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The Czech Republic joined NATO eight years ago this week, in March 1999. Joining the organization was one of the biggest steps taken by the country in the decade after the fall of communism. But eight years later, support for NATO membership seems to be waning in the Czech Republic.

NATO's Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said negotiations about the stationing of a US anti-missile base are a bilateral issue of the United States and the country in question. After meeting Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek in Brussels on Monday, Mr de Hoop Scheffer said the US project nevertheless speeded up talks within NATO on its own anti-missile shield. Prime Minister Topolanek said he welcomed further discussion within the alliance and said bilateral talks with the United States were the beginning of such a process.

Fifty-five percent of Czechs approve of their country's membership in NATO, according to the results of a survey conducted by the CVVM agency. Twenty nine percent of respondents criticized the country's presence in NATO and over 15 percent said they did not concern themselves with the issue. Those who approve of NATO membership argued that in the present day a country the size of the Czech Republic needed to be part of a collective defence system. 41 percent of respondents in the poll said NATO membership protected the Czech Republic's independence, while 54 percent said it made the country dependent on foreign powers.

Plans to place part of the US missile defence shield in the Czech Republic have dominated both local and international headlines in recent weeks. The Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek announced in Warsaw on Monday that his country would most likely say "Yes" to Washington. But sharp differences are emerging within Mr Topolanek's centre-right coalition over the plan.

The Czech Republic's ambassador to NATO, Stefan Fulle, has said the proposed US anti-missile defence base cannot be built in Europe without prior consultations within NATO and without being integrated into the alliance's system of command and control. The United States is now holding talks with the Czech Republic over a possible stationing of a radar site in the Brdy hills near Prague.

Echoes of the cold war: that is how some observers characterised Russian President Vladimir Putin recent reaction to US plans to expand its missile defence system in Europe. At a conference in Munich Mr Putin attacked the idea of the missile defence system (which includes a proposed interceptor rocket base in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic), saying such a move could not go unanswered. But what kind of answer might we see?

Two weeks after the United States officially petitioned the Czech Republic for authorisation to operate a radar base in the country, the matter continues to make headlines. The domestic political scene is divided on the issue. While the governing Civic and Christian Democrats say they support the plan, the opposition Communists and Social Democrats are demanding a referendum on the issue.

Although talks on a possible US anti-missile defense system in the Czech Republic and Poland have barely begun the idea has already met with plenty of controversy. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week slammed the plan as an attempt to change the strategic balance in Europe, saying that Russia would come up with a "highly effective" response. Many Czechs consider it a threat to national security and some EU members have unofficially criticized the fact that the US missile base would be part of a bilateral defense agreement. Czech MEP Libor

Within hours of Friday's confidence vote, the United States officially asked the new Czech government to host part of its planned missile defence system. Prime Minister Topolanek supports the proposed radar base - but will the Czech parliament approve?

The Czech foreign minister Alexandr Vondra appeared to confirm this week what defence analysts have been speculating upon for some time: if the United States decides to place part of its missile defence system in Europe, the Czech Republic will almost certainly be asked to host a radar and tracking station, not a full-blown missile base. However there are still many hurdles to be overcome before work on such a facility can begin.