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The government is prepared for a constitutional confrontation with President Václav Klaus if he persists in blocking the Lisbon treaty, the magazine Respekt reported on Monday. It says the government is considering asking the Czech Constitutional Court to rule whether President Klaus can continue to refuse signing the EU’s reforming treaty if his current demands are met and the court rules that the treaty is not in conflict with Czech law. Respekt says the government would ask the court's permission for the prime minister to ratify the treaty if it ruled against the president. The government is prepared to inform EU leaders of its stance at a summit at the end of this month, it adds.

President Klaus suggested in an interview on Saturday that the Lisbon treaty had gone too far to be stopped and that he could not delay ratification until British elections next spring.

Czech ministers have predicted that gas supplies are almost certain to be cut this winter because of the ongoing disputes between Russia and Ukraine. Deputy minister for energy Tomáš Hüner said the crisis of last January was almost certain to be repeated. The government discussed a report on the likelihood of another crisis and emergency measures to be taken if it occurs on Monday. The report prepared by the foreign affairs, interior and industry ministry highlight the risk of heat being cut to 2.5 million Czechs who rely on central heating plants powered by gas. The country has gas reserves for around 40 days but these could run down quicker in bad weather. The government has resolved to test emergency procedures in November.

Two people at the centre of a scandal over the functioning of the law faculty at Plzeň University have been given notice by the acting head of the faculty, former justice minister Jíří Pospíšil. Mr Pospíšil said on Monday that there had been shortcomings in how former dean Jaroslav Zachariáš and vice-dean Ivan Tomažič performed their work. They were still teaching at the law faculty. The faculty of the University of West Bohemia has been the focus of a long running scandal about plagiarism and fast-track degrees since mid-September.

The Czech choice of a new European Commissioner should be made within two or three weeks, Prime Minister Jan Fischer said on Monday. Mr Fischer stressed that he still had not received a formal request from the European Commission to start the process and that there was no hurry. The traditional main parties have all advanced their own candidates for the plum post. The Social Democrats want current commissioner and former prime minister Vladimír Špidla to stay on. The Civic Democrats have put forward former European affairs minister Alexandr Vondra. The Greens have advanced economist Jan Švejnar, the Christian Democrats Pavel Svoboda and Communists Vladimír Remek.