For immediate release                                                                                         Monday 2^nd July 2007

NATO PARLIAMENTARIANS DISCUSSED MISSILE DEFENCE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Four senior members of the Assembly’s Science and Technology Committee (STC) and Defence and Security Committee (DSC) travelled to the Czech Republic on 27 June 2007 on a fact-finding mission to discuss the views of the Czech government and parliamentary representatives on the plan to install elements of the US strategic missile defence system (“The Third Site”) on Czech soil.

The NATO PA delegation gathered that the Czech government is determined to proceed with the plan, believing it will strengthen the countryÂ’s security and reinvigorate transatlantic relations in general. However, the left wing opposition, which has as many seats in the parliamentÂ’s lower chamber as the ruling coalition, is not convinced that the plan is justified and calls for a national referendum on this matter.

Nevertheless, both sides agree that including “The Third Site” into a comprehensive NATO missile defence architecture would be a preferable and more acceptable solution to the Czech people. Current polls show that 60% of Czechs oppose the plan, but negative attitudes have been declining in recent months.

The delegation of NATO parliamentarians, led by Michael Mates (UK), Chairman of the STC, met with the Deputy Prime Minister, Alexandr Vondra, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karel Schwarzenberg, and with the members of the Defence Committees of both chambers of the parliament. The delegation also visited the planned site of a radar station and met with Jan Neoral, Mayor of the nearby village of Trokavec. 

For further information, please contact

 e-mail: Press@nato-pa.int

NATO Parliamentary Assembly

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Background

 The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, founded in 1955 with a Brussels-based secretariat,

brings together 248 national parliamentarians from the 26 NATO countries.

In addition, 16 associate delegations from Central and Eastern Europe, Ukraine and Russia;

5 Mediterranean Associate delegations: Morocco, Algeria, Jordan, Mauritania and Israel

and 6 Parliamentary Observer delegations participate in Assembly activities and meetings.