Czechs back Barroso for second term as EC president

The caretaker Czech prime minister, Jan Fischer, has given his endorsement to Jose Manuel Barroso’s bid to win a second term as president of the European Commission. The two met in Brussels on Tuesday ahead of a European Union summit in the city on June 18 and 19 that will be chaired by the Czech leader and make the appointment. Jan Fischer took over as Czech prime minister following the collapse of the Czech government half-way through the country’s presidency of the EU.