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The changing of the guard has taken place at the Czech National Bank with a new incoming governor replacing the outgoing Miroslav Singer. And the new incumbent, Jiří Rusnok, is facing some interesting times with the expected exit from the bank’s low crown policy looming and the debate once again revived now about if and when the Czech Republic will sign up for the euro.

The 51st edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival gets underway in the West Bohemian spa town on Friday evening. As every year, the country’s biggest movie event promises Hollywood stars, several world premieres and a unique atmosphere generated by thousands of enthusiastic young film fans. Radio Prague’s Ian Willoughby is in Karlovy Vary and we asked him what is coming up tonight as well as throughout the festival:

Who better to ask for tips about this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival than its artistic director Karel Och? On the eve of the biggest movie event of the year in the Czech Republic, I caught up with its head of programming – and began by asking him if there were any particularly noteworthy special sections this year.

Almost a week since Great Britain took the momentous decision to leave the European Union the remaining 27 members – including the Czech Republic – have scrambled to look for positives and possible ways forward. The Czech prime minister has joined others in setting out some opening negotiating markers but is also under fire at home from those who want to widen the debate.

The Czech Republic has negotiated a deal in Brussels that spells a green light for a number of major transport projects, the country’s prime minister announced on Wednesday. The projects will not now require fresh environmental impact assessments, meaning Prague should soon be able to access tens of billions of crowns in EU funding.

In a significant ruling on Tuesday, the Czech Republic’s Constitutional Court overturned a law which prevented individual gays and lesbians living in registered partnership from adopting children. The judge argued that such a ban was discriminatory, since gays and lesbians not living in such an official partnership are allowed to do so. However, the ruling does not allow same-sex partners to adopt children as a couple.

Last year, the guerrilla art group Ztohoven made headlines all over the world after they took down the presidential standard on top of Prague Castle and replaced it with a giant pair of red underpants in protest against the president’s policies. Now, more than six months later, there is follow-up to the prank. The art activists have cut up the presidential flag into 1152 pieces and handed them out at random to people in cities and towns across the Czech Republic.

New anti-smoking legislation, risen from the ashes of a similar bill shot down in last month, will again be debated in the lower house. At stake is a full ban on smoking in restaurants. The government is hoping this time the bill gets the necessary support not least from coalition MPs.

The planned departure of the United Kingdom will not halt the development of the EU; however, the rest of the bloc must work harder to convince the publics of its merits. That was the message from Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek after a meeting in Prague on Monday with his counterparts from the other Visegrad states, Germany and France.

As reactions to Brexit pour in, the most common argument to be heard from Czech politicians is that Britain’s decision to leave the EU desperately signals the need for change. Will Brexit be the beginning of the end for the EU or is there a chance that the alliance can rally in the wake of this shock? And, are there fears that Britain’s decision will fuel the anti-EU camp here in the Czech Republic? Those are questions I put to the Czech State Secretary for EU Affairs Tomáš Prouza shortly after the outcome of the vote was announced. I began by asking