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The Czech National Bank on Wednesday released a report from its board meeting at the end of June in which it sees the constant appreciation of the crown as a factor that could cause changes in the structure of the economy and negatively affect economic growth. The crown is also one of the main factors behind the current fall of inflation below the central bank's target.

The Czech republic is expected to join the European Union in 2004 in a group of ten Central and East European countries. The issue of EU enlargement is quickly becoming the most pressing for companies doing business in the region. Recently, the Economist Corporate Network which is part of The Economist Group, in cooperation with business advisor Ernst & Young published a report assessing the business implications of EU enlargement.

And the governor of the Czech National Bank said in Brussels this week that his country must choose between two strategies of adopting the euro within a year.

The Trade and Industry Minister Miroslav Gregr has accused the government's privatisation bureau - the National Property Fund - of boycotting the sale of state-held stakes in eight regional distributors to the power utility CEZ.

The Czech crown broke new records against both the dollar and the euro this week. The crown was trading at 30.08 against the dollar on Wednesday, before closing at 30.25.