President of the Czech Senate Miloš Vystrčil in Brussels

“The meeting with Roberta Metsola, of course, concerned the situation in the European Union, especially in terms of both Russian aggression against Ukraine and the current position of the United States of America and President Donald Trump. We discussed how the European Parliament will respond to the situation in the world,” said Senate President Miloš Vystrčil after the meeting.

“We have two problems in Europe. The first is that Europe has long neglected its defense capabilities, and the second is that we have become less competitive than, for example, the United States of America or China today. Everything needs to be done to make up for this deficit. One of the options is the activities of the European Parliament, the activities of the European Commission and the use of the funds that the member states jointly provide as their membership contribution for the functioning of the European Union institutions,” added the Senate President.

The President of the Upper Chamber began the program in Brussels with a meeting with Andrius Kubilius, Commissioner for Defense and Space. They also talked about the need for greater defense capabilities and economic competitiveness of the EU. They also discussed the so-called The White Paper on the Future of European Defence, which was presented by the European Commission exactly a week ago, on 19 March, and which Commissioner Kubilius is a co-author of. The “White Paper” proposes ways in which EU Member States can invest in defence, acquire defence systems and build the preparedness of the European defence industry.

At the end of the working day in Brussels, the President of the Senate met with Czech MEPs and Czech men and women working in the institutions of the European Union at the Prague House.

President Vystrčil has met with President Metsola in the past, among others in February 2024, when the President of the European Parliament visited the Czech Senate. The main topic of the meeting at that time was the upcoming European elections.

Sabina Netrvalová, 26.03.2025