Minister Metnar with EU colleagues discussed stability of Sahel and joint projects in Brussels

Author: by Jan Pejšek

Minister Lubomír Metnar first took part in the joint meeting of the European Union Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers with their counterparts from G5 Sahel countries and then in a dedicated session of EU Defence Ministers in Brussels.

In the morning expanded session on 14 May 2019, the Ministers of EU Member States, Mali, Niger, Mauretania, Chad and Burkina Faso concurred that stability in the Sahel region was critical.

„Stability in this part of Africa is also key for Europe and the Czech Republic. That is also why we are very active in this region and increased our engagement by 70 personnel in last November. In the EU Training Mission Mali, we currently have one hundred and eighteen servicemembers deployed, which represents the third largest contingent. We also have some additional service personnel in the MINUSMA mission,” Lubomír Metnar said.

In the afternoon, the Defence Ministers discussed EU-NATO cooperation on countering hybrid threats and the projects within the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO). They concurred the agreed joint projects needed to be further developed and made more effective.

Meeting of the Visegrad Four, France and Germany Ministers

The meeting was preceded on Monday by a working dinner of the Visegrad Four Defence Ministers with Defence Ministers of France and Germany, where they discussed cooperation both in NATO and the European Union. Defence Ministers met in this format in 2013 last time.

„France and Germany are the most important European Allies for the V4 and this joint meeting was therefore very important,” Minister Metnar summed up.

Recognition of Karel Kovanda

During his stay in Brussels, Minister Metnar also met with Mr. Karel Kovanda, who lives there and had served as the very first Ambassador of the Czech Republic in NATO after 1999.

„Karel Kovanda is one of those who can proudly take credit in our membership in NATO. It was a great pleasure to meet Karel Kovanda and present to him a certificate of appreciation and a plaque on the 20th anniversary of our accession to NATO,” the Minister said.