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Czech Interior Ministry offers EU, Italy money, experts and police to help solve migrant crisis The Czech Interior Ministry has said the Czech Republic is ready to provide 800,000 euros in support of EU activities in Libya aimed at curbing the flow of migrants to the EU as well as send experts and police officers to help deal with the problem of illegal migrants in Italy. Interior Minister Milan Chovanec outlined the proposal in a letter to his Italian counterpart Marc Minniti saying that the practice of detentions had worked well in the Czech Republic and could be successfully applied in Italy as well. Minniti earlier called on EU member states to help ease Italy's situation. The Czech Republic has repeatedly stressed that it is ready to help out with money, experts and police officers but remains strongly opposed to the redistribution of refugees based on mandatory quotas.

The Czech Republic last month took over the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. In an address to a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Tuesday, the Czech foreign minister outlined Prague’s priorities for its term at the helm.

A two-day EU summit in Brussels started on Thursday with a spat between the newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron and countries of the Visegrad group. Expressing his commitment to put the EU project back on track, the French leader accused the V4 of defying Europe’s principles and values by rejecting the EC’s migrant quotas.

After a long period on the sidelines, euro adoption is again making a comeback as an issue in the Czech Republic. In the latest intervention, the country’s central bank governor has said that all the criteria can be met but that Czechs could perhaps wait until wages and prices are nearer to the euro zone average.

The Czech government has given a new face and name to its policies dealing with the European Union. Aleš Chmelař, formerly the leading economist in the government office, has been appointed to the post which aims to makes sure the Czech government speaks with one voice in Brussels and has its fair share of influence shaping key decisions.

The Czech economy is now prepared to adopt the euro and would have no significant problem in joining the single currency market, according to the governor of the Czech National Bank, Jiří Rusnok. Mr. Rusnok noted however that there were still huge disparities in prices and salaries between the Czech Republic and members of the Eurozone which should be bridged before the country made the move. He said that, barring unexpected circumstances, this could be achieved within five years. Czech governments have so far refrained from setting a time frame for euro adoption, and Andrej Babiš, whose ANO party is widely expected to win the autumn general elections, has said he is against the country joining the single currency.

It’s been confirmed that Brexit talks will finally begin on June 19. But the flipside of those talks are moves within the remainder of the EU-27 to reshape their own cooperation and structures. And there are major fears in the Czech Republic that much of that effort will focus on the Euro zone countries and that key funds for the rest – such as the Cohesion Funds – could be scrapped.

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and the First Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans met in Prague on Friday to discuss migration and the future direction of European integration; they also discussed the upcoming meeting of the Council of Europe scheduled for next week. According to a press release summarizing their meeting, the prime minister stressed that the Czech Republic was ready to help fellow European countries when it came to heightening border security in the face of the migrant countries. The European Commission will initiate steps against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for failing to respect EU migrant quotas and take its share of refugees.

The Prague European Summit, an international event held for the third time in the capital, entered its final day on Thursday with discussion by expert panels focussing on the future of the EU and the expected political and economic impact of Brexit. The Deputy Chairman of the European Commission Hans Timmermans and Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek, were among the scheduled speakers. Over the course of three days, foreign guests and key local figures focused on issues ranging from EU common security and defense to trans-Atlantic relations.

The European Commission has decided to launch proceedings against the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary for refusing to accept migrants allocated to them under a compulsory EU system. The news was announced by the commissioner for migration, home affairs and citizenship, Dimitris Avramopulos, on Tuesday. The Czech Republic is adamant that it will not take part with the prime minister stating that the government had already prepared to defend its position. A number of dailies around Europe, however, see the situation differently: evidence of a deepening