Czech Republic calls on Europe to provide strong security guarantees to Ukraine

Exclusive. Czech Republic claimsthat Europe is capable of defense, and also has the economic, financial and scientific potential to protect Ukraine. All this simply needs to be awakened and directed into one direction, in order to play the role of one of the pillars of a multipolar world with a clear conscience and self-confidence

Petr Pavel: "Ukraine must receive the strongest security guarantees!"

In an interview with České televiň, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the country's defense capability is demonstrated by an effective army and a stable society, and not by the share of GDP spent on defense. In his opinion, the entire country should have the will to defend itself, and everyone can make their contribution. He emphasized that the world order will change significantly, and therefore the Czech Republic and Europe in general should rely more on themselves. The President is convinced that security and foreign policy issues should be the main ones during the next parliamentary elections.

“I have an internal disagreement with assessing defense capability based on the percentage of defense spending in relation to GDP. It has no significant informative value. The main thing is how combat-ready our army is, as well as how resilient our society is,” the president said. According to him, everyone can contribute to strengthening defense capability through participation in active reserves or in activities important for improving internal security. He mentioned, in particular, IT workers, doctors, and firefighters.

The Czech government has decided to gradually increase defense spending by 0,2 percent of GDP annually until 2030. In 2026, the defense budget should be 2,2 percent of GDP, and in 2030, the Czech Republic should spend three percent of GDP on defense.

In Pavel's view, the current way of recruiting the quantitative composition will not be able to cover the needs of the army. He emphasized the hybrid model used in Scandinavian countries, that is, a combination of a professional army and conscript soldiers. Instead, voluntary inclusion in the reserve would be an effective step.

He noted that the European Union, NATO and the United Nations are likely to undergo significant changes. Europe has long convinced itself that without the United States it is unable to ensure the security of the continent. “European governments are not ready for a deeper crisis, because Europe is not a community created for defense and security, but for mutual cooperation,” he said. According to him, the EU is facing unprecedented security threats from Russia and pressure from the United States. “We have no choice but to wake up very quickly and realize that we have the potential and the capabilities,” he noted.

On the Czech President's convictions, Ukraine must receive the strongest security guarantees. It must retain the territories it defends, and its integration into the European Union and, in the future, NATO must continue. According to Pavel, the peace that will potentially be agreed upon must be as fair as possible for Ukraine. However, it is necessary to recognize the reality on the battlefield and reach a compromise. As for the aggressor, this must include the fact that it is simply impossible to liberate all occupied territories at the moment without further huge human losses, primarily of Ukrainians, he added.

Peter Fiala

According to him, Europe has sufficient defense capabilities, as well as economic, financial and scientific potential. “All this just needs to be awakened and directed into one stream, and then we will be able to play the role of one of the pillars of the multipolar world with an absolutely clear conscience and self-confidence,” Pavel said. The defeat of Ukraine, which will create a sense of defeat for Europe, could cause irreparable damage not only to the Czech Republic, but to Europe as a whole. He called Finland a source of inspiration in this sense.

According to the Czech President, the topic of the election campaign in the parliamentary elections should be security and foreign policy. "If we do not live in a safe and stable environment, domestic problems lose their relevance. The government and the main opposition party, the ANO movement, have now managed to reach an agreement on the basic principles of foreign and security policy," says Pavel. The President hopes that this will continue. However, he intends to discuss the direction of the country's development with the parties before the elections, and meetings in the coalition and opposition will take place next week.

After the parliamentary elections, he wants to negotiate with all parties and try to influence the further development of events with his opinion. "If the winning party has a chance to gain trust in the Chamber of Deputies, it will be the first to form a government," he emphasized.

It is worth noting that the majority of Czechs currently support the opposition movement ANO of former Prime Minister Andrej Babis.

The Czech Republic is aware that a global hybrid war is underway and is resisting it

According to the Czech authorities, teachers should be on the front lines against disinformation.

In the first week of March, the Modrá rybka Foundation organized a conference for teachers "School of the 21st Century" in Prague Castle under the auspices of the First Lady Eva Pavlova. Experts addressed the attending educators with a message that the era of hybrid threats Their role is crucial – teaching children should strengthen them against disinformation, manipulation and conspiracy theories.

"The security situation in the world is extremely serious. "At the moment, we are not faced with missiles, drones or tanks, but we are faced with numerous hybrid threats, the collapse of the world as we have known it for many years, deliberate information overload of the public space, widespread lies, manipulation and confusion of concepts," began his speech at the "School of the 21st Century" conference, Michal Koudelka, Director of the Information Security Service.

He said that the Czech Republic is resisting global propaganda, primarily from Russia, therefore waging a hybrid war. “They are trying to manipulate us, disrupt our unity, turn us against our own country, break the trust of citizens in the state, its institutions, as well as in the European Union or NATO,” he continued.

Michal Kudelka

He called the attempt to create a feeling in people that everything around is a lie, that nothing makes sense and that nothing can be trusted a serious problem. The goal is to weaken Czech society and deprive it of the desire to defend itself against attacks. "On this imaginary front, we are opposing human stupidity, the ignorance of those who help spread this lie, often voluntarily and absolutely without any benefit for themselves." "This voluntary fifth column can also be used by external hostile propaganda, which has its own channels in our country," he warned.

Koudelka argues that the solution lies in the responsible work of educators who will help students develop immunity to disinformation or manipulation. According to him, the most effective way to counter hybrid attacks is education. “The horror of every disinformer is an educated target.” You have a great responsibility for the upbringing and training of our children, and therefore for our future. “Because your abilities, perspective, morale and courage are of great importance,” he addressed the teachers. He also emphasized the fundamental importance of teaching modern history and media education. However, many schools do not bother with them in order to please parents who do not want to overload their brains.

At the conference, hosted by First Lady Eva Pavlova at Prague Castle, Otakar Foltin, the strategic communications coordinator for the Government Office, called information literacy a military duty of the future. He noted that most of the information people get from social media, where anyone can post anything they want. This allows a lot of ballast to enter the public sphere. According to him, such tools are used not only by Russian propagandists, but also by some American communication strategists, such as the controversial supporter of US President Donald Trump, Steve Bannon. “They fill the space with meaningless, cheap, banal, stupid or aggressive messages, and then people start to miss important information,” he warned.

Can we, a country at war since 2014, say that this problem has been solved? Unfortunately, no. We are still exposed to danger due to the stubbornness of our fellow citizens, for whom "what difference does it make" is still the right position. And at this time, many people use the opinions of grandmothers on benches under houses, who are political scientists, know everything about everyone, as well as dubious content.

He also called for proper education for students. According to him, most of the information they learn about the world is either from social media or from teachers. “Instill in children the need to think about information, whether it is relevant, and consider it through fundamental values ​​such as freedom, dignity, justice and compassion.” “If the information contradicts these values, let them come to their senses and check it out,” he advises.

Otakar Foltin emphasized social media algorithms. They try to keep people on the site for as long as possible, so that people consume as much advertising and leave as much data about themselves as possible. “Negative emotions, ideally fear and hatred, will take your attention the longest. People transfer these ideas from the Internet to real life, and then vote for extremist or hostile political forces, which harms the country as a whole,” he says.

Psychiatrists were also invited to the event. Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Jiri Horáček emphasized that belief in conspiracies is similar to some psychiatric symptoms, primarily delusions. This phenomenon has become widespread during the coronavirus pandemic. The brain works on the principle of prediction and comparison. And the pandemic has completely demolished this system.

“You didn’t know if you were going to be alive in the evening, if you were going to get fired from your job, if we were all going to die here. This led to uncertainty, anxiety, and stress, and people began to look for explanations for a certain situation and to assert their position in the world in any way they could. In addition, high levels of stress hormones block the ability to learn. The brain accepts the first information that seems even slightly relevant, and the whole system calms down. Corticosteroid levels drop, and conspiracy beliefs become so deeply rooted that they are difficult to abandon. “This is how pathological thoughts arise,” he concluded.

I don't know about you, but I have some pretty educated friends who occasionally remind me that a world government - the Masonic lodge - will eventually sort this world out.

So it is positive that Europe has woken up (unfortunately, not all of it) and is resisting the chaos that is trying to destroy civilization.

The number of ANO supporters is increasing. Motoristé and Stačilo would enter the Czech Parliament

In early March, ANO would have received 33,6 percent of Czech voters, ahead of the Spolu coalition (ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL), which has 16,2 percent, and the STAN movement, which has 12,9 percent, respectively, according to information provided by the STEM agency for CNN Prima News.

TOP 09 leader Marketa Pekarová Adamová will not participate in the elections. According to information, SPD, Piráti, and Stačilo also make it to the lower house, as well as Motoristé. Svobodní, Přísaha, and Social Democrats do not reach the five percent threshold.

ANO has been in the lead for some time, but it has weakened slightly compared to last week's results (34,7 percent). STAN, on the other hand, has strengthened through the Spolu coalition, gaining 1,5 points compared to last week. Support for the SPD, which would have come in fourth in the election, remained at 8,1 percent. Piráti will receive 6,8 percent of the vote, one point more than a week ago. Nothing has changed for Stačilo! - it has 5,7 percent of the vote, the same as a week ago.

Motoristé would also enter the Chamber of Deputies, improving its rating by half a point compared to last week, to 5 percent. “The party is gradually gaining recognition, and its electoral base is slowly expanding. Motoristé would be elected by younger age groups and mostly men,” say STEM analysts.

In terms of mandates, ANO could win 83 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, Spolu 38, and STAN 28. The SPD movement would have 18 deputies, Piráti 13, Stačilo! 11, and Motoristé approximately 9.

The STEM agency conducted a survey from February 7 to 25, with 1571 respondents from across the Czech Republic participating.

Parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic will be held this fall.

Czech politicians disagree with Trump's decision to end aid to Ukraine

Ruling coalition says Trump betrayed allies. ANO's Vondracek insists on negotiations with US

US President Donald Trump's decision to halt military aid to Russia-attacked Ukraine demonstrates the urgency of changing current European policy, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said (ODS) on the X network. According to Foreign Minister Jan Lipawski, the US decision is further proof that protecting Europe from Russian imperialism is primarily Europe's responsibility. The leaders of the government coalition and the Pirate Party called Trump's decision a concession to the aggressor, a betrayal of an ally. According to Radek Wondraček, deputy chairman of the opposition party ANO, it is necessary to negotiate with the United States. On the X network, he wrote that the coalition leaders will not help Ukraine with emotional exclamations and harsh words. The SPD also calls for the rapid start of peace talks.

“President Trump’s decision only demonstrates the urgency of changing current European policy.” We need to be stronger economically and militarily, we need to start taking care of our own security, we need to invest more in defense. “Taking care of our own security also means supporting Ukraine even more,” Fiala said. He refuses to acknowledge the success of Russia’s aggressive policy.

Lipavsky recalled that Trump promised his voters to end the war. “So we shouldn’t be too surprised.” “For us, this is yet another proof that protecting Europe from Russian imperialism is primarily Europe’s responsibility,” he told ČTK. He emphasized that the Czech government would continue to increase defense spending in the Czech Republic. “We will continue negotiations with our partners, including Ukraine, to achieve lasting peace in Europe,” he added.

Defense Minister Jana Chernokhova (ODS) called the suspension of aid a failure. She expressed hope that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump will be able to find common ground again as soon as possible, and that American support will be restored. “In the meantime, European countries should increase their support as much as possible,” Chernokhova told ČTK.

According to Deputy Prime Minister and STAN Chairman Vita Rakushan, Europeans are now taking on the bulk of the responsibility. “It is in our interest that Russia does not succeed in Ukraine, that the Russian presence does not come close to our borders, and that the scenario where the country’s fate is decided by great powers without its participation does not repeat itself,” he said on the X network.

Trump puts the victim and the aggressor on the same level, says Pekarova Adamova.

According to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of TOP 09 Marketa Pekarová Adamová, Trump is facilitating the further advance of Russian troops. On the X network, Justice Minister Pavel Blažek (ODS), Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament Jan Bartošek (KDU-ČSL), and Pirate Party leader Zdeněk Hříb also expressed their indignation at the suspension of American aid to Ukraine.

The leader of the opposition ANO and former Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who is currently the leader in the autumn parliamentary elections, has not yet commented on the situation.

I added Maryna Kovalchuk, Deputy Editor-in-Chief (Central Europe and Canada), Project Manager, V5 Media