in rejecting the European Commission´s proposal to set a 40 percent quota for women on the boards of big European companies. Czech lawmakers said the proposal was an intervention in shareholders´ rights and did not take into account the different conditions in individual member countries or in different fields of enterprise. Under the resolution, pushed through by European Commissioner Viviane Reding last November, state-run companies were expected to meet the 40 percent quota for women in 2018 and private companies in 2020. The norm would have concerned about 5000 big companies in the EU.

The Czech Republic offers the best conditions for ‘active aging’ out of all EU newcomers and is in 12th spot in the union, according to authors behind the active aging index (AAI) who presented their results in Prague on Friday. The AAI assesses factors such as employment, environment, independence of – and participation in social life and politics by – seniors, relying on statistics from individual countries. The index was completed by the Vienna-based European Centre for Social Policy and Research in cooperation with the EC and the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe. Sweden finished first in the study; Poland, Lithuania and Malta were ranked last.

Anti-Roma sentiments continue to be a major issue in the Czech society, according to an annual report by the European Network Against Racism, an advocacy group. The report says little progress has been achieved in fighting discrimination against Roma children many of whom are still placed in schools for mentally handicapped pupils. The Czech Romany community also faces attacks and discrimination on the labour market, in housing and other areas. In other EU countries, the report mainly focused on the rise of islamophobia.

Ex-president Václav Klaus is considering running for a seat in the European Parliament on the ballot of his former party, the Civic Democrats, the daily Právo reported on Thursday. If elected, Mr Klaus could become the chair of the European Conservatives and Reformists group. The eurosceptic Václav Klaus’s term as president expired earlier this month; his approval ratings were quite low when he was leaving office but commentators say that his critical stance on the EU could draw enough support from Civic Democrat voters.

The Czech Finance Ministry will not pay some 2.6 billion crowns, or more than 130 million US dollars, for regional projects that had failed to secure funding from the EU, according to a press release by Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek. The European Commission last month refused to pay for the projects organized by the Czech operational programme, ROP Northwest, over issues with the projects’ administration and lack of supervision. Mr Kalousek said the costs of the projects would have to be covered from the budgets of the respective Ústí and Karlovy Vary regions. Members of the regional representations meanwhile said that with no help from the ministry, the regions could not afford to do so.

President Miloš Zeman made his first appearance at a meeting of the centre-right cabinet on Wednesday. The debate, which was seen as a litmus test of future cooperation between the left-oriented president and the right-oriented government, went off surprisingly well.

The new Czech president, Miloš Zeman, took up office at Prague Castle on Monday, three days after being sworn in. The head of state’s first tasks included a meeting with Czech diplomats, whom he told he support international trade and would bring delegations of Czech businessmen with him on foreign trips. Mr. Zeman also told members of the diplomatic corps that combating terrorism was the common task of the international community.

On Wednesday, Mr. Zeman will meet the governors of the Czech Republic’s 13 regions. However, he has turned down an invitation from Prime Minister Petr Nečas to attend a government session on Wednesday, the first since he assumed office.

President Miloš Zeman took up his duties at Prague Castle on Monday in what is his first day in office as head of state. The chain-smoking, outspoken former prime minister has already started outlining his plans for the future; they range from establishing smoking-quarters in various parts of the castle to hoisting the EU flag on the castle premises, signaling a departure from the Eurosceptic policies of his predecessor.

There has been a mixed reaction from Czech politicians to the president’s inauguration speech. The minister of finance, Miroslav Kalousek of TOP 09, said he was disappointed that the new head of state had made no reference to foreign policy and in particular to the European Union. The Civic Democrats’ Jaroslav Kubera said the president was the only politician who could afford to speak about the media in such a way, while his party colleague Jiří Pospíšil said that while he had not welcomed Mr. Zeman’s attack on the media, he appreciated his promise to serve as a moderator between the political parties. The latter view was also endorsed by Michal Babák of Public Affairs.

Czech President Václav Klaus leaves offices on Thursday, as his second term at the helm of the country expires. Mr Klaus has been one of the country’s most distinct public figures of the post-communist era. Credited with creating a democratic political system and carrying out economic reforms in the 1990s, his presidency has been marked with controversies over his strong views on a number of issues, from global climate change to the EU.