23.6.2026
Minister Zůna attended meeting in NATO HQ, discussed European contribution to collective defence
Minister of Defence Jaromír Zůna took part in the Defence Ministerial Meeting in NATO Headquarters in Brussels. He also had short bilateral meetings on his agenda.
Minister Zůna’s busy schedule began with a morning session of the Nuclear Planning Group. After a short intermission, the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers’ format resumed. Besides preparing for the upcoming NATO Summit in Ankara, the Ministers discussed strengthening the role of Europe in collective defence, Transatlantic cooperation, combat readiness, emphasis on military capabilities and credibility, and introduction of innovative technologies. Unity, the importance of deterrence involving weapons of mass destruction, and strengthening of the defence industry were tabled on multiple occasions.
“European Allies are moving noticeably towards higher defence expenditures and building military capabilities. We can clearly see that the nations understand they should take on bigger responsibility for defending the Alliance, the NATO Nations and Europe as a whole,” Minister Zůna commented.
On the sidelines of the Defence Ministers’ session, Minister Zůna met with several of his counterparts, for example Canadian Minister David McGuinty, Montenegrin Minister Dragan Krapović and North Macedonian Minister Vlado Misajlovski. In the afternoon, Minister Zůna attended the Ukraine Defence Contact Group. The Czech Ammunition Initiative through which the Czech Republic provides logistic support to ammunition supply from aiding countries to Ukraine was appreciated during Thursday meetings.
Apart from Minister Zůna, the Czech delegation comprised Government Commissioner for NATO Commitments Jakub Landovský, Permanent Representative of Czechia to NATO David Konecký and Deputy Director of MoD Defence Policy and Strategy Division Rudolf Štědrý. They were joined by Director of the Inter-Governmental Defence Cooperation Agency Aleš Vytečka in the afternoon.
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