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Visitors to the Czech Republic may have noticed that their dollars or euros don't go as far as they did even a year or two ago, as the Czech currency - the crown - gets stronger. In fact, says a new report by Bloomberg, the crown has gained the most strength compared to all other currencies in the world over the last year. Financial analyst David Marek of Patria Finance explains why the Czech crown is enjoying such success:

The Czech Republic is among a group of countries that, the European Commission says, make it difficult to import used cars from other EU states. This is despite the fact that new regulations come into effect on Saturday that are to liberalise the import of older cars. The EC accuses the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria and Luxembourg of violating the free movement of goods by introducing tougher conditions for used cars from abroad than for local cars that are just as old.

The European Union recently gave the green light for Slovenia to adopt the common European currency the euro in 2007. Slovenia therefore becomes the first of the ten states who joined the EU in 2004 to also join the eurozone. But when will the Czech Republic be ready for adoption? And in any case how enthusiastic are Czechs about the euro?

More than half of the Czech population is not happy about giving up its currency for the euro, results of a poll commissioned by the European Commission suggest. In the poll on attitudes on the euro in EU member states outside the euro-zone, 52 percent of respondents also said the adoption of the euro would benefit their country. Most Czechs, an EC report says, expect the country to have adopted the euro by 2010.

Outgoing Czech prime minister and Social Democratic Party chairman Jiri Paroubek is attending a summit of European Socialists in Brussels. Mr. Paroubek told reporters that he will complain to his European socialist party colleagues about what he feels was a lack of support from them in the last days of the Czech election campaign. Mr. Paroubek says that an "anticommunist hysteria" gripped the Czech Republic just prior to the elections, and that European socialists could have done more to help the Social Democrats in the tight election race.

Among those also at the European Socialist Party (ESP) meeting are Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, the new chairman of the German Social Democrats, Kurt Beck, and European Parliament President Josep Borrell. The gathering is taking place on the eve of a European Union summit, and European Socialists are discussing EU enlargement, as well as the planned admission of Romania and Bulgaria.

President Vaclav Klaus will be representing the Czech Republic in Brussels at the EU summit. Before the elections, it was decided that if the Social Democrats lost, President Klaus would attend the summit.

Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda probably has slim hopes of holding onto his job when the next government is eventually formed, but he will end his time at the Foreign Ministry on a diplomatic high note. At Monday's summit in Luxembourg, Mr Svoboda managed to persuade his EU counterparts to start working together on a mid and long-term strategy towards Cuba.

In Business News: the Czech Republic is on course to join the euro in 2010, though the OECD warns of some risks; inflation reaches 3.1 percent, but should fall sharply; Hyundai finally sets a date for construction work on its Moravian factory; Skoda Auto - the country's biggest exporter in 2005 - plans to put the Yeti prototype into production; and Slivovice makers Rudolf Jelinek report big sales increases last year.

Governments around Europe have rejected the findings of the Swiss Senator Dick Marty in his report for the Council of Europe, which claims that 14 European countries colluded with the CIA on secret flights carrying terror suspects for interrogation. Senator Marty includes the Czech Republic on a list of countries which allegedly provided refuelling stopovers for the planes. The Czech authorities say as far they were concerned the flights were carrying US military personnel, and therefore they had no reason to intervene. But are they telling the

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has responded to a number of his critics - including the prime minister - in a row over comments the president made recently on a visit to Estonia: Mr Klaus said that he could not envisage a ratification of the EU constitution by the Czech Republic. The president's words drew a sharp response from a number of public figures, with Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek indicating that it was the government and not the president that was responsible for foreign policy. On Friday, the president's office responded by saying that the prime minister was stoking the clash to try and draw the head of state into a "pre-election campaign". Czechs go to the polls on June 2nd and 3rd next week.

The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic has officially distanced itself from a group which on Wednesday declared its disapproval of President Vaclav Klaus' criticism of the European Union. Academy of Sciences President, Vaclav Paces, says that his institution is scientific and apolitical in nature, and that the 66 prominent Czech scholars who signed a letter in protest of President Klaus' opinions do not represent the Academy's position, and were merely expressing their personal opinions. President Vaclav Klaus is known for his criticism of EU integration, and at least fifteen Academy members signed the official letter of protest against him. Among the signatories were Senator Josef Jarab, and philosopher and former presidential candidate Jan Sokol.