The President of the Czech Republic ‘automatically’ heads the country’s delegation, said Czech President Petr Pavel in a broadcast on Czech Television and Radio on 25 June.
The day before, the country’s Constitutional Court had issued an interim ruling obliging the government to include Pavel in the delegation.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Foreign Minister Petr Matinka criticised the court case, calling it an attempt at a constitutional coup. He also stated that the ruling merely required the President’s participation to be ensured, not that he be made head of the delegation.
According to Pavlo, the Foreign Minister “has misunderstood the division of roles and functions in this country”.
“If the president is part of any delegation, he automatically becomes the head of that delegation. Whether he takes part in any part of the summit – that is, an informal dinner or the main meeting – is a matter for the president to decide, not the government or the foreign minister,” said the Czech president.
The day before, Pavel welcomed the Constitutional Court’s interim ruling, which “ensures the continuity of the country’s representation” at the NATO summit. At the same time, he noted that this was an interim ruling and that he was prepared to await further action by the Constitutional Court.
On 23 June, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that he had filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court against the Czech government after the cabinet refused to include him in the delegation to next month’s NATO summit.
The government of Pavel’s former rival in the presidential election, Andrej Babiš, stated the day before that it would not include the Czech President, a former NATO official, in its delegation to the alliance’s summit in July, noting that the government must defend its positions, in particular its low defence spending.