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Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has said the European Commission should be more impartial in its assessment of how individual member states are meeting their obligations. During a working dinner with European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker, attended by Visegrad Group heads of government, Mr. Sobotka said it sometimes appeared as if the Commission was applying a double standard and punishing countries which were perceived as troublemakers for something other members got away with without reprimand.

The dinner with the Visegrad Group leaders, held on the eve of the EU’s October summit, is seen as an attempt to ease tensions between Brussels and the Visegrad group states which have been at loggerheads over migrant quotas and the EU’s planned directive on posted workers, which EU ministers will debate in Luxembourg on Monday.

The Czech Secretary of State for EU Affairs, Aleš Chmelař, said the two sides had agreed to intensify dialogue on sensitive issues in the future so as to ensure better understanding.

The EU’s October summit is focussing on EU reforms, the migrant crisis, the functioning of Schengen and the common market and the need to strengthen cooperation in the field of defence.

The Czech government has approved the country’s involvement in preparations for greater cooperation in European defence as part of the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) structure.

The state secretary for European affairs, Aleš Chmelař, told journalists on Wednesday that the PESCO would formally get underway in December. Officials say the initiative on cooperation will allow for more efficient use of defence budgets.

The government also rubber-stamped Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka's mandate for a European Union summit in Brussels at the end of next week.

Free movement of people is one of the basic ideals of the European Union and a principle frequently voiced and defended by the Czech political elite.

Prague offers satisfactory office space and good transport facilities as a possible site for the European Banking Authority (EBA) according to an evaluation released by the European Commission.

But it says the quality of facilities for healthcare and education of the families of employees still has to be evaluated further.

Prague is seeking to be selected as the site for the European agency once it has to move from London as a result of Brexit.

Other European cities, including Vienna, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin, Luxembourg, and Warsaw are also seeking to host the agency. A decision is expected in November.

The EU needs to speed up its decision-making and improve communication in many areas, EU leaders agreed at an informal diner in Tallinn ahead of Friday’s EU summit.

Prime Minister Sobotka said that while none of the leaders present expressed a desire to change the basic treaties of the EU, there was criticism regarding communication and how long it took to reach agreement on issues such as security, migration or salaries across the EU.

It was agreed that the President of the European Council Donald Tusk should address the matter and suggest changes which are to be discussed at October’s EU summit in Brussels, Sobotka said. EU leaders are meeting in Tallinn to discuss Europe's digital future.

There’s little doubt that the European Union has gone through a lot of turbulence over the past few years and has scrambled to come up with new policies as a result. But the outgoing Czech prime minister believes it has boosted the country’s reputation in these difficult times and cast itself as a reliable and steady partner.

The man most responsible for Brexit – Nigel Farage – has been in Prague to make his contribution to the campaign for upcoming Czech elections. And the former head of the UKIP party had a series of messages for politicians in general, Czechs in particular, and his own take on the continuing Brexit negotiations.

National elections in Germany are taking place on Sunday. With some predicting the far-right could gain a foothold in the Bundestag for the first time in the history of post-war Germany, the results could have repercussions across Europe, including for the neighbouring Czech Republic. I asked political analyst Jiří Pehe for his take on the election’s potential impact:

The Czech PM says the European Commission president’s demand for food equality across Europe is “a good signal” and “the result of our endeavours”.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday paid his first official visit to the Czech Republic since taking office.