Babiš cabinet bars President Pavel from NATO summit, teeing up constitutional court fight

Months of dispute reach a resolution

The conflict over who would represent Czechia at the NATO summit in Turkey began publicly on 18 March, when Andrej Babiš said in a TV interview that he did not count on Pavel’s participation. The two highest executive officials had not met productively since a cancelled January meeting. Communication broke down, with exchanges happening through the media instead of in person. On 8 April, Pavel sent an open letter to Babiš stating his constitutional right to lead the delegation, while also inviting the prime minister to attend. The government delayed its decision until 22 June, narrowing Pavel’s window for legal action.

Government announces its team

On Monday afternoon, the cabinet approved a delegation consisting of Prime Minister Babiš, Defence Minister Jaromír Zůna and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka. Vice-PM Karel Havlíček said the single proposal was passed unanimously. Babiš insisted the move was not a pique, saying “We are doing active foreign policy and it is our competence to do it.” He argued that previous governments had been passive, allowing the president to assume a leading role, but his cabinet intended to lead foreign policy itself. Macinka called Pavel “a lobbyist for euro adoption or a United States of Europe” and said he could not politically agree with those positions.

Constitutional sword hangs over the summit

Pavel had previously said he would file a competency lawsuit if excluded. His office will release a statement on Tuesday at 10:00 AM. Constitutional lawyer Jan Kudrna told iDNES.cz that any lawsuit has no chance of changing the delegation because the Constitutional Court cannot rule before the summit begins on 7 July. He said the process of delivering the complaint, allowing the government to respond and preparing a decision would take at least weeks. The court’s spokesperson Kamila Abbasi confirmed that the plenum of all 15 judges would give the case priority, but noted that average handling times for such matters are around ten months.

Political reactions diverge

Political scientist Jiří Pehe said the decision was expected given ministers’ prior statements and that the real conflict would now start at the Constitutional Court. He questioned why, if the summit is about fundamental security issues, the president, who understands those issues, was left out. Babiš stressed that his relationship with Pavel would remain good and noted that the cabinet had recently approved the president leading the delegation to the UN General Assembly in New York, as well as 61 foreign trips during his tenure.

“We are doing active foreign policy and it is our competence to do it. I understand that in the past the government did nothing, so the president got used to the role of foreign policy leader, but under our government it is different.”

“Filing lawsuits, criminal complaints or sending secret services at each other is neither right nor responsible. I believe the president will understand what we are aiming for.”

What comes next

The summit is scheduled for 7–8 July in Ankara. If Pavel files a competency complaint, the court will eventually settle the constitutional question of who represents the state abroad, but a verdict will not arrive before the flights depart. For now, the three ministers are set to attend while the president watches from home.