Prague this week hosted the 12th annual meeting of the European Nuclear Energy Forum, an opportunity for those in government, the industry, regulators, and European authorities to get together and try to plot the future for one of the continent’s key industries and energy sources. The room for cutting construction costs and how to deal with highly radioactive nuclear waste were two of the main subjects for debate this year, Radio Praha wrote.

According to OECD PISA 2015 report, total population of 15-year-old students enrolled at grade 7 or above in the Czech Republic is 90,076 (school-level exclusion rate reaches 2%). In 2012, majority was enrolled in the 9th (49.4%, more boys than girls) and 10th grade (46.2% more girls than boys).

The business environment in the Czech Republic is weighed down by a heavy regulatory burden and numerous administrative barriers, in particular permitting procedures and tax payments, European Semester 2017 Spring Package issued by the European Commission suggests. Educational outcomes are generally good, but basic skills have deteriorated, and R&D intensity has increased significantly in recent years, but this is not being matched by corresponding improvements in the quality of R&D outcomes. Still, the Czech Republic is projected to comply with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact in 2017 and 2018.

At the end of their meeting in Nicosia (Cyprus) the six month chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers was passed from Cyprus to the Czech Republic on 19 May. The priorities for the country’s chairmanship include