Prague  - The Czech parliament's lower house Tuesday adjourned a session on the European Union's reform treaty until February 3 in a bid to postpone the vote on the pact.

The 200-seat house adjourned the session in a 159-8 vote, requested by the party of Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek.

Topolanek's centre-right Civic Democrats want to barter their support for the Lisbon Treaty in exchange for opposition votes for a US plan to place a missile defence installation on Czech soil.

Brussels  - The European Union is to spend 55 million euros (70 million dollars) over the next five years to make the internet safer for children, officials in Brussels said Tuesday.

Three quarters of children aged under 17 in the EU have access to the internet, and half of all 10-year-olds have a mobile phone, making it vital to protect them against online bullying and harassment.

Brussels  - The European Union's naval mission to Somalia was formally launched Tuesday, despite unresolved legal questions about how detained pirates might be brought to justice.

Codenamed "Atalanta," the year-long maritime mission is the first of its kind by the EU, relying on up to six warships and two or three maritime patrol aircraft at any one time.

The mission will be carried out by frigates and heavyweight destroyers, with helicopter support and satellite surveillance of the Gulf of Aden.

Brussels - European Union states and members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Tuesday reached an informal deal on a law boosting the amount of renewable energy, such as wave and solar power, which the bloc uses in 2020.

They also reached agreement on a law aimed at increasing the amount of plant-based bio-fuels the EU uses to 10 per cent of total consumption, officials said.

Pristina  - The European Union's mission in Kosovo began deploying personnel Tuesday with the ultimate aim of helping the territory enforce the rule of law.

The mission, the Eulex, said it would comprise 1,900 foreign officials when fully deployed throughout Kosovo, building from the 1,400 there at the launch.

Some 1,100 local staff would also join the Eulex to help Kosovo establish the elusive rule of law by coaching, advising and in some cases ordering local authorities.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February, but remains plagued by ethnic hatred, segregation, crime and corruption, thriving amid widespread poverty and a staggering rate of unemployment.

Brussels  - Culture ministers of the 27-member European Union recently agreed in Brussels to award an EU cultural heritage seal to significant European cultural sites in a bid to promote awareness of a common history.

"It's a matter of pointing out Europe's own, special identity," said Christine Albanel, France's culture minister and current president of the EU Council of Culture Ministers. This was especially important for Europe's young people, she said.