Brussels - The Czech presidency of the European Union said Thursday it was ready to remove a controversial art installation in Brussels depicting Bulgaria as a psychedelic Turkish toilet, following protests in Sofia.

The installation by Czech artist David Cerny is located in the main entrance hall of the council building in Brussels, where EU summits take place.

It is meant to poke fun at national cliches and stereotypes of the EU's 27 member states with an 8-ton jigsaw resembling a plastic scale model of an EU map.

Prague - Czech-born architect Jan Kaplicky, creator of organic-shaped buildings and a design visionary, died suddenly at the age of 71, medical services confirmed Thursday.

Kaplicky collapsed on a Prague street on Wednesday evening. He died of heart failure despite efforts to resuscitate him just hours after his daughter was born, his relatives said.

"His heart betrayed him at a moment when he wanted to celebrate this joyful event," the family said in a statement provided to the Czech news agency CTK.

Prague - The European Union's plan for a new database to monitor the fingerprints and photographs of people entering the bloc is so far behind schedule that a crisis is looming, EU interior ministers meeting in Prague on Thursday said.

"It's obvious that we cannot fulfil the schedule on the Schengen Information System II (SIS II), we couldn't start the global testing ... It's one of the most important problems, one of the biggest issues and projects in the field of security," Czech Interior Minister Ivan Langer, who hosted the meeting, said.

Prague  - Former Czech president and playwright Vaclav Havel, an icon of anti-communist resistance, has been treated in a Prague hospital with "an inflammatory illness," his office said Tuesday.

Havel underwent an operation at hospital's otorhinolaryngology clinic, hospital spokeswoman Eva Jurinova said. She said his condition was "stabilized, nevertheless serious."

Neither the hospital, to which Havel was admitted Monday, nor Havel's office would provide further details.

Prague - Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek said Monday he is to replace four ministers in his three-party center-right cabinet as the country holds the six-month rotating EU presidency.

Next to Vice-Premier Jiri Cunek, who announced his resignation earlier Monday, Topolanek sacked Minority Minister Dzamila Stehlikova, Transport Minister Ales Rebicek and Health Minister Tomas Julinek.

Cunek's resignation earlier in the day unblocked Topolanek's plans to overhaul the government.

Prague  - The Czech presidency of the European Union Monday welcomed promise by Russian officials to resume EU-bound natural gas deliveries via Ukraine on Tuesday morning.