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The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ordered the Czech state to pay British man Ronald Crabtree 2,000 euros in compensation for detaining him illegally. Mr. Crabtree had demanded damages of 2.0 million euros. He was detained and imprisoned on suspicion of corruption in February 2003. But instead of being ordered to be detained for the three months maximum until May, a court ruled he should be remanded in prison until December. He was eventually sentenced to three-and-a-half years. The court in Strasbourg recognised his complaint that his initial detention had been illegal. The Ministry of Justice said it was considering an appeal.

A new survey published by the European Commission’s Eurobarometer on Monday suggests that Czechs and Slovaks are amongst Europe’s biggest consumers of soda beverages. In the survey, 31 percent of Czechs said they often consumed lemonades or colas, compared to an EU average of only 19 percent. Bulgaria tops the list with 40 percent. The survey also found that Czechs have more daily meals than other nations in the EU, consuming on average seven meals per day as opposed to the EU average of about five meals a day.

The region of Prague is the fifth wealthiest in Europe, according to data released Thursday by the European statistical office Eurostat. The data reflects the purchasing power standard of the individual regions of Europe in 2007 and by that measure puts Prague behind Hamburg and slightly ahead of Paris city centre. London city centre topped the list with nearly twice the buying power of Prague, or 334% of the EU standard, followed by Luxemburg and Brussels. The Czech Republic as a whole however fared much worse, with the national average amounting to 80% of the EU average. Also, some of the poorest regions in the EU were also found in the Czech Republic, particularly north-western Bohemia, which showed a purchasing power standard of 62% of the EU standard.

The Ministry of the Interior has been taking increased advantage of the European Union’s structural funds in the past six months, dispersing fears that the EU grants would not be spent within the set time limit and the Czech Republic would have to return part of the money. Minister of the Interior Martin Pecina told journalists on Monday that all funds slated for 2007 and 2008 had been spent, a sum of over 5.8 billion Czech crowns. The director of the ministry’s structural funds department added that the main reasons for the slow start in spending were badly designed proposals and a lack of communication, which lead to a change in guidelines for the distribution of such funds.

The Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, has taken a reserved stand to the outcome of Thursday’s EU summit dealing with assistance to debt-stricken Greece. Shortly after the summit, Mr Fischer told journalists that EU leaders stopped short of making a specific commitment to Greece and even failed to debate concrete forms of aid. The Czech prime minister said the main purpose of the joint declaration, adopted by the summit, was to settle the world’s financial markets. Ahead of the summit, however, Mr Fischer said the EU was bound to help Greece one way or another.

Meanwhile, finance ministers of the eurozone’s member states agreed in Brussels on Thursday that some EU members might buy Greek bonds or provide direct loans on bilateral basis, provided Greece takes radical steps to cut public spending.

Prime Minister Jan Fischer said Tuesday that the Czech Republic is prepared to offer its assistance in mediating disputes between Israel and its neighbours in the Middle East. Speaking at a conference marking the 20th anniversary of the renewal of diplomatic relations between the Czech and Jewish states, Mr Fischer said that the Czech Republic’s experience and good relations with the countries of the Middle East could help aid international relations there. He also said that having a clear stance towards Israel would be one of the main tasks of any integrated foreign policy in the European Union, and that his country would help in building one. Relations between Czechoslovakia and Israel were frosty between the early 1950s and the fall of the Iron Curtain, since which time the two countries have developed strong economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

The Czech government adopted a programme paving the way for adoption of the single currency euro on Monday. The so-called convergence programme calls for the Czech budget deficit to be reduced to 3.0 percent of Gross Domestic Product by 2013 or 2014, Prime Minister Jan Fischer said. The deficit was 6.6 percent in 2009. Such a move would, according to Minister of Finance Eduard Janota, allow the euro to be adopted in 2016 or 2017. The two main political parties have come out for a faster deficit reduction in recent days. The Civic Democrats say the 3.0 percent limit should be reached in 2012, allowing theoretical euro adoption in 2015. The Social Democrats say euro adoption could take place by 2016.

Nearly two-thirds of Czechs are satisfied with membership in the European Union, according to a poll conducted by the STEM research agency. 73% of respondents said that they feel solidarity with Europe, which STEM says is a rise since the Czech EU presidency. Three fifths of respondents however said that they do not think the Czech Republic plays an active enough role in EU decision making. Satisfaction with EU membership has fluctuated considerably since the country’s accession in 2004, with slumps to 50% when the European constitution and the Lisbon treaty were being debated. The results of the survey were closely linked to political preferences, with more uncertainty over EU integration shown among left-wing voters.

European Union President Herman Van Rompuy is continuing his first official visit to Prague after meeting Friday with the Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, and President Václav Klaus, the latter a well known opponent of EU integration and the Lisbon Treaty. Notably neglecting to use the title of EU President, Mr Klaus told journalists that he was receiving Mr Van Rompuy as he would any other “high-ranking EU official”, and said that the meeting had done nothing to change his view of the European Union. After talks with Prime Minister Fischer, Mr Rompuy said they had agreed that the EU must continue with aid to Haiti even after media attention begins to wane, and that an upcoming international conference would be key to organising long-term support for the earthquake-stricken country, which the European Union has promised 429 million euros in immediate humanitarian aid. Mr. Herman Van Rompuy took up the post of EU President on January 1 and has since conducted a tour of EU member states.

European Union President Herman Van Rompuy is on his first official visit to Prague. On Friday morning the EU president met with the Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, for talks that focused on the economy, climate change and the EU’s humanitarian effort in Haiti. In the afternoon Mr. Rompuy met with President Václav Klaus, a well known opponent of EU integration and the Lisbon Treaty. The two officials said little about the content of their talks, though President Klaus told journalists the meeting had done nothing to change his view of the European Union.

Only last week Mr. Klaus criticized the new working structure of the European saying that there was no clear delimitation of powers and responsibilities. Mr. Herman Van Rompuy took up the post of EU President on January 1 and has since conducted a tour of EU member states.