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The Czech Republic’s entry into the EU’s Schengen border-free zone at the end of last year meant that a number of laws concerning immigration and asylum issues had to be harmonised with EU legislation. Yet, in the country, many of the issues commonly related to open borders remain relatively new.

I’m on a bus winding my way up the hill towards Potůčky, which is a little village on the Czech-German border. It’s in the north west of the Czech Republic, and is apparently a favourite spot for German tourists. So, we’re going to see if that is at all the case, and whether life has changed for inhabitants on both the Czech and the German side of the border three months after the Czech Republic’s entry into the Schengen zone.

Expatriates coming to the Czech Republic often find themselves shocked by the charges levied by banks on customers in the country. Postings on the expats.cz message board entitled “Ripoff banks Newcomers Beware” sum it up: “I am completely horrified,” writes one blogger; “Insane” says another, “What do you expect, they are making a fortune!” says a third.

In 2001, if a Czech paid 50 dollars for a book or a record from an American-based internet vendor like Amazon, he would have forked out around 2000 crowns for his purchase. Today, he would only have to pay 800 crowns. That’s because the crown – or koruna as it’s called in Czech – has been steadily appreciating over the past decade. Since the start of the year, however, the gains it has made against other currencies like the dollar and the euro have been spectacular and have taken most economists by surprise.

Václav Klaus will be sworn in for a second term as Czech president next month. Mr Klaus, who is 66, has been one of the most important and influential figures in Czech politics since the Velvet Revolution. But his re-election was fraught with controversy, with a great deal of bad blood on both sides. Will the course and outcome of the vote have consequences for Czech party politics? And what kind of president is Mr Klaus likely to be in his second term? We will be looking at those questions and more in this edition of Talking Point.

Last weekend, in a protracted and often heated joint session of Parliament, Czech lawmakers failed to elect either incumbent Václav Klaus or his opponent Jan Švejnar the new head of state. With the second Czech presidential election fast approaching, a number of key issues remain unresolved. In today’s Talking Point, we examine why last Friday’s election failed to produce a result, the procedural wrangling that continues to dominate the process, and what we can expect from next Friday’s vote.

With just days to go to the February 8 presidential elections speculation as to who will lead the country in the next five years has reached fever pitch. More than ever the Czech public has been drawn into the presidential election campaign. Challenger Jan Švejnar has been on a campaign trail around the country and even the incumbent Václav Klaus has made more public appearances than he did in the last elections. A televised debate between the two candidates drew enormous interest. Everything points to the fact that Czechs are following the elections

2006 saw the launch of “Increasing Adaptability of Disabled Persons”, a new project in the Czech Republic aimed at helping the disabled to improve their position on the jobs market. Unemployment among the disabled remains a serious problem, far higher than among the rest of the population. The aim of the project was to stress re-education and empowerment: over fifteen organizations cooperated to create and test pilot programmes to help the disadvantaged “help themselves”.

Homelessness remains a complex and vexing problem in the Czech Republic, especially in Prague, despite notable gains and successes by NGOs as well as the city. A year ago, the Czech capital saw the opening of a new shelter on the Vltava River, adding 250 beds to already existing sites run by organisations such as Naděje and the Salvation Army. But with a homeless population of at least 2,000 (by conservative estimates - some social workers double the number) it’s clear more needs to be done. The question is "what".

As of the beginning of this year, a new package of social reforms has come into effect here in the Czech Republic, introducing major changes related to child care. Until recently, mothers had been receiving parental allowance in regular instalments over a period of three years. Now, the Labour and Social Affairs Ministry has introduced a new system intended to give parents more flexibility in combining work and child-care, by giving them freedom of choice.