Prague - The European Union plans to increase its staff of legal and police advisers in Afghanistan in the coming months, announced EU officials after meeting with their Afghan counterparts in Prague Wednesday.

The current contingent of 180 advisers is expected to rise to 400 under the plan laid out by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg after meeting with Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta.

Schwarzenberg was speaking in the name of the EU presidency, which is currently held by the Czech Republic through June.

Brussels/Prague - NATO and the European Union on Wednesday welcomed reports that Russia would no longer be deploying missiles next to Poland and Lithuania in response to a shift in US policy on a planned missile-defence shield in the heart of Europe.

"The Russian announcement to deploy Iskander (short-range) missiles was unwelcome. If this proposal has been withdrawn, this would be a good step," said NATO spokeswoman Carmen Romero.

Prague - The Czech Republic's centre-right government Monday approved a budget rewrite for 2009 that reflects the expected slump of country's economy, an official said.

Under the revision, the budget deficit could nearly double to 73.3 billion koruny (3.4 billion dollars) this year if the economy slows down to around 1 per cent, an option that Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek views as the most realistic.

"At this moment I consider the 1-per-cent version ... as closest to reality," Kalousek said at a news conference, adding that he hoped the growth would hover above zero.

Prague- The creator of a controversial EU artwork, Czech artist David Cerny, failed his own humour test as he bashed a Czech newspaper for running a fictitious interview with him, a report said on Monday.

The Mlada Fronta Dnes daily ran on Saturday a fictitious interview with Cerny, which twists and elaborates on some of his real statements.

Editor-in-chief Robert Casensky said in the Monday edition that the newspaper wanted to try out Cerny's sense of humour after the artist put the sense of humour of the European Union to the test.

Prague - The pan-European movement Libertas, which successfully rallied opposition to the European Union's Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, has registered a branch in the Czech Republic, it was revealed on Wednesday.

The party, listed since January 13, was registered by the Czech member of the European Parliament and former television magnate, Vladimir Zelezny, the Lidove Noviny daily reported Wednesday, citing a Libertas spokeswoman.

Prague  - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country chairs the European Union until June 30, said he hopes US President Barack Obama can be as strong as his predecessors.

"I would wish him that he is not afraid to tackle problems as forcefully as his predecessors," Topolanek said.

Topolanek's centre-right government, a close ally of outgoing US president George W Bush, is waiting to hear from Obama on plans to place a US missile defence base in the Czech Republic and Poland, former Soviet satellite states.