News

An overwhelming majority of Prague citizens fear the protest demonstrations that are expected to take place during the NATO summit on November 21st and 22nd. Results of a public opinion poll released by the Prague School of International and Public Relations on Tuesday showed that some 80 percent of Prague citizens fear street rioting and 53 percent fear a possible terrorist attack. On the other hand, 58 percent also agreed to the summit being held in Prague. Opinion polls conducted over recent months have shown that fears of demonstrations and terrorist attacks in the Czech capital are on the rise as the NATO summit draws near.

The frontrunner candidates for EU membership, including the Czech Republic, will most probably join the European Union a few months later than expected. Instead of on January 1st 2004, the countries will most likely become EU members in the spring of 2004. Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said that the exact date will depend on the time it will take to ratify the accession treaty. Since the treaty is expected to be several thousand pages long, current member states will not be pressured into speeding up their ratification. Mr Verheugen stressed, however, that the expansion process will have to be complete before the elections to the European Parliament in July 2004.

The U.S. President, George W. Bush, is expected to arrive in Prague on November 20th. This will be one day earlier than originally planned as Mr Bush wants to link the trip to Prague for the NATO summit with an official visit to the Czech Republic to meet with his Czech counterpart Vaclav Havel and Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. Mr Bush will arrive with his wife Laura, and a delegation, which is to include U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Defence Minister Donald Rumsfeld. Leading representatives from 19 NATO member states, about 2,000 delegates and some 3,000 journalists are expected to meet in Prague's Congress Centre for the NATO summit that will be held on November 21st to 22nd.

The lower house of the Czech parliament has approved a law allowing US warplanes to help guard the skies over the country during the NATO summit this month. The US government has agreed to deploy its fighters to ensure the security of the summit in Prague, which will be attended by US President George W. Bush and dozens of other heads of states. The bill, which has yet to be approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president, paves the way for up to 15 fighter jets to operate at any given moment in Czech airspace between November 15th and 30th. As many as 250 US soldiers will be allowed onto Czech territory for the deployment. The Prague summit will be NATO's first full meeting since the September 11th attacks on the United States. The US Air Force will join the biggest security operation conducted on Czech soil. Some 12,000 police and army personnel are preparing for the arrival of leaders from more than 40 countries.