Welcome address by Vlasta Parkanová at the Informal Meeting of the EU Defence Policy
Welcome address by Vice-Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Czech Republic Vlasta Parkanová at the Informal Meeting of the EU Defence Policy Directors
Dear Defence Policy Directors, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Prague and address you at the beginning of the second part of your meeting.
The Czech Republic assumed its first EU Presidency in history on 1 January 2009. The Presidency comes in a year that is important for us for a number of reasons which I believe are worth mentioning:
- Europe will be celebrating 20 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
- It will be 5 years since the largest enlargement of the EU in 2004.
- In June this year, we will mark the 10th anniversary of the birth of the ESDP institutional architecture established at the EU Summit in Cologne.
But this spring we will also commemorate the 60th anniversary of the founding of NATO and 10 years since the first post-Cold War wave of NATO enlargement took place in 1999. All of these events have had a tremendous impact on my nation’s security and in one form or another contributed to the fact that the Czech Republic stands today firmly within the family of democratic nations in Europe.
Today, we have the privilege for the first time to perform our EU Presidency role. We have worked hard to prepare and set-up priorities and a work programme, so that the limited timeframe can be used in the best possible way to implement them. However, as recent history shows, almost every EU Presidency starts its turn by dealing with brand new issues that come up suddenly and unexpectedly.
The initial intent was to start the Czech EU Presidency with the implementation of three principle priority areas, the so-called 3 E´s: (firstly) the Economy, (secondly) Energy and (thirdly) the European Union in the World.
Developments at the beginning of this year, as Prime Minister Topolánek said during his speech in the European Parliament last week: “transformed the 3 E’s into 2 G’s - Gas and Gaza. In physics, E is used to denote energy, and G is the symbol of gravitational acceleration. And two G’s are quite a heavy overload for an untrained organism.”
In November last year during our ministerial session in Brussels, I already outlined the priority areas and work programme of the Czech EU Presidency with regard to the European Security and Defence Policy. Let me therefore just briefly touch upon some of the main features.
The overall ambition of the Czech EU Presidency is to continue initiatives already started and move them towards successful implementation. We don’t intend to initiate brand new projects and programmes unless circumstances require so.
The fundamental principles of our approach are realism and transparency. Realism in the sense that there are already a significant number of projects and initiatives that need to be looked at in order for them to be fulfilled successfully. And transparency in the sense that it is an indispensable requirement for the EU to cooperate with all other significant international players. This means sharing information, sharing ideas, sharing whatever it takes - being transparent.
The Czech EU presidency will take the work based on the 18-month EU Trio Presidency programme prepared by France, the Czech Republic and Sweden forward. We will maintain the course in its implementation, continuing the work started by France and closely cooperating with our Swedish colleagues.
While doing so, we will primarily focus on three fundamental areas:
- EU operations;
- capability development;
- cooperation with strategic partners. The agenda of your meeting reflects this approach.
With regard to the EU operations, I’ve been informed that you had a very open debate on this issue yesterday. Let me therefore just briefly highlight the issues I consider the most important.
As concerns operation ALTHEA we expect the appropriate political decision to be taken this year in order to enable further configuration of this operation. But apart from its importance in maintaining security and stability on the spot, ALTHEA serves also one wider political purpose – it reminds us of the importance and usability of the Berlin Plus arrangement.
In operation EUFOR Chad/RCA, we will face the re-hatting of the EU operation and its transfer under the UN. The UN Security Council Resolution 1861 approved on 14 January 2009 represents the key element in achieving the planned transfer of authority on 15 March. In this context, we are very well aware of the necessity to ensure a smooth transfer of responsibility from the EU to the UN and we encourage nations to contribute to the maximum extent possible to a successful conclusion of the planned handover.
Also, the Czech EU Presidency pays great attention to the first EU military maritime operation in Somalian waters. Even though a land-locked country, we do feel the impact of insecurity in and around the Horn of Africa and we are ready to assist here.
As to EU capability development, we will support the continuation of the work started by the French Presidency and the outcome of the November ministerial meeting in Brussels. We will, however, also put emphasis on specific areas, most notably on the issue of helicopter availability. Here, I do not want to go into details because this is exactly what you will be discussing in a moment. However, let me just mention the importance of the Helicopter Availability Seminar which will be held in Prague next week. This event will present a unique opportunity for all actors to come together and exchange their views on this important issue in order to achieve maximum complementarity and efficiency.
With regard to EU cooperation with strategic partners, we will carry on activities in the security partnership with the United Nations, the African Union and particularly with NATO. We cannot afford to go separate ways and I express my personal interest in this issue.
Last but not least, we plan to link up to what has been done during the French EU Presidency in the area of military education. We will continue to take the education programme inspired by the ERASMUS exchange scheme forward and we will hold a seminar in mid-April as a follow-up to the Paris event at the end of last year, while further building on its results and findings.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, even if short, this introduction touched upon a number of important and difficult issues. The Czech Republic will do its best to play its Presidency role of moderating the debate within the European Union, but the successful outcome of the EU policies and actions is up to all of us.
In conclusion, let me express my sincere pleasure of hosting the Informal Meeting of EU Defence Ministers here in Prague on 12 - 13 March 2009. I am very much looking forward to welcoming your ministers, as well as, of course, many of you here in March.
Thank you for your attention.
Last update: 16.8.2011 15:50
