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Deputy Prime Minister and chairman of the junior coalition partner, the Freedom Union Petr Mares said on Sunday that he would on principle approve of possible stationing of US army units in the Czech Republic. Speaking in a televised debate Mr Mares said he would not object to stationing allied units on Czech territory if it were in harmony with the Czech Republic's commitments as a NATO member and if it improved the country's defence ability. According to speculation, the United States is considering moving its troops from Germany eastwards. While the possibility of the deployment of US troops is accepted positively in Poland, Czech politicians' positions on the issue differ.

President Vaclav Klaus has adopted a reserved stance and pointed to a parallel with the presence of the Soviet troops in Czechoslovakia after it was occupied by the former Warsaw pact armies in 1968. Reacting to President Klaus's statement Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said that American troops could be stationed in the Czech Republic.

For the first time, both units of the Temelin nuclear power plant started operating at full power on Saturday, two and a half years after the opening of the plant, which has been the object of protests and hunger strikes. Both the reactor's 1,000-megawatt units are to run at full power for a trial period before they are giving a passing grade and licenced for commercial electrical production. Although given a green light by international and Czech atomic power experts, the plant has been plagued by technical problems and delays since its first unit began operating in October 2000. The technical faults and Temelin's proximity to the Austrian and German borders have stirred years of protests in those countries. For nearly three years, Temelin protesters have blocked roads at the Czech-Austrian border, staged hunger strikes, threatening to block the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union in 2004.

The Czech Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda has said that American troops could be stationed in the Czech Republic. Mr Svoboda, who is attending an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the European Union member and candidate countries in Greece, said that history teaches us that security in Europe is not ensured without the United States. Foreign Minister Svoboda was reacting to President Vaclav Klaus's interview published in Saturday's edition of the German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, in which Mr Klaus said that he was against the stationing of US units in the Czech Republic. President Klaus said that owing to their recent history Czechs were very sensitive to the topic of foreign military units being deployed on Czech territory. Alluding to the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Mr Klaus said in Sueddeutsche Zeitung that any new stationing of foreign troops would probably not be welcomed. According to some speculations, the United States is contemplating removing its troops from Germany eastwards.

The Czech Air Force could obtain 14 old Tornado F3 fighters from the British Army, which would replace the MiG-21 fighters whose lifespan expires soon, either for free or for a symbolic price, the daily Pravo wrote on Saturday, citing Defence Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik. However, the Defence Ministry should consider whether the operation of the old British planes would be profitable.

According to the paper, army experts need to ascertain, for instance, whether general repairs would have to be made on the planes and how much the pilot training would cost. They are also studying whether the adjustment of airport infrastructure to the operation of Tornados would prove worthwhile. On Wednesday, Minister Tvrdik discussed the possibility of obtaining old Tornado fighters with his British counterpart Geoff Hoon.