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The Social Democrats Irena Kočí has been sworn in as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, following the resignation of his seat in the lower house by her former party colleague Michal Pohanka. Mr Pohanka had previously abandoned the opposition benches to vote with the government; his departure has further weakened the shaky coalition, which is unsure of a majority in the lower house.

Prime Minster Mirek Topolánek said on Tuesday that he plans to announce changes in the centre-right coalition government before the end of the week. A reshuffle has been on the cards ever since the coalition’s crushing defeat in regional and Senate elections in October but the prime minister had postponed the move until his own party confirmed his mandate as party leader and head of government two weeks ago. The three party ruling coalition has been racked by infighting and defections which have weakened its position in the lower house, making it difficult to push through further reforms and undermining its position ahead of the EU presidency.

The Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said that the Czech Republic could organize not only an EU-Israeli summit during its EU presidency but also a summit between the EU and Palestine. He made the statement after talks on Monday with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. The two ministers discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the situation in the Mediterranean and the priorities of the Czech Republic's upcoming EU presidency. Israel has said that Prague can assist the peace process during its presidency by intensifying the EU role as mediator in the dialogue between Israel and Palestine. At the same time, Israel has made it clear that it is mainly the countries in the region that bear the responsibility for peace.

The Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek said during a visit to Israel earlier this year that he would welcome a more active role by the EU in the Middle East peace process. The Czech Republic takes up the EU presidency on January 1.

Former Czech president Václav Havel on Tuesday criticized the European Union for what he called an "overly cautious" policy towards Russia and accused it of putting economic interests ahead of human rights. Speaking at a conference organised by the pro-EU civic group Yes For Europe in Prague, Mr. Havel said that Russia was a new type of authoritarian regime that is far more sophisticated than a classic dictatorship and that it was extremely important for the EU to communicate with it openly, for instance to ask about the politically motivated murders of certain Russian journalists.

In early December, the 27-nation bloc resumed key partnership talks with Russia, aimed at boosting economic and diplomatic ties three months after they were frozen in the wake of the conflict between Russia and Georgia.