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Some 25 companies announce intentions to opt for 'squeeze out' buy of minority shareholder stakes; Hotels, language schools exempted from 19pct VAT; MPs look to prevent supermarkets from 'dumping' sales items; Finance Minister Bohuslav Sobotka submits 2006 budget... acknowledges failure to meet 19 of the EU 'convergence' targets; CzechInvest mid-year report: 70 deals worth 25bn mediated by the agency

3.8bn bailout approved for health insurers; Cabinet approves public finance reform report and 22.5bn crown bond to pay the state's debt to the CNB; CNB governor notes shift to household consumption driving economy; PM says economy could reach 8pct growth rate by 2007; E&Y survey names Czech Republic 7th most attractive country for foreign investors; Transparency International says state overpaid by 32bn for contracts last year; Lawyers, notaries to report 'suspicious' deals to their chambers

Spain's Telefonica installs its own people at the top of Cesky Telecom; CME begins trading on the Prague bourse; Prague overtakes Berlin as an expensive city to live in; hundreds of Czech doctors seek work abroad.

Cabinet approves Finance Minister's tax cut proposals; State budget would lose 10-15 bn crowns in annual budget due to tax cuts, offset by excise and VAT rate hikes; Deputy finance minister resigns under suspicion of Peruvian bad debt fraud deal; Czechs add Canada, Serbia & Montenegro to 'green card' programme, Ukraine is next; Cesky Telecom sale finalised, OECD says Czech welfare Europe's 'most efficient', TV Nova owner CME may list shares on Prague bourse, price of electricity set to increase

Encouraging economic growth results. Price hikes expected in the summer. Interest rate cuts on mortgage loans. Unemployment rate drops due to seasonal work. Apple Computer to open shop in Czech Republic. Czech Republic benefits from EU membership.

This week we bring you mixed news from the Czech Republic on the euro; property owners complain to Strasbourg over rent regulation; the Czech Republic plans to increase foreign aid; the deputy prime minister proposes a package of radical economic reforms, and the finance minister locks horns with the Czech banking sector

The International Monetary Fund's senior official in Prague says the Czech economy will not be able to sustain its current high growth unless key reforms are made to the country's public finance, pension and health systems. The IMF's Juan Jose Fernandez-Ansola said now is a good time to implement such reforms, given that the economy is growing and inflation remains low.

The Cabinet has drafted a new conflict-of-interest law. It will not require the spouses of politicians and other public officials to disclose assets that are listed in their name alone, as organisations like the corruption watchdog Transparency International had been hoping for. Minister of Justice Pavel Nemec said the draft law improves upon previous legislation in setting out more precise guidelines.

Deputies pass bill allowing 72m crown bond issue to cover budget deficit, reject proposals to eliminate investment incentives, restrict shop hours; London-based think tank CEBR names Prague best 'region' of the 233 in Europe in which to do business; Former Finance Minister Ivo Svoboda fails to turn up at prison; Anti-Monopoly Office accuses three banks (CS, KB, and CSOB) of concluding cartel on fees; Unions hold back on railway strike

Deputies adopt legislation to soften ban on 'Svarc system', speed up commercial registrations, allow 'squeeze out' option for majority shareholders; World Bank says creditors in Czech Republic least likely in European Union to recover funds from bankrupt countries; Health Minister to ask for partial bail-out of VZP; $230m positive foreign trade balance recorded for March.