In Prague, Von der Leyen met with politicians and representatives of the defense industry

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, met in Prague on Tuesday with some politicians, especially from TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL, as well as with representatives of the defense industry, who presented her with, among other things, projects to support Ukraine facing Russian military aggression. President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) will receive der Leyen later in the afternoon.

The one-day, several-hour visit to Prague is related to the election campaign of the European People’s Party, for which von der Leyen wants to defend her mandate at the head of the EU executive. In the Czech capital, she also planned to take a walk in the center accompanied by politicians and sit in one of the restaurants.

Representatives of the arms companies Czechoslovak Group (CSG), Colt CZ Group and STV Group informed the President of the EC about how the cooperation between the government, the Ministry of Defense and private defense industry companies works. According to the press release, they also provided her with non-public details about the extent of Czech aid to Ukraine and presented ideas on how the EU could support the development of the defense industry. “The European defense industry is a necessary pillar for the protection of democratic values ​​on which the European Union, to which we proudly subscribe, stands,” said CSG Group Board Member David Štěpán.

At the beginning of March, the President of the EC received the official nomination of the European People’s Party (EPP) for candidacy for a second mandate. The German politician was supported by 400 delegates of the European People’s Party at the party congress in Romania, while 89 were against. She considers the war in Ukraine, the crisis in the Gaza Strip, instability in the Middle East and the rise of China to be her priorities and main challenges for the next five-year period.

The EPP is currently the largest political group in the European Parliament. Among the Czech political entities, its members are KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 and the STAN movement. In the pre-election polls, the EPP is clearly in the lead and the candidate from the faction that gets the most votes in the elections is usually nominated for the position of head of the European Commission. According to experts, there is a good chance that von der Leyen will be able to stay in office.