[CZECH GOVT]

News that the [CZECH GOVT] has lost the [CONFIDENCE VOTE] in parliament will damage the Czech Republic's reputation as it carries the EU Presidency. The Czech Republic holds the 6-month EU presidency until June, with the bloc struggling to address the economic crisis. Topolanek has said he will step down and with a new cabinet, it will take ministers and their teams time to get up to speed on [EU ISSUES], which could weaken the presidency. The Czechs are set to host an EU-US Summit in April with the highest representatives of all 27 EU member states and US President Obama. As EU president, the Czechs should lead the debate between the two on how to tackle economic crisis. In April, the Czechs will host the ECOFIN and they are also planning several more top-level EU summits and meetings with Russia and China. We await further news.