PM: Czech Republic should sign up to ICC

Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek has said the Czech Republic should sign up to the International Criminal Court and end what he has called the "barely sustainable position" of being the only EU state not to have done so. Speaking in Parliament on Thursday, Mr Topolanek said the Czech Republic should sign up to the treaty by the time it takes over the EU's presidency in 2009. MPs from Mr Topolanek's own Civic Democratic Party voted down a proposal to sign up to the statute creating the Hague-based court in 2001 because of fears that it would leave Czechs open to international prosecution. The Czech foreign ministry has admitted to the country's current position being an embarrassment.