A ceremony held in the Litomyšl Chateau today starts the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The key goal for the Czech Republic in this semester will be to foster a safer and stronger Europe and the MoD priorities build on that endeavour.
The priorities of the Ministry of Defence include the strengthening of EU-NATO cooperation, assistance to Ukraine and implementation of the Strategic Compass.
Defence Minister Jana Černochová underscored that cooperation between the European Union and NATO is intrinsic to the security of the Euro-Atlantic Area. “Russia's invasion of Ukraine brought the EU and NATO closer together. We are united and ready to further strengthen our transatlantic security,” the Minister said.
The Czech Presidency will seek ways to intensify this cooperation and harmonise attitudes while avoiding duplication. We will also strive for the Czech Presidency to achieve the signing of the EU-NATO Joint Declaration, which will address a variety of topics including the provision of military mobility: That will involve cooperation on supporting movements of forces across Europe, on the use of space or development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous systems or quantum computing.
Support to Ukraine continues through the Czech Presidency
The Czech Republic has received almost 400 thousand refugees from Ukraine so far and is among the five greatest supporters of Ukraine in terms of military assistance. According to Jana Černochová, the Czech Presidency will push for the EU to carry on supporting Ukraine both in the course of fighting and in the post-war reconstruction of the country. “Our goal is to provide Ukraine with maximum support in its defence. We stand behind Ukraine and will stand by it in its reconstruction and a resilience building,” Minister Černochová reiterated. The Czech Republic also seeks to stir up a debate in the EU to make EU’s assistance as effective as possible.
Ukraine is one of the key topics for activities that the Czech Defence Ministry will organise as part of the Czech Presidency. Options for assistance will be discussed by the Defence Ministers as well as Defence Policy Directors in dedicated informal meetings. Ukraine will also be the topic of the Away Day meeting of the EU Military Committee.
EU has a plan till 2030 to strengthen our security
The Strategic Compass is the European Union’s first strategy focused purely on security and defence, harnessing future efforts in the provision of security. The Czech Presidency will seek to continue the implementation of the policy that was endorsed three months ago. “The European Union must be a stronger and more capable security player. The Strategic Compass will for instance enhance our ability to counter hybrid threats, boost our defence industry, and improve our decision-making,” Minister Černochová said.
One of the many areas of the Strategic Compass the Czech Presidency will seek to take forward is hybrid interference. The Czech Presidency will therefore specifically work on the Hybrid Toolbox, which is designed to frame a coordinated response by the Member States. High attention will also be dedicated to space policy, specifically in support of the development of the EU Space Strategy for Security and Defence.
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