Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Thank you for your kind invitation. It is a great pleasure to speak here today at the Institute for National Security Studies.

When I travelled to Ankara last week for the NATO Summit, I realized that much of the public debate revolved around one fundamental question.

Is the United States leaving Europe?

I believe this question matters not only to Europeans, but equally to Israel.

Allow me therefore to answer it at the very beginning.

My answer is no.

The United States is not walking away from Europe.

Having returned from Ankara, I came away with a different conclusion.

America remains committed to Europe’s security.

What is changing is the way that commitment is being delivered.

And that is a crucial distinction.

After more than seventy years of transatlantic partnership, we are witnessing a rebalancing of responsibilities within the Alliance.

Not because the United States has lost interest in Europe.

But because today’s America is a global power simultaneously facing strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific, here in the Middle East, and in other regions of the world.

It is therefore entirely natural that Washington expects Europe to assume greater responsibility for its own defense.
 

To me, this was the central message of the Ankara Summit.

Not a weaker NATO.

A stronger and more balanced Alliance.

For decades, European nations have relied on America’s extraordinary military capabilities. The U.S. presence has been, and remains, the cornerstone of deterrence in Europe.

At the same time, it is neither realistic nor sustainable for the United States to continue carrying a disproportionate share of responsibility for the defense of a continent that possesses the economic strength, technological capacity and human potential to do much more for its own security.

In Ankara, we therefore moved beyond the traditional debate about fair burden-sharing.

We began discussing something more fundamental.

A genuine shift in responsibility.

Europe must be able to assume a greater share of responsibility for its conventional defense. It must invest more. It must strengthen its defense industrial base, military mobility, logistics, critical infrastructure and overall resilience.

This will not happen overnight.

Building these capabilities will require political determination, sustained investment and a different strategic mindset.

The encouraging news is that Europe is no longer debating whether this transformation is necessary.

The debate is now about how quickly we can achieve it.

This does not mean a weaker NATO.

Quite the opposite.

A stronger European pillar means a stronger Alliance.

NATO is not strong because Europe is weak and America protects it.

NATO is strong when both sides of the Atlantic are strong and capable of carrying their share of responsibility.

Greater European responsibility is not an alternative to the American presence.

It is the best guarantee of its long-term sustainability.

I do not see this as an American retreat from Europe.

I see it as America’s vote of confidence in Europe.

Vote of confidence that Europe is ready to become a stronger, more capable Ally.

And this is precisely why these developments matter for Israel as well.

A stronger Europe does not mean an America turning inward.

On the contrary.

It means a United States that no longer has to carry the primary responsibility for European security alone and can devote greater strategic attention to other priorities.

The Middle East will undoubtedly remain among those priorities.

This is also why European and Middle Eastern security have become increasingly interconnected.

Drones, ballistic missiles, cyber-attacks, terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and disruptions to maritime trade routes do not respect geographical boundaries.

The security of Europe and the security of the Middle East are no longer separate strategic theatres.

Developments in one region increasingly shape the security of the other.

This is why the Summit devoted considerable attention to consultations with our Gulf partners, with Ukraine and with our Indo-Pacific partners.

Not because NATO is becoming a global alliance.

But because the threats we face have become global.

Nothing illustrates this more clearly than Iran.

In Ankara, Allies were united in one fundamental conviction.

Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.

This is not merely an Israeli interest.

Nor is it solely the concern of the Gulf states.

It is a strategic interest of the entire Euro-Atlantic community.

The same is true of the Strait of Hormuz.

Its security is not simply a regional matter.

It is essential to the stability of the global economy and international trade.

For this reason, the Czech Republic supports deeper cooperation between NATO and its partners across the broader Middle East.

This is also where I see a particular role for my own country.

Today, the Czech Republic serves as NATO’s Contact Point Embassy in Israel.

We do not regard this as a ceremonial designation.

We regard it as a responsibility.

Our ambition is to serve as a bridge between Israel and the Alliance.

We want to deepen our political dialogue and expand practical cooperation in areas where Israel possesses world-class expertise – air and missile defense, cyber security, defense innovation, unmanned systems, the protection of critical infrastructure and societal resilience.

Israel understands from its own experience that deterrence is not the opposite of diplomacy.

It is the precondition for successful diplomacy.

The same principle underpins NATO’s current transformation.

Stronger European capabilities are not preparation for war.

They are the best way to prevent one.

Allow me to conclude with one final thought.

Following the Ankara Summit, I do not believe the right question is whether America is moving away from Europe.

The real question is whether Europe is prepared to become the kind of partner today’s America needs.

I believe it must.

Because the future of the transatlantic partnership will depend on this new balance of responsibility.

And I firmly believe that this stronger and more balanced partnership will benefit not only Europe and North America, but also our closest friends and partners, among whom Israel has always held a special place.

 

Thank you very much.