Author: TDV|Caption: Pandur II
On Wednesday, 6 April 2022, the Government approved two important materials for strengthening the Czech Republic's defence capability and accelerating the modernisation of the Czech Army in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the proposal of Defence Minister Jana Černochová.
The first is a plan to accelerate the purchase of military equipment and some modernisation projects between 2022 and 2024 for more than CZK 48 billion. The second is a comprehensive plan of legislative changes to strengthen and increase the response capability of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic to military and non-military crises and to ensure stable defence financing in the long term.
"The Ministry of Defence started acting immediately after the start of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In addition to continuously assisting the Ukrainian side, we also identified the material that we urgently need to purchase to strengthen the capabilities of our army as soon as possible," said Minister Černochová.
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The Ministry plans to start the acquisition process for projects worth CZK 14.58 billion later this year, specifically for the purchase of ballistic missiles, ammunition, spare parts, reinforcement of ground transport, C4ISTAR equipment and small arms. In the next two years, the ministry plans to accelerate purchases worth CZK 33.77 billion beyond the original plans. These include the addition of Pandur and TITUS wheeled armoured vehicles, the acquisition of engineers, light assault vehicles, tactical satellite systems and communications and information equipment.
The planned purchases are necessarily linked to the provision of financial cover for all the years of their expected implementation. If necessary, the budget for 2022 can be increased on a case-by-case basis thanks to Government Resolution 149 of 2 March 2022.
"All the proposed expenditures will significantly help to meet the commitment to spend 2% of GDP on defence by 2025. The financing of strategic projects will also be facilitated by the proposed legislative changes, including the creation of the Defence Fund," explained the Defence Minister.
The creation of the Defence Fund is one of the major legislative changes contained in the second approved document. Together with the amendment of the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the amendments to the laws on the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic, the Conscription Act, the Act on the Service of Reservists and the Act on the Provision of State Defence, the draft material plan of the Defence Fund Act belongs to the first stage of the changes, which should be approved by both the State Security Council and the Government of the Czech Republic in a short time, by mid-2022.
The Defence Fund will ensure stability in the financing of major modernisation projects of the army, which are implemented in multi-year cycles. The amendment to the Constitution of the Czech Republic will allow for more operational short-term deployment of the army's forces and resources in urgent cases, for example, to rescue Czech citizens from unstable areas. The amendment to the 'defence legislation' will strengthen the Czech Republic's defence capability in peacetime, introduce regulation of national operations and allow for continuous replenishment of the armed forces with personnel and assets, while also enshrining the obligation for the state to spend 2% of GDP on defence.
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The first stage of legislative changes also includes amendments to the Act on Economic Measures for Crisis Situations, the Act on Crisis Management and the Act on Budgetary Rules, for which the State Material Reserves Administration is a co-sponsor. These amendments will improve the existing system of planning and preparation for emergencies in the area of material security.
The second stage of the legislative changes includes an amendment to the Act on the stay of armed forces of other states on the territory of the Czech Republic, an amendment to the Act on public procurement with regard to the specifics of defence investments and an amendment to the Act on economic measures for crisis situations, which will enable the adjustment of the use of material resources already in peacetime and the activation of the system of economic measures for crisis situations so that they can occur according to the decision of the Government of the Czech Republic already at the time before the declaration of a state of national emergency.
Author: Jakub Fajnor, Press Department of the Ministry of Defence
Source: Ministry of Defense