Related articles

For the past two weeks, the Czech crown has been trading at a record high against two major world currencies, the euro and the US dollar. The increasing value of the crown affects not only businesses, but also consumers, especially now, as citizens are flooding shopping centers looking for holiday bargains.

It was a decision that the Czech Republic and eight other EU newcomers had long been pushing for. The enlargement of the Schengen border free zone to nine of the ten states which joined the EU in 2004 on December 31 2007 will mean an end to border checks and airport controls and will finally give their citizens complete freedom of movement within the European Union.

The enlargement of the Schengen border-free zone to the EU newcomer states, including the Czech Republic, has been set for December 31 2007. The decision was made at a summit of EU interior and justice ministers in Brussels on Tuesday following months of controversy over a proposed delay of more than a year. The compromise solution approved on Tuesday was put forward by Portugal and would mean a delay of only a few months. The Czech Republic was one of the countries which fought hard against the proposal delay and Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer praised the outcome of the summit, describing it as "a historic decision". The original expansion date cannot be met due to technical difficulties involving the process of setting up a new police data base for the expanded region.

In Business News: Czech oil giant Unipetrol is fined by the European Commission; the Czech Republic says no to a proposed EU tax hike on beer; the Czech crown soars against the dollar, euro; Skype announces plans to come to Prague; and more.

The Czech Republic has blocked an EU Commission proposal that would have seen a 4.5 percent hike on taxes on alcohol including beer. That is something that would no doubt have a major impact on the Czech Republic as a major producer and consumer: here, beer is considered a national product. On Tuesday, Finance Minister Vlastimil Tlusty indicated the decision to veto wasn't just about raising taxes alone but overall fairness since, for example, wine producers' products are largely exempt. He said that the proposed hike left beer brewers at a

The Czech Republic has blocked the EU's plans to raise the minimum level of taxes on beer, finance minister Vlastimil Tlusty told reporters on Tuesday. With the minimum duty on most wines zero percent, a tax hike on beer would raise competition levels between brewers and winemakers, he said, adding that the changes are unacceptable in a country where beer is a national product. Last month the European Commission proposed a 31 percent increase in the minimum duty on beer and spirits.

The Czech Republic boasts the only stone guitar in the world. Czech fashion designers fight for a place in the sun. And -why have Czechs sent a barrel of their best beer to Brussels? Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.

A new annual report released by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the EMCDDA, includes some shocking statistics. In the Czech Republic, 22 percent of people between 15 and 34 have tried marihuana at least once. Compared to the other 24 states in the European Union, the Czech Republic ranks first and is on par with the United States.

After some three years of lengthy negotiations, an important EU directive liberalising Europe's vast services sector has finally been approved by the European Parliament. It aims to boost competition, by making it easier for a plumber or architect, for example, to set up shop in another EU state. In the Czech Republic, the self-employed have met the directive with mixed feelings. They welcome the fact that they will no longer have to be based or registered in the country they want to operate in. But the downside is that they will have to respect

In Business News: road haulage is the "riskiest" sector due to increased competition after EU accession; the Delvita supermarket chain is bought out by German company; two Czech firms launch legal music downloads; a Brno company wins a large contract in Iraq; sugar beet growers plan to stage protests over closures; and tourism accounts for over 3 percent of Czech GDP.