Prime Minister Petr Fial (ODS) was not surprised by the complaint from the Supreme Audit Office (NAO) that the Czech Republic is not sufficiently prepared for crises and emergency situations. Not enough attention has been paid to this in recent years, the government is trying to fix it, the Prime Minister told journalists today at the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO) military base in Rukla, Lithuania, where he met with Czech soldiers.
SAO in the annual message for last year he wrote that the responsible institutions underestimated many events, such as the covid-19 pandemic, and did not learn enough from them. Sometimes, according to the office, they only took formal steps without significant results. It is likely that the state will repeat similar mistakes at critical moments, which can lead to significant damage, waste of money and endanger the health of residents, the SAO said.
“Without knowing the details at the moment, I have to say that this does not surprise me, because we know that in recent years these things have not been given enough attention, and our government is intensively trying to correct this and take care of the security of the Czech Republic,” said Fiala . The goal is for the state to be prepared for crisis situations of various types, he added.
According to the Czech Prime Minister, the Czech Republic and Europe were carefree in the past in terms of their defense and security, and this needs to be corrected. In this context, he recalled that his government had decided and legislated that the Czech Republic would spend two percent of its gross domestic product on defense. The state is acquiring the highest quality military equipment such as F-35 fighter jets or new infantry fighting vehicles, he said.
To a rebuke from the SAO that direct contracts by the Ministry of Defense with foreign governments and manufacturers without competition mean the risk of inefficient and wasteful spending of money, Fiala said that military technology is a special thing. “Sometimes it cannot be procured through a tender process, sometimes it cannot be done other than on the principle of some kind of intergovernmental negotiation,” he said. According to the prime minister, tendering is not always possible and is not always the most efficient method of procurement for military equipment.
The Ministry of Defense also rejected the SAO’s criticism. In a press release today, it stated that awarding contracts in the field of security and defense without tendering is permitted by law, and other allies in the European Union and NATO follow suit.
Tags: government prepare crises Fiala reprimand SAO surprise News
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