Czech Defence News of the Week (15 – 22 June 2018)

Author: Petr Prouza|Caption: Light Infantry at Bahna 2018

Lubomír Metnar (ANO) will become Minister of Defence in the newly formed government - Lubomír Metnar, current Minister of Interior, will be replaced by Jan Hamáček (ČSSD, socialists) - According to the Chief of General Staff the army should invest in total more than CZK 100 billion (EUR 3.84 billion) before 2027 - The V4 Prime Ministers, joined by Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, did not attend the migration mini-summit.

• The Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) announced that Lubomír Metnar (ANO), current Minister of Interior, will become Minister of Defence in the newly formed government.

Lubomír Metnar (born 1967) is a former Czech Police investigator; in 2011 he became chief of security of the Vítkovice Machinery Group; in 2013 he was named First Deputy Minister of Interior, and he holds the postition of Minister of Interior since December 2017. In 2016 he became member of the Supervisory Board of Vítkovice Heavy Machinery.

• Lubomír Metnar, current Minister of Interior, will be replaced by Jan Hamáček (ČSSD, socialists). Due to President Miloš Zeman’s negative stance towards the nomination of Miroslav Poche (ČSSD, MEP) for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Hamáček might also fulfil that role before ČSSD and the Prime Minister Babiš find another solution.

• On Monday 18th June 2018 the Czech Army General Staff hosted a meeting of the Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Aleš Opata with the media, during which the Chief of General Staff presented the actual aims and priorities of development and modernization of the Czech Army. According to him the army should invest in total more than CZK 100 billion (EUR 3.84 billion) before 2027, and the top modernization and acquisition priorities will be:

Purchase of 12 new multipurpose helicopters, purchase of 8 MADR radars, purchase of 210 Infantry Fighting Vehicles in 7 specified variants (combat, command, reconnaissance, engineer, medevac, artillery reconnaissance and recovery), and purchase of 52 self-propelled heavy guns of the NATO-standard 155 mm caliber.

See also: Modernization Projects of the Czech Army

• On 19th June the Prime Minister Babiš during the Prague European Summit at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague said: „The biggest EU problem still remains illegal migration. (…) There are still some countries, which do not give up the idea of mandatory redistribution of migrants, there are still many, who do not realize, that first and foremost goal is to protect the outer borders of European area. This is the responsibility of border countries of Southern Europe, the rest of Europe should contribute financially.“

• The V4 Prime Ministers, joined by Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, did not attend the migration mini-summit held on Sunday 24th June at which Merkel is seeking support for measures she hopes would satisfy coalition partners who have demanded the EU do more to share the burden of hosting asylum seekers.