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The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned the Czech Ambassador to Kiev Ivan Počuch to protest against some of President Zeman’s recent statements relating to Ukraine. The ministry did not specify which statements it found offensive, but said the Czech president’s evaluation of the crisis in Ukraine was “unacceptable” and undermined the two countries’ traditionally good relations. According to the Ukrainian news agency Unian the ministry was referring to statements that Mr. Zeman made in a recent interview for Russian television in which he described the situation in Ukraine as a civil war and criticized the EU sanctions against Russia.

The Czech police have detained five Vietnamese nationals suspected of smuggling their compatriots to European countries within an international raid against people smugglers, Pavel Hanták, spokesman for the Czech police unit fighting organised crime, said on Thursday. Across Europe 26 people smugglers were arrested and 15 illegal migrants detained. All the five foreigners arrested in the Czech Republic were accused of organising illegal border crossings for which they may face up to eight years in prison each. According to Europol the gang smuggled Vietnamese citizens mainly to Britain, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany and Poland and it received 10,000 to 15,000 euros from each illegal migrant. The gang started smuggling people in 2013 or even earlier and it used forged passports and other false documents.

More than 40,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Czech government to hold a referendum on euro adoption. The petition, organized by the opposition Civic Democrats, will now be debated in the Senate. But it’s unlikely it will bring about a change of mind in the government coalition which believes the country should adopt the euro by the year 2020.

Forty-thousand people have signed a petition organised by the Civic Democrats calling for a referendum on whether the Czech Republic should adopt the common European currency. The leader of the right-wing opposition party, Petr Fiala, said on Tuesday that repeated opinion polls had suggested two-thirds of the population were opposed to bringing in the euro. The first deputy leader of the Civic Democrats, Jan Zahradil, said the petition represented a call on the Czech government to negotiate an exception under which the country would not have to adopt the currency.

The new European Commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker received a relatively strong endorsement from MEPs on Wednesday, less than ten days before it assumes office on November 1. The new commission includes the Czech Republic’s Věra Jourová - the commissioner for justice, consumer rights and gender equality – who, along with other members, will face tough tasks ahead.

Car production in the Czech Republic looks set to reach a record 1.2 million in 2014 the president of the country’s Automotive Industry Association, Martin Jahn, said at a regional gathering of carmakers on Tuesday. That would represent year on year growth of over 6 percent and would be higher than the growth rate for Europe as a whole. Parts makers in the Czech Republic should record an even bigger year-on-year increase in output, said Mr. Jahn. The current record for car production is 1.195 million, registered in 2011.

Czechs began going to the polls on Friday – the first of two days on which they can cast their ballot in municipal elections, as well as to elect representatives to one-third of the Senate. Polls opened at 2 PM local time and close at 10 PM on Friday. They will reopen at 8 AM Saturday and close at 2 PM. This year, a record 165 parties and movements are taking part, fielding more than 230,000 candidates for 60,000 seats in local councils. The number of those running is a third-higher than in 2010. A record number of candidates, a little over 30 percent, are women. For the first time, the municipal elections are open to all EU citizens residing in the country, be they permanent or temporary residents. Those finishing first or second in the Senate elections short of securing a majority outright, will face a run-off in a week's time.

Věra Jourová has been approved for the post of European commissioner for justice, consumer rights and gender equality by four European parliamentary committees. Her acceptance, though, was hardly a walk in the park. In her original confirmation hearing, the nominee proved less than convincing and was asked to provide additional answers. For a time, it looked like she might have to appear in person again. Tuesday, however, saw the committees finally reach agreement.

The Czech nominee for EU commissioner in charge of justice, consumer protection and gender equality Věra Jourová faced the traditional grilling by four EP committees on Wednesday. Her performance during the three hour long question-and-answer session elicited a mixed response. Two of the four committees –those on civil liberties and gender equality – have demanded additional questions before making a final decision on whether to recommend her appointment. I asked Jakub Janda of the Prague-based European Values think tank to assess her performance

The police’s anti-corruption unit carried out around 40 raids on public offices around the Czech Republic on Tuesday. The searches were in connection with European subsidies and contracts for IT systems, the Czech News Agency reported. The town halls in Olomouc, Přerov and Zlín were raided, as were the regional government offices in Zlín and Olomouc. Police also intervened at the offices of a company in Olomouc owned by the brother of Social Democrat senator Martin Tesařík.