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The Czech president Václav Klaus addressed the European Parliament on Thursday morning, in a keenly-anticipated appearance that disappointed neither the president’s critics, nor his supporters. Eurosceptic MEPs rose to their feet and applauded as Mr Klaus attacked the “democratic deficit” that he said plagued the European Union, while pro-integration parliamentarians booed, whistled, and even walked out.

Thursday evening sees the premiere of a Czech version of the play Performances by the Irish dramatist Brian Friel. It should be of particular interest to Czech music lovers, as Performances is based on an episode in the life of Leoš Janáček and features one of the last pieces the great composer wrote.

The Czech crown has plunged against the euro and US dollar in recent weeks on fears over the health of the local and Central European economies. It has fallen 10 percent against the euro and 19 percent against the dollar so far this year, making Czech exports cheaper but foreign holidays more expensive. I asked Patria Finance analyst Tomáš Vlk how low the crown can go and whether the slide is good or bad news for the future.

The lower house of the Czech parliament approved the European Union's Lisbon Treaty on Wednesday, by a narrow margin of five votes. The treaty – aimed at reforming the EU - now goes to the upper house, where it faces stiff opposition from the main governing party, the Civic Democrats. The Czech Republic currently holds the revolving presidency of the EU, and ratifying Lisbon is proving to be politically rather awkward.

This Wednesday evening sees the start of the Nordic World Ski Championship in Liberec – the most notable sports event in the Czech Republic in 2009. Never before have the Czechs hosted the Worlds, and all eyes here will be on Czech hopefuls, most notably last year’s World Cup cross-country skiing winner Lukáš Bauer.

With the bottom falling out of Europe's car market, the Czech Republic's biggest producer, Škoda Auto, says it will bring forward the launch of its sport utility vehicle, the Yeti, to early March with the first cars on the market in the Summer. Škoda has high hopes that the new model will help cushion the impact of the crisis. But with sales of such all terrain cars down worldwide and a mid-range price tag expected on the car, will the Yeti help save Škoda from the worst? I discussed just that with Automotive News' Central European correspondent,

Czech officials have tried - and tried again - to stamp out football hooliganism, but at last, say observers, a step in the right direction. On Monday, Czech police and the Czech Football Association (ČMFS) signed an agreement shifting responsibility for security to individual clubs. While the police will continue to monitor key games from outside stadiums, they will only move in if a situation gets out of hand.

If you are a writer or translator in the Czech Republic, then about the biggest accolade you can get is a Magnesia Litera award. The eighth annual Magnesia Litera was launched on Tuesday, with organizers saying they had more than 320 new Czech releases to read their way through and judge. Awards are given for the best new Czech fiction, poetry, children’s literature, and translation, with the Czech public also voting for their own favourite book of the year. The winners will be revealed at a glitzy ceremony in Prague next month, hosted by Czech

Slowly but surely a schedule on the future of the Lisbon treaty – the document aimed at reforming the running of the European Union – is being hammered out. On Sunday, on behalf of the Czech EU presidency Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra met for talks in Ireland with Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin. Last June Irish voters rejected the treaty, now things are gearing up for a possible second referendum in late 2009.

The Czech government approved on Monday a set of measures to boost the country’s economy, ranging from lowering social insurance to higher spending on education, science and research. If the plan is approved by Parliament this week, the government will spend more than 40 billion crowns, or over 1.7 billion US dollars on the package.