Andrej Babiš described the dispute with President Pavlo about participation in the NATO summit as unnecessary and harmful. Nevertheless, the government additionally accredited the president and is waiting for his decision.
The head of the Czech delegation that will represent the country at the North Atlantic Alliance summit in Ankara will be Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. However, according to Babiš, the cabinet fulfilled the preliminary measure of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic and additionally accredited President Petr Pavle to the summit. At the same time, he hopes that Pavel will change his mind and not go to Ankara in the end. He said this on Monday at a press conference after the government’s negotiations, saying that the president can go to the summit next year, reports the TASR correspondent in Prague.
- Prime Minister Babiš will lead the Czech delegation at the NATO summit.
- President Pavel was additionally accredited to the summit.
- Babiš hopes that Pavel will not go to the summit after all.
- Pavel can represent the country at the summit next year.
- He considers the dispute between the government and the president unnecessary.
“The government has confirmed that the prime minister will be the head of the delegation, as was decided earlier on the basis of the government’s resolution,” declared Babiš. He considers this year’s summit to be “extremely important”, especially in terms of the proposed commitments for NATO member states to pay 70 billion euros annually to Ukraine. According to him, the Czech Republic cannot agree with this proposal, because by failing to fulfill the obligation to spend two percent of GDP on defense, it needs money mainly for the Czech budget, and in this, according to him, the position of the president may be different.
He considers the dispute unnecessary
According to the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, it is in the interest of the Czech Republic that the dispute between the government and the president, which he considers unnecessary and damaging to the country, does not continue. According to Babiš, this would contribute to calming society. “It would be best if Mr. President did not insist on his participation… We are convinced that Mr. President could reconsider his participation and show generosity and not insist on his participation. But it is true that we complied with the Constitutional Court,” he emphasized.
He added that Pavel will be able to represent the Czech Republic at this summit next year. “I can already confirm today – and we talked about it at the government meeting – that next year we have no problem with the president representing the Czech Republic at the NATO summit. This year, we have a fundamentally different opinion on it, and let’s hope that the president will change his mind and the situation will calm down in our society as a whole,” said Babiš.
