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Czech Defence Ministry welcomed the EU Military Committee as part of the Czech Presidency

Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

23.9.2022
Author: ltc. Vlastimila Cyprisová

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, European defence cooperation and EU-NATO cooperation were the key topics of the European Union Military Committee Away Days hosted in Prague and Hradec Králové on September 21-23, 2022, as part of the program of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The EUMC Away Days were commenced by the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, Major General Ivo Střecha, in the premises of the National Museum on Thursday September 22, 2022. In his opening address, Major General Střecha underscored that the unity between the EU and NATO and cohesion and close cooperation of EU Member States are more important than ever before, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine. "We need to stay strong, resilient and determined to face all threats. This links to the priorities of our presidency in the field of security and defence, including the strengthening of the EU and NATO cooperation, support of Ukraine and the implementation of the Strategic Compass which involves strengthening our capability to counter hybrid threats," MG Střecha said. The next speaker was the Chair of the EUMC General Robert Brieger.

In the afternoon, members of the EUMC visited the multinational exercise Medical Man 2022 in Hradec Králové, which trains servicemembers of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary.

The exercise is designed to achieve certification for the ROLE 2B medical capability to support the EU Battlegroup on standby in the first semester of 2023. Exercise Medical Man is organised annually to hone skills and abilities of medical units from Visegrad Four and other NATO nations. The exercise verifies interoperability of individual armed forces' medical modules and helps to integrate common standard operational procedures. The objective of the exercise is to increase efficiency of cooperation in contingency response.

"This exercise is the culmination of our long-term preparation and consistent training. We can also use the experience and lessons learned from the deployment of multinational medical elements in NATO and EU led missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as in Mali," says the director of the Czech MoD Military Medicine Agency Colonel Ladislav Šlechta. "We have a longstanding intense cooperation with our colleagues from Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, both in the academic and field domain. This is not the first time that we meet at Medical Man, so we are confident we can deliver on all requirements of this level of medical certification before the standby starts," COL Šlechta added.

The Czech Republic has engaged in the strengthening of European defence cooperation for a long time. Thanks to the experience gained during their deployment in EU and NATO missions and operations, the medical personnel of the Czech Armed Forces enjoy an excellent reputation among our Allies. One of the objectives of the Czech Presidency is to further strengthen the position of the Czech Republic as a reliable and active Ally who contributes to the defence of the transatlantic area, where it firmly belongs.