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Social Democrat leader Jiri Paroubek has said the party will adopt a constructive approach to being on the opposition benches in parliament. In an hour-long opening speech at the party's annual congress in Brno, Mr Paroubek said the Social Democrats were willing to cooperate with the new centre-right coalition government on pension, tax and health reforms as well as on reducing government bureaucracy and improving conditions for business. Nevertheless, he warned that the party could not countenance what he described as the government's "anti-social" fiscal reforms and the removal of the welfare state.

Germany, which currently holds the EU presidency, has won the consent of all twenty seven EU member states for the text of its so-called Declaration of Berlin, which is intended to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome - the document that paved the way for the establishment of the European Union. Despite initial reservations, the Czech Republic agreed to the Berlin declaration after German chancellor Angela Merkel telephoned Czech president Vaclav Klaus and prime minister Mirek Topolanek. A spokesman for the government said that it had seen the text of the document and believed it was purely symbolic in nature. He also added that the declaration makes no reference to the controversial European constitution. Mr Topolanek had earlier criticised the fact that the Czech Republic only received the text shortly before it was due to be ratified.

The Billa and Julius Meinl supermarket chains have been hit with a record fine by the Czech Office for the Protection of Economic Competition. The retail giants have been ordered to pay a combined total of 43.35 million Czech crowns or just over two million dollars for agreeing to adopt a common approach to their suppliers in order to keep prices down. The decision has prompted calls from suppliers' organisations for even tougher laws to be introduced to prevent large retailers in the Czech Republic from abusing their economic power to put unfair pressure on suppliers to reduce costs.

The Social Democrats have launched a campaign that accuses the Civic Democratic Party of having made false promises ahead of last year's general elections. With new billboards and ads, the party says the Civic Democrats - the senior partners in the governing coalition - tricked and deceived citizens. Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, for example, is accused of only lowering taxes for the wealthy; Labour and Social Affairs Minister Petr Necas is criticised for lowering parental benefits; and Health Minister Tomas Julinek is attacked for making children and pensioners pay for visits to the doctor. The main motto of the Social Democrats' campaign is: "The government is working against you."