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Minister Černochová in NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting in Brussels

Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

17.6.2024
Author: by MoD Communication Department

The meeting of the NATO Defence Ministers primarily discussed the support of Ukraine and strengthening NATO defence and deterrence. On the side-lines of the meeting, Minister Černochová signed a memorandum of understanding with Luxembourg and Slovenia to secure additional financing for the Czech ammunition initiative for Ukraine.

The NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting on Friday was preceded on Thursday by the session of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group and the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. The Alliance reaffirmed its commitment, including the Czech ammunition initiative, to the country attacked by Russia. "The first tens of thousands of artillery rounds will arrive to Ukraine by the end of June. It would not have been possible without our partners and we are very thankful to all nations that have provided or committed to provide funding. It is also key for Ukraine to have enough artillery systems, now and in the future," Minister Černochová stated. On Thursday and Friday respectively, she signed a memorandum with her Slovenian and Luxembourgish counterpart to join the Czech ammunition initiative.

Minister Černochová also signed a document on Thursday, through which the Czech Republic and other countries established the Armour Capability Coalition, whose purpose is to help Ukraine in its fight. The coalition is led by Poland along with Italy and Germany. Its goal is to ensure coordination and consistency in supporting Ukraine in the domain of deliveries of heavy land equipment to answer urgent needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including ammunition, weapon systems, their maintenance and relevant training.

The NATO Defence Ministerial Meeting on Friday focused on defence and deterrence, which represents the cornerstone in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The discussions centred on sourcing the force structure with specific units, support of the defence industry and defence spending. According to Minister Černochová, it is key to fill the new NATO Force Model. "It is a highly challenging task, but we also view it as an opportunity to communicate to our public the criticality of collective defence, its price and our readiness to back up our allies," Minister Černochová underlined.

The Czech Republic is very active in this regard. It modernises its armed forces to be able to contribute to a potential operation within the framework of NATO's collective defence. Furthermore, the Czech Republic strengthens the Eastern Flank through the deployment of units to Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. To strengthen defence capacities, it is necessary to have adequate financial resources, which shall be the key topic of the NATO Summit held in Washington D.C. in July. According to the Minister, the Summit should determine whether it will be necessary to raise defence budgets over 2% GDP in order to fulfil commitments to the Alliance.

On Friday, NATO held a meeting of the Nuclear Planning Group, whose aim it was to strengthen allied reaction capabilities in the field of nuclear deterrence. Minister Černochová stated that NATO's nuclear capabilities are crucial for the Alliance to avoid being blackmailed by Russia.

The Czech Republic was praised at all the meetings by both the Alliance's leadership and other Allies for its ammunition initiative for Ukraine. "I am truly glad that after my statement at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, U.S. Secretary Austin took the floor to express his gratitude and emphasise the significance of the Czech ammunition initiative," the Minister added.