Prague

ROUNDUP: Czech president wants quick solution to government crisis

Czech president wants quick solution to government crisisPrague  - Czech President Vaclav Klaus said Thursday he preferred to find a quick but lasting solution to the political crisis, rather than keep outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek in a caretaker role until the end of Prague's stint as president of the European Union.

"I will not allow a lack of a solution ... such as maintaining the current, provisional state ... until the end of our presidency," Klaus said after accepting Topolanek's cabinet resignations earlier in the day.

Czech premier to resign Thursday, Klaus may not re-appoint him

Czech premier to resign Thursday, Klaus may not re-appoint himPrague  - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek is to submit his government's resignation to President Vaclav Klaus on Thursday, two days after his cabinet failed a parliamentary confidence test half way through its presidency of the European Union.

Topolanek is to govern in a caretaker role until a new government is sworn in. President Vaclav Klaus is now the kingmaker of Czech politics as he is to pick the next premier. He has no deadline to do so.

URGENT : Czech government falls during EU presidency

URGENT : Czech government falls during EU presidency Prague 

Confidence vote session underway in Czech Republic

Confidence vote session underway in Czech RepublicPrague  - Czech lawmakers convened Tuesday to submit Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek's government to a confidence test, the outcome of which could undermine country's presidency of the European Union and efforts to ratify the bloc's reform Lisbon Treaty.

If the government falls, it would also complicate the Czech Republic's efforts to battle the economic slump and deal a major blow to Czech-US missile defence treaties, Topolanek's key foreign policy project.

Yushchenko: Eastern Partnership no substitute for EU membership

Yushchenko: Eastern Partnership no substitute for EU membership Prague - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Tuesday that Ukraine would oppose replacing Kiev's efforts to join the European Union with EU's Eastern Partnership plan to bring closer six ex-Soviet states, including Ukraine.

"We do not want this partnership to be an alternative, a substitute for our entrance to the European Union," he said through an interpreter after meeting his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus.

PREVIEW: Czech government faces confidence test during EU presidency

PREVIEW: Czech government faces confidence test during EU presidencyPrague  - The Czech government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek faced a vote of no-confidence on Tuesday, a test that threatens to undermine his country's presidency of the European Union.

Topolanek's fall at home would provide ammunition to his critics abroad, analysts said.

"(French President) Nicolas Sarkozy would be one of the first to make himself heard," said political scientist Petr Just, a lecturer at Metropolitan University in Prague.

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