Czech Republic’s prime minister Andrej Babiš has blocked President Petr Pavel from attending next month’s NATO summit in Ankara, sparking a constitutional dispute over who holds the authority to represent the country at international meetings. Pavel, a former NATO commander and outspoken advocate for Ukraine, announced he is seeking a ruling from the constitutional court, describing the prime minister’s move as an unprecedented infringement on presidential powers.
The disagreement marks a further escalation in the ongoing power struggle between Pavel and Babiš. Pavel, who defeated Babiš in the 2023 presidential election, now coexists uneasily with the prime minister, who returned to office in December leading a coalition government after his ANO party’s parliamentary victory. Babiš, a Eurosceptic billionaire known for his populist style and ties to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has opposed increasing Czech financial support for Ukraine and has voiced skepticism about meeting NATO’s defence spending targets.
Despite tensions, Pavel stated he had attempted to avoid a protracted public conflict by proposing a compromise in which both leaders would attend the summit in Ankara, with Pavel limiting his role to an informal dinner while Babiš would handle official negotiations. Pavel argued the issue was not simply about a seat at the summit but reflected a deliberate government effort to exclude the president, who is also the nation’s supreme commander of its armed forces and a former NATO senior official, from participating in key security discussions. He highlighted that Czech presidents have attended 19 of the last 20 NATO summits, with absences previously due only to health reasons.
The president called on the constitutional court to clarify who has the right to decide participation in such summits, emphasizing that any changes to established practice should come through mutual agreement, not unilateral government decisions.
Babiš, set to attend the summit along with the country’s foreign and defence ministers, is reportedly relying on his established relationship with Donald Trump to mitigate criticism over Prague’s likely failure to meet NATO’s defence spending guideline of two percent of GDP this year. Last month, he told reporters that while the government would "probably" miss the target, his support for the U.S. president was a political advantage in the region.
The leaders also differ sharply on support for Ukraine. Pavel was instrumental in launching a Prague-led initiative in 2024 that provided artillery shells to Kyiv, whereas Babiš withdrew government funding for the project, leading to a reduction in participating countries.
As the dispute unfolds, it highlights broader questions about Czech foreign policy direction and the balance of power within the country’s leadership amid ongoing regional security challenges.