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The EU is gearing up for a crucial summit this week. It starts Thursday and is scheduled to end Friday, but could well go on longer, as Europe's leaders try to hammer out the outlines of a treaty on how to run the organisation. As its presidency draws to a close, Germany has been pushing for some kind of revival of the constitution rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands. Other states, including the Czech Republic, are demanding a considerably more limited treaty. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic is the only member supporting Poland, which

On Monday, the government announced it was planning to streamline legislation to help make the country's fight against corruption more effective. Analysis suggests corruption remains a major problem, especially in the case of public tenders, which - critics contend - are often not transparent enough and are all too open to bribes. Although according to some watchdog groups, the situation improved slightly last year many corruption cases ultimately go uncovered or are never fully resolved.

Prague's Old Town was the unusual venue for a football tournament on Saturday afternoon, but then it was an unusual tournament - organised by the Football for Development project, the competitors included a youth team from the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and Tomas Ulfalusi, a star for the Czech national team.

On Friday, a woman under the name of Barbora Skrlova walked into the Czech embassy in Denmark. Accompanied by her father and lawyer, she asked for a Czech passport and presented samples of her hair and saliva for DNA testing. The 32-year old woman claimed to be a 13-year-old girl named Anicka, who police have been looking for since she disappeared from a children's home over a month ago.

Dusk on Saturday belonged to almost 50 museums and galleries in Prague, which opened at 7 PM for the fourth year of what is called Museum Night. Their treasures were - for one night only - on display free of charge, or in some places for a symbolic admission fee, until as late as 1 AM. Around 170,000 people turned out.

The vice president of the European Commission Franco Fratinni has been paying a brief visit to Prague. Mr Fratinni came to the Czech capital in his capacity as commissioner for justice and home affairs, and on Thursday held talks with the Czech interior minister, Ivan Langer, and justice minister, Jiri Pospisil. High on the agenda was the enlargement of Schengen later this year, when the Czech Republic and nine other states will be admitted to the border-free zone.

Smetana's Litomysl International Opera Festival is the largest open-air classical music festival in the Czech Republic. Eva Urbanova launches the traditional Smetana's Litomysl International Opera Festival on Friday; the popular Czech soprano is now celebrating twenty years of a most impressive career. Dita Asiedu takes a closer look at the important annual event:

Members of the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday voted unanimously in favour of strengthening the country's law on child pornography: 133 of those present voted "for"; no one "against". Until now the Czech Republic was one of the only countries in Europe where downloading or possessing child pornography was not a criminal offence. Not surprisingly, the passing of the amendment, while overdue, is being seen as a very positive step, if overdue.

The Lednice - Valtice Area in South Moravia is the largest artificially created landscape in Europe. Created by the dukes of Liechtenstein on their Moravian domain in the 18th and 19th centuries, it features several chateaus, large parks and various monuments spread around the landscape fashioned in the Romantic and Classical styles. One of the monuments, the 60 metre tall Minaret, will be closed for the season as it needs renovation.

On Thursday, the Prague Quadrennial International Competitive Exhibition of Scenography and Theatre Architecture opened its doors to the public. The exhibition introduces visitors to the most up-to-date theatrical creations from all corners of the world. Up to 40 daily live events and activities will be held on the streets of Prague to accompany the ten-day event.