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Five activists gathered outside the Office of the Government on Monday to protest against the planned stationing of a US missile defence radar on Czech soil. The activists vainly attempted to waylay ministers heading for their cabinet meeting and handed out leaflets against the radar.

The United States wants to install a tracking radar on Czech soil and interceptor missiles in Poland as part of a broader missile defence shield in Europe. Czech and US government representatives signed the relevant treaties earlier this year, but they still have to be approved by the lower house. Anti-radar activists plan to stage more protests in Prague and Brno on Sunday.

The former Vítkovice industrial complex in Ostrava has become the first Czech site to enter the newly emerging list of European Cultural Heritage. Other landmarks nominated by the Czech Ministry of Culture include the modern centre of Zlín, the Kynžvart Chateau in west Bohemia and the town of Vysoká u Příbrami, connected with Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. The EU list of European Cultural Heritage has been inspired by the UNESCO project and still has to be approved by the European Commission.

The Green Party Education Minister Ondřej Liška has stated that he intends to push for discussions on the possible impeachment of the Czech President Václav Klaus. The comments were made in an interview with the daily Právo, in which Liška stated that he does not consider Mr Klaus to be his president, and that if impeachment proceeding were seriously discussed, he would be “at the front of the line.” The Education Minister criticized the Czech president for his activities opposing the Lisbon Treaty, which Mr Liška stated were far beyond the purview of the role assigned to Mr Klaus as an apolitical president. Under Czech law, the president can only be removed from office for treason, or if he or she is unable to carry out their function. Commenting on the difficulty of removing the Czech president from his post, Mr Liška stated that: at the point when the head of state starts actively undermining the foreign policy of the government he is supposed to represent, then a serious discussion about impeachment must be undertaken. Most Green Party members have long opposed the Czech president, in particular for his controversial views on man-made climate change.

The Czech government has revealed a list of priorities as well as a motto for its impending presidency of the European Union, which begins 1 January 2009. Its motto for the presidency will be “Europe without barriers” – while plans include an emphasis on increased free trade, sustainable energy development, a lowering of EU-wide carbon dioxide emissions, and continued discussions about Croatia’s potential EU entry. Other priorities include dealing with the contentious issue of the Lisbon Treaty on a European level, the setting up of an EU conference on human rights in Cuba, and efforts to gain the attendance of then President Barack Obama at an informal EU summit next spring – though the latter goal may be complicated by the president’s attendance at a different summit in London at the same time. The Czech government is reportedly spending more than 3 billion crowns in preparations for its six-month term at the head of the European Union.