This means that the MPs would independently deal with the length of U.S.
soldiers' stay at the base. Theoretically, a vote on their presence in the Czech Republic could be repeated every year, or the MPs could vote on the soldiers' stay of 10, 15 or more years, ministry representatives said. Parliament will probably only discuss the precise voting procedure. The United States wants to build the radar base Czech press survey ...
Slovakia signs memorandum on U.S. visa lifting ... in the Czech Republic and a base for ten interceptor missiles in Poland as part of the missile shield that is to protect its territory and a large part of Europe against missiles that states like Iran might launch. About two thirds of Czechs do not agree with the radar base. The government is to sign with the United States two treaties on the base. The major document is the treaty on anti-missile defence and it is to define the conditions of the location and operation of the base, access to it, the regime of visits to the base and other matters. Legal aspects are to be solved by the SOFA supplementary treaty that defines the legal status of the soldiers on the territory of another NATO member country. The Foreign Ministry says the agreement of an absolute majority of lawmakers present would suffice in passing the two treaties. The approval of the stay of U.S. soldiers would, however, require support of 101 out of the total of 200 deputies and 41 out of the total of 81 senators. The centre-right coalition government will not probably have problems with the approval in the Senate, dominated by the senior ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS), but in the Chamber of Deputies support for the radar is much questionable. The opposition is against the radar base. Some deputies from the junior ruling Green Party have objections and deputy Ludvik Hovorka (junior Christian Democratic Union, KDU-CSL) is also hesitating. Besides all coalition votes, the government will also need at last one of the former opposition Social Democrat (CSSD) deputies, Milos Melcak, Michal Pohanka and Evzen Snitily, now unaffiliated.
(Ceske Noviny)
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