There is a consensus among Czech political parties that memberships of NATO and the EU are currently the country’s best guarantee of security and prosperity, President Petr Pavel said at a press conference yesterday, following a series of talks with the leaders of Czech parliamentary parties.
Pavel said that these parties, including the opposition, also agreed that they saw security in a comprehensive way, and that the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine would clearly affect the security of the Czech Republic.
He added that the leaders of the parties had approached the negotiations in a substantive manner, and the debates took the character of an exchange of views, not just political declarations.
The President had separate meetings with the leaders of the Pirates, Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), Mayors and Independents (STAN), ANO, and finally the governing Spolu coalition, comprising the Civic Democrats (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09.
Pavel said his aim was not to discourage politicians from emphasising the issue of security ahead of the October parliamentary elections, but from using the issue to divide society.
He said he saw being firmly anchored in the EU and NATO as the cornerstone of the Czech Republic’s security. He also spoke with the party heads about their approach to increasing security, both through increasing defence spending and by focusing on the preparedness of the state and its institutions and citizens for possible crises.
According to Pavel, membership in the EU and NATO was not questioned even by SPD, which is pushing for a referendum on leaving those organisations. “They stressed that as a party of direct democracy they are committed to ensuring that citizens have the right to express themselves in a referendum on whether or not to remain,” he said.
Pavel also stated that the way the war in Ukraine ends would clearly affect the security of the Czech Republic for years, perhaps decades to come, as well as Europe as a whole.
According to Pavel, it is also legitimate that the parties differ in their approach to the extent to which they support Ukraine. “But none of them disputes that the outcome of the war will have an impact on us and that it is necessary to do everything possible to ensure that peace negotiations lead to a quick result if possible, even at the cost of making some compromises,” he added.
The President said that no party disputed that more spending on security was needed, although they may have different views on how to proceed with increasing defence spending. “Some of the parties have a greater emphasis that higher spending should be accompanied by greater efficiency and transparency, which is absolutely fine,” he noted.
The politicians did not directly discuss ANO’s criticism of the ammunition initiative for Ukraine, for example. However, any reservations about possible non-transparency have always been dealt with very quickly and openly, Pavel said, adding that the largest contributors to the initiative were given the opportunity to send their auditors to the Czech Defence Ministry to check how their money was being handled. He noted that he has not seen a complaint from any country.
The President also said he was under no illusion that all parties would leave yesterday’s meetings with complete agreement on all the main points. He considered the format of individual meetings with individual parties and coalitions appropriate given that the official campaign period for the parliamentary elections has now started.
