Czech President hopes for certainty on Ukraine's EU and NATO accession
Czech President Petr Pavel (photo: Getty Images)
Ukraine must receive a fair peace agreement and reliable security guarantees. It is important to create all conditions for its accession to NATO and the EU, Czech President Petr Pavel said during the panel discussion "Security Dividend: European Support for Ukraine" at the Munich Security Conference.
Pavel said that all allies want a peace agreement that is as fair to Ukraine as possible; and that by becoming a member of NATO and the EU, Ukraine will be able to repel any possible attack, so it should be provided with all the necessary conditions for it to become a member of both institutions.
According to him, the partners should work now not only to ensure that Ukraine can enter negotiations with Russia from the position of a strong state but also on post-war reconstruction.
"We are already providing Ukraine with military support... We should also start thinking of post-war reconstruction. Marshall Plan for Ukraine would be an excellent idea," Pavel said.
The Czech leader also emphasized that Ukraine's accession to the EU would be the "best demonstration of Russian failure in Ukraine" and noted that he was convinced that Ukraine should eventually become a NATO member.
The President noted that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's goal was to take full control of Ukraine, to "demilitarize" it, and to wipe the country off the map.
"Our best approach would be to tell him that whatever effort he'd put into this endeavor, it would fail. We must express our determination that if Ukraine wants to be a part of the EU, eventually NATO, they are authorized to do it," the Czech president emphasized.
Ukraine's accession to NATO
The issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO has recently been discussed with renewed vigor. This issue was raised again in the context of the Munich Security Conference 2025.
For example, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham stated that Ukraine will not be admitted to NATO at this time. However, if Putin attacks again, the country will join NATO very quickly.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference that he would not take Ukraine's membership in NATO off the table. At the same time, he called Putin the "most influential" NATO member.
