News

Talks on the composition of a caretaker government which would rule the country until early elections planned for the autumn continued over the weekend with a statement expected late on Sunday. Representatives of the ruling coalition and the opposition Social Democrats are hoping to reach agreement on a prime minister designate and 16 members of cabinet, a proposal that would be presented to the president on Monday. The ruling parties and the opposition were forced to cooperate on producing a new government after President Klaus said that he would not consider naming a prime minister designate anyone who did not have majority support in the lower house. The alternative is that President Klaus himself would put together a transitional cabinet of his own choice. The caretaker cabinet now being compiled by the coalition and opposition parties is likely to consist of career diplomats and non-partisan experts.

US President Barack Obama has arrived in Prague for an EU-US summit hosted by the Czech presidency on April 5th. The President and First Lady were welcomed at Prague’s Ruzyně Airport by President Vaclav Klaus and outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek before being taken to Prague’s Hilton Hotel where they will be spending the night.

On Sunday morning President Obama will be received with honours at Prague Castle where he will briefly hold talks with the Czech president and prime minister before delivering his first public address in Europe since his inauguration. The speech is expected to focus on the threat posed by nuclear weapons proliferation.

In the afternoon the president will attend the EU-US summit together with the leaders of the 27 member states. He is also expected to meet with the former Czech president Václav Havel before leaving for Ankara in the late afternoon.

According to the AFP news agency, Prime Minister Topolánek hopes to persuade US President Barack Obama not to abandon plans for a controversial missile shield project in central Europe initiated by his predecessor president Bush. The project involves siting missile defence components in the Czech Republic and neighbouring Poland. AFP says that Washington’s new policy of dialogue with Moscow has increased anxiety among the former communist bloc states who were hoping that the project would tie them more firmly to the West.

The United States has formally asked the European Union to accept former prisoners from Guantanamo, and has promised to provide all necessary information, the EU commission said on Friday. Despite a great deal of reticence, the European Union has indicated that some member states would be ready to accept former prisoners on a case-by-case basis. EU Immigration Commissioner Jacques Barrot and Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer travelled to Washington last month to seek more detailed information from the US authorities. The Czech side has so far not indicated a willingness to comply with the request. The issue is expected to be discussed at the EU-US summit in Prague on Sunday.