‘Peace in Europe no longer default situation’, warns Czech president Petr Pavel – Europe live | Ukraine
‘Peace is no longer the default in Europe,’ says Czech Pavel
He gave a very harsh warning: Pavel, a retired NATO general, warns that “peace in Europe can no longer be taken as the default situation.”
“Once again, it must be actively protected, defended and maintained. “The lesson of this moment is not that Europe is alone, but that Europe must be strong enough to stand on its own when necessary.”
He warns that Europe must use all tools to put itself in the best position. “History will not wait for Europe to be ready.”
“We must act quickly,” he says.
important events
In a short Q&A, paul Broader questions are being asked about the role of artificial intelligence and technology.
Stating that Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi focused on this issue in their meetings in China this week, he says that “there is no doubt that technology will be the weapon of the future.”
“I think we need to take this seriously, mainly because China is making tremendous progress on this. “Experiences in Ukraine and the Middle East show that technological superiority can be a real game changer.”
‘Peace is no longer the default in Europe,’ says Czech Pavel
He gave a very harsh warning: Pavel, a retired NATO general, warns that “peace in Europe can no longer be taken as the default situation.”
“Once again, it must be actively protected, defended and maintained. “The lesson of this moment is not that Europe is alone, but that Europe must be strong enough to stand on its own when necessary.”
He warns that Europe must use all tools to put itself in the best position. “History will not wait for Europe to be ready.”
“We must act quickly,” he says.
“If Ukraine is forced into a bad peace, we will all live with the consequences for decades,” Pavel warns
paul Turning to Ukraine, he emphasizes that “supporting Ukraine is not an act of charity” but “a direct investment in Europe’s own security.”
“If Ukraine slides into a bad peace, we will all suffer the consequences for decadeshe warns.
Pavel said the EU and NATO must align priorities to help Europe strengthen its defence.
Pavel also emphasized the need to bring the EU and NATO closer: Because Brussels “has tools that NATO does not have: financing, infrastructure and industrial policies” that can serve as policy tools to help defense preparations.
“I believe that these two sets of tools must be interconnected. NATO and the European Union are not competitors in European security. They must function as complementary pillars.”
He gives a specific example of NATO working with the EU to modernize “routes, ports, bridges and airfields” critical to moving forces across Europe.
“The task is to ensure that the two plans coincide; “We believe that NATO’s military requirements direct EU investments and that EU investments strengthen NATO’s deterrence.”
He clearly says that such plans should include Canada, Norway and the United Kingdom as “indispensable European security actors.”
Pavel says ‘there is no time to waste’ as talent, not spending, is the key to Europe’s ability to defend itself
paul He says Europe has “already made significant progress in defense spending” but warns that “credible defense does not depend on spending levels alone”.
“We need to work hard to strengthen our strategic enablers and close critical gaps in areas such as strategic airlift, air and missile defense, intelligence, logistics or military mobility. There’s no time to waste.”
‘Many assumptions about the old security architecture are no longer valid,’ Czech president warns
paul He begins by saying that his repeated warnings that Europe must focus on its political will, industrial capacity and technological capacity “remain fully valid; in fact, they have become even more urgent today.”
Says it’s clear Europe must “take more responsibility for our own defence, “Not because Washington tells us this, but because it is in our strategic and vital interests.”
He says: “As debates about the future scale of America’s conventional military presence in Europe become more evident, Europe needs to be prepared for this reality.”
“This does not mean that Europe should move away from the United States; quite the opposite. NATO remains the basis of our collective defense and the transatlantic bond is vital to our own security – but we must be honest [that] Many assumptions that supported the legacy security architecture are no longer valid.”
The Globsec Forum in Prague is currently ongoing.
czechia paul on stage for the opening speech.
I’ll bring you the outline.
Morning opening: Dobré ráno from Prague
Yakup Krupa
in Prague
Dobre rano, or Good morning from Prague.
On 2,000 government officials, foreign policy and security experts from Europe and abroad are meeting in the Czech capital for the GLOBSEC Forum 2026. And there is no shortage of topics to cover.
From From the latest drone incidents in the Baltics to the broader security situation in Ukraine and Europe – and especially this part of Europe – broader global questions There will be many topics to cover, including energy, geopolitics, artificial intelligence and the state of the transatlantic alliance.
We will hear from the Czech president: Peter Pavelvice president of the European Commission, Henna Virkunenand former NATO secretary general, Anders Fogh RasmussenJust like NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Sweden today and tomorrow for a ministerial meeting.
Pavel last night warned HE Russia will remain Europe’s main security threat for decadeslike The continent awakens from existence The US is overconfident in its protection and needs to radically strengthen its own defenses A new global order of competing superpowers is taking shape.
I’ll bring you all the important lines here.
Elsewhere, I will bring you the latest developments regarding Ukraine, the aforementioned drone incidents in the Baltics and all the relevant news from around the continent.
His Thursday, 21 May 2026his Yakup Krupa here and this Europe Live.
Good morning.
