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After much controversy at home on whether the Czech Republic should join the euro-zone’s emerging fiscal compact, the Czech government delegation headed for Monday’s key EU summit in Brussels determined to keep its options open. In the midst of continuing discord on the subject, there is just one thing Czech politicians heartily agree on – they want to have a finger in the pie.

The Czech Republic and other non-euro zone countries will participate in future euro zone summits, Czech Radio’s flagship station Radiožurnál reported on Saturday, referring to the latest draft of the planned fiscal compact. According to Radiožurnál, states will be eligible providing they sign. Highly-placed sources confirmed that Czech, Polish and Swedish negotiators at a meeting of prime ministers in Brussels had played a key role in pushing through the concession: originally, members of the euro zone had intended to meet on their own. The centre-right Czech government this week approved a 1.5 billion euro loan to the IMF to help contain the debt crisis in the euro zone and gave conditional approval for the Czech Republic to join the emerging fiscal compact – a process that will either have to be ratified by Parliament or in a national referendum.

The Czech Foreign Ministry has dismissed criticism from the EC that the country’s approach to foreign applicants requesting a residence permit violates the EU's directive regarding the free movement of people. Among others, the EC has expressed objections to the policy of asking residence permit applicants to prove that they have secured accommodation in the country.

The EC says this is not in harmony with the free movement directive that all EU states were supposed to transpose in their legislation by April 2006 and has threatened to file action against the Czech Republic over its alleged failure to observe the said directive. The Czech Republic has two months to react to the criticism. If Brussels finds Prague's response insufficient, it may hand the issue over to the European Court of Justice, which may impose sanctions on the country.

The Czech Republic got 31 billion more than it gave from the EU in 2011; 15.6 billion may have to be returned to the EU due to errors in subsidies use; petrol prices continue to reach new records; banks plan to open dozens of new branches in 2012; Social Democrats propose bills to decrease household indebtedness.

The board of the Czech National Bank on Thursday approved a 1.5 billion-euro loan to the IMF as part of the EU’s efforts to contain the debt crisis in the euro zone, according to a report by Czech Television. The board made it clear that it would release the funds only on the condition that the Czech Parliament approves government guarantees for the loan, part of a 200 billion euro package to rescue the single European currency.

In December, EU leaders agreed to lend 200 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund in an attempt to ward off the bloc’s debt crisis. The EU asked the Czech Republic to contribute some 3.5 billion euros to the loan; an amount deemed too high by the country’s cabinet.

The European Commission on Thursday threatened to take legal steps against the Czech Republic due to the restrictions it poses on the free movement of EU citizens. According to the commission, a current policy under which foreign EU nationals have to present a confirmation of accommodation to Czech authorities in order to establish temporary residence in the country is against the EU directive on free movement. Member states were ordered to implement this directive by April 2006. The Czech Republic has been given a two-month time frame to respond to the European Commission. Should it find the response unsatisfactory, the commission may take the case to the EU’s court, which could result in sanctions being posed on the Czech Republic.

The Czech government on Wednesday approved a 1.5 billion-euro loan to the IMF as part of the EU’s efforts to contain the debt crisis in the euro zone. The cabinet will now approach the Czech central bank to release the funds, and will provide guarantees for the loan, part of a 200 billion euro package to rescue the single European currency. The Czech Parliament has yet to approve the deal.

In December, EU leaders agreed to lend 200 billion euro to the International Monetary Fund in an attempt to ward off the bloc’s debt crisis. The EU asked the Czech Republic to contribute some 3.5 billion euro to the loan; an amount deemed too high by the country’s cabinet.

The government on Wednesday also gave conditional approval for the Czech Republic to join the euro zone’s planned fiscal compact. The ministers said the deal first needed to be finalized before it is approved in a referendum or by a constitutional majority in the Czech Parliament. The issue whether or not the country should join the planned fiscal union has created tensions on the Czech political scene. The coalition Civic Democrat and Public Affairs parties have taken a reserved stance to the plan and push for it to be approved in a popular vote. Cabinet ministers for the third coalition party, TOP 09, believe an approval by Parliament would suffice. The eurosceptic Czech president, Václav Klaus, had earlier warned he would oppose such a move.

Czech government leaders on Wednesday agreed on the sum that the country would contribute to the European debt crisis scheme. Coalition leaders backed Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek’s proposal to loan 38 billion Czech crowns, about 1.5 billion euros, to the International Monetary Fund – an amount that is significantly lower than the 90 billion Czech crowns EU leaders had originally requested Prague commit to at a crisis summit in Brussels last month.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday amid negotiations on the fiscal discipline pact in Brussels, Mr Kalousek also said that no one in the EU understands the position of the Czech cabinet, which wants Prague´s accession to the planned deal to be decided in a referendum. Mr Kalousek is deputy chairman of TOP 09, which opposes a referendum but was outvoted by its coalition partners, who insist the planned treaty changes basic EU legislation and transfers further national powers to Brussels. The fiscal discipline treaty is meant to tighten the EU´s supervision of national budgets and will be discussed at the EU summit on Monday.