The “Star Shield” project, so-strongly desired by the Bush Administration, foresees the installation of a radar system in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland.

Presented as a defence system for the in-flight interception of ballistic missiles launched towards Europe and the USA by Iran and other “rogue states”, the space shield, as is also shown in official Pentagon documents, is in reality an attack system that, upon implementation, will guarantee the USA global dominion, safeguarding their investments in the world and guaranteeing control of the most important energy sources on the planet.

But the first and, perhaps, real objective of the Space Shield is to isolate Russia, setting her against Europe with whom strong commercial relationships have been established in recent years.

The building of a shield along the Russian border is a provocation that has the aim of stirring up the reaction of Moscow and starting a new Cold War whose consequences could be disastrous.

Besides this there exists the risk of provoking an economic crisis even more profound than the current one if there ends up being a lack of the gas and oil that Europe acquires precisely from Russia.

It’s for these reasons that the US project has provoked negative reactions in many European countries; even Berlusconi and Sarkozy, who for sure aren’t pacifists, have expressed serious reservations about the wisdom of building a space shield.

Recent declarations of goodwill by President Obama and the possibility that Russia suspends the installation of tactical Iskander missiles in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad have attenuated the tensions, but these events, although encouraging, do not yet guarantee the renunciation of this dangerous project.

In this respect neither the European Commission, the Council of Ministers of the European Union, the European Parliament, nor NATO allies have been consulted.

The Space Shield project is solely sustained by the bilateral agreements with the Czech Republic and Poland whose governments are acting like US “Trojan Horses” within the EU, without caring about the will of the citizens (in the Czech Republic 70% of the population is against the installation of the radar base.)

It’s not by chance that after the fall of the Berlin wall, the United States rapidly opened the doors of NATO to ex-socialist countries.  In this way they were able to train the military and political leaders so that they would be closer to their interests.

At the beginning of 2009 one of these “Trojan Horses”, the Czech Republic, took over the Presidency of the European Union; precisely for this reason we are carrying the protest to the heart of the European Parliament and we will ask it to express itself on this fundamental question.

On the 18th of February in Brussels, with an International delegation of Europe for Peace, the European Spokesperson for New Humanism, Czech representatives of the Non-violent Movement against the Bases and a delegation of 40 Czech Mayors who are opposed to the construction of the radar, will participate in a meeting with MEPs about the problem of the Space Shield.

Simultaneously there will be a protest demonstration in front of the European Parliament, supported by demonstrations and events that will take place in many other cities to urge the European Parliament to oppose the Space Shield and the re-launch of the arms race.

On the 18th of February, Europe sets itself in motion for peace and nonviolence.