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.

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic - The European Union's foreign ministers Friday voiced their support for the Czech Republic, despite the country's government resigning midway through its tenure as the bloc's president.

"We must strongly help the Czech presidency," said Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini during informal talks in the southern Czech Republic. "It would be a disaster if Europe was left without an authoritative and agreed line."

Hluboka Castle, Czech Republic  - EU foreign ministers were set to meet Friday in a 13th century castle in the Czech Republic to discuss ways of helping the United States defeat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.

The EU talks were to take place amid reports that US President Barack Obama was planning to send thousands of additional army trainers to the country in a bid to loosen its dependance on Western help.