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A battle over the future of the Czech police force is raging in the highest echelons of power. Plans to reorganize the force by merging two of the country’s elite units has provoked a storm within the ruling coalition and elicited protests from the State Attorney’s Office which fears the changes could impact the investigation of ongoing corruption cases.

A plan to reorganize the Czech police fight against organized crime and corruption has provoked what some members of the coalition government are describing as its most serious crisis to date. And the crisis now looks like deepening with an analysis of the consequences of the reform reportedly paving the way for the interior minister to push ahead with it.

This Friday sees the much-awaited start of Euro 2016 in France. Twenty-four national teams will try and advance in the tournament and one, on July 10th, will be crowned European Champion. Tipped as possible favourites are the hosts but also Germany and the defending European champions Spain; that doesn’t mean there can’t be upsets - in the past, underdogs in the competition have also surprised.

Probably the toughest year the Visegrad Central European grouping has ever faced. That was how one prime minister described the conditions facing the Czech presidency over the last 12 month at a closing meeting and press conference in Prague. The Czechs now hand over the baton to Poland with Warsaw vowing to continue where Prague left off.

Churches and other religious sites across the Czech Republic will open their doors to the public this weekend for the annual Night of Open Churches festival. The event, which attracts thousands of visitors each year, offers a rare opportunity to get a glimpse of places which are usually closed to the general public. This year, you can board a special ‘spiritual tram’ or try your hand at ringing a church bell as part of the festival offer.

Three Communist MPs in Russia’s Duma have proposed that soldiers who served during the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia should be granted war veteran status, in order to gain extra social benefits. The MPs said the aim of “Operation Danube” had been to supress a coup prepared by the Czechoslovak opposition with the support of Western states. I asked historian Jan Adamec how he interpreted the initiative of the Russian MPs:

This Saturday a Czech artist living in the UK is set to revive an ancient British custom in a suburb of Birmingham. Tereza Bušková will lead hundreds of people in “clipping the church”, which centres on the formation of an outward-facing ring around a place of worship. Bušková will add a Czech flavour to the event, decorating the church with ornate Bohemian pastries that will also be carried in a procession. On the line from England, the artist discussed the unusual project.

Czech-American economist Jan Švejnar, businessman (and music industry legend) Michal Horáček and others have let themselves be heard they are considering running in the Czech presidential election in 2018. For the moment, only one person (a largely unknown businessman by the name of Igor Sládek) has unequivocally announced his intent. Others are still weighing their options before they declare.

A photographer has for the first time taken a photo of a golden jackal on Czech soil. What’s more, the picture has been taken just outside the Czech capital. According to experts, the animals are migrating from their original habitat in Turkey and the Balkans and their sightings in the Czech Republic have become increasingly more common.

The cabinet is this week due to discuss legislation aimed at increasing equality for Czech women, who make up the majority of university graduates but are far less visible in the highest echelons of business and politics. The new plan envisages a gradual approach to increasing female representation.