Introductory word from the Prime Minister
Dear fellow citizens,
After eight years, the Government presents to you a new Security Strategy. More
than ever before, this government document speaks not only to the different levels of
our public administration system and to the Government itself, but it reaches out to
our civil society and to every individual. It engages the Parliament and recognizes its
indispensable role in our security. The fact is that we will never be able to safeguard
our security interests completely unless every one of us is aware of and willing to
do his or her part.
This Security Strategy is uncommonly open in naming the sources of threats and
showing how they have forced their way into different aspects of our lives. We believe
that to make good decisions, whether in strategic or daily matters, one must be
aware of these threats, their reality and their complex interplay. Understanding our
security environment will help us become a more resilient society.
This Security Strategy does not gloss over the increasingly dire state of the
international security environment. It does not reduce Russia‘s aggression against
Ukraine to a struggle for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. It
clarifies how the war represents a threat to the international order as a whole. If the
West fails in its responsibility to protect the order, it will open the door to potentially
even more destructive conflicts.
This Security Strategy shows how external threats, including the risks brought by
climate change, directly affect our internal security. Precipitating development
of technologies and the cyber and information space, along with our economic
dependencies, makes the impacts even more severe.
Czechia‘s anchoring in international relations; the building, development and
appropriate financing of its armed forces; the arrangements we make for our
economic, cyber and environmental security; and the way we build a resilient
system and society—all these areas require long-term, strategic and interconnected
approaches. I am convinced that the new Security Strategy provides a solid
groundwork for this holistic understanding of security.
Dear fellow citizens, I am presenting to you a document that is realistic and tells you
that happier times are not necessarily just around the corner. Many of you may see
security threats, interests, and priorities in a different light than the Government
does. I will be very glad if this Security Strategy inspires you to reflect on and take
interest in our common security.
Petr Fiala, prime minister of the Czech Republic
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