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The Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Finance have frozen an EU-funded regional development program for the north-western region of Bohemia. Regional Development Minister Kamil Jankovský said at a news conference on Monday that while certain irregularities may have been the fault of individuals, a systemic cause cannot be ruled out. The minister added that one of the reasons behind the freeze of the program was the criminal investigation of its former director. Auditors from Brussels arrived in the Czech Republic on Monday and are currently looking into possible irregularities in securing EU funds.

Czechs are more dissatisfied with EU membership than at any time since entry to the union, according to a new poll. The STEM agency survey suggests that only 41% are satisfied with the country’s membership, the lowest rate since accession in 2004. In a hypothetical referendum, 57% of respondents said they would vote against joining the EU. Almost three-quarters said they do not believe the Czech Republic is able to play an active role in the union. Public satisfaction with EU membership has decreased by 9% year-on-year. Last year the share of the satisfied and dissatisfied was almost equal.

The government’s pension reform has come under fire from the European Commission. In a report published on Wednesday the EC says that the reform is half-baked and more changes will have to be made in order to secure its long-term sustainability. It criticizes the proposed early retirement scheme as undermining the reform’s credibility and the fact that there is no clear correlation between the retirement age and life expectancy. Brussels has also urged Prague to resolve persisting problems with EU funding and redouble its efforts in fighting corruption.

Czech support of European integration is on the decline, according to a fresh survey by the American Pew Research Center. Among all eight EU member states polled, the Czech Republic sees the membership most critically. The survey also found that Czechs were especially critical of their prime minister’s approach to the debt crisis in the Eurozone. The Pew Research Center concludes that the financial crisis within the union has also spurred a deep crisis of member countries’ trust in the EU. Among the countries polled were Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Greece and the non-Eurozone members: the Czech Republic along with Poland and Great Britain.

Czechs have a very negative perception of various kinds of EU directives, according to pollsters Factum Invenio. The survey, conducted for the insurance company Česká pojišťovna, said that Ninety-one percent of respondents, for example, took notice of the regulation setting the size of cages for laying hens at farms - possibly also because egg prices grew sharply as a result of the directive. The mandatory use of energy saving bulbs and restriction of smoking at public places was also registered by most Czechs, 82%, in each case.

The EU Court of Auditors has accused Czech officials of systematically fixing the results of audits on the use of EU funds. Czech auditors allegedly decreased the number of errors in their annual audit reports to the two percent limit or lower, thus masking nearly 40% of mistakes. The Finance Ministry however has rejected the claims, which first appeared in the website Aktualne.cz. Moreover they say that there is no thought of the EU cutting its subsidies on the basis of what is only a preliminary finding.

In Business News this week: Czech government approves austerity measures but might run into problems securing EU funds; PM Nečas speaks of the consequences a Greek exit from the eurozone would have on the Czech Republic; the biggest Czech betting firm Tipsport buys its competitor; Czechs smoke less and most of them want a ban on smoking in public spaces; Czechs lie in their CVs more than other nations.

Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas on Thursday met with the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, to discuss the country’s problems in securing EU funds. Speaking after a summit of EU leaders in Brussels, the Czech PM said that problems with securing EU funds could have serious consequences for the country’s public finances and further increase the state budget deficit. In the past, auditors from Brussels slammed the Czech Republic for irregularities in EU-funded projects and threatened to suspend funds.

In Business News: the Czech economy contracts by 1.0 percent in the 1Q, the second-worst result among 19 EU states; the country’s ombudsman slams the government’s social system reforms, saying they have left thousands on the brink of poverty; the price of Czech garlic is set to go up; Czechs are budgeting more carefully and buying less when shopping in supermarkets than in previous years.

In related news, speaking after a meeting with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Petr Nečas said that his country supported Israel and its right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. He also expressed concern over Iran’s nuclear program. Mr Nečas made it clear that the Czech Republic opposes attacks on the legitimacy of Israel as a state. The Israeli PM said that he considers the Czech Republic his country’s closest ally within the EU.