Prague - The leaders of the Czech Republic's two major rival political parties, outgoing Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek and Social Democratic head Jiri Paroubek, agreed to hold early elections, government officials said Saturday.

"They met and agreed on early elections," Topolanek's spokeswoman, Jana Bartosova, told the German Press Agency dpa.

However, the spokeswoman would not comment on Czech media reports suggesting a general election could take place in October.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic - European Union foreign ministers were Saturday holding informal talks in the Czech Republic on the membership aspirations of the Western Balkans.

Of the seven countries, most of them formerly part of Yugoslavia, Croatia is next in line to join the bloc and aims to conclude membership negotiations by the end of this year.

But first, it must resolve an ugly border dispute with neighbouring Slovenia, which became an EU member in 2004 and is now blocking Croatia's bid.

Prague - Political talks in Prague on Friday left chances open for outgoing Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek to complete his term at the European Union's helm under a "restructured" cabinet.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus and opposition Social Democratic leader Jiri Paroubek, whose party ousted the government, debated an option of swearing in a "partially" reconstructed Topolanek cabinet, Klaus' office said in a statement.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic  - The European Union on Friday welcomed US President Barack Obama's revised strategy for Afghanistan and vowed to contribute to a "civilian surge" with more money and more trainers.

"(We heard) a very important speech, a very important analysis ... we have a lot of points in common," the EU's top foreign policy official, Javier Solana, told the German Press Agency dpa on the sidelines of a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in the Czech Republic.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic  - The Netherlands opposes European Union plans to invite Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko to a May 7 summit in Prague, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said Friday.

"According to our view, President Lukaschenko should not be given a political platform on May 7th," Verhagen said on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Czech Republic.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic  - There is "broad consensus" within NATO that Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen should become the next head of the transatlantic alliance, Italian diplomatic sources said Friday.

"There is a general consensus among the allies on Rasmussen's name," Italian diplomats said on the sidelines of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in the Czech Republic.