The course of negotiations between the Czech Republic and the U.S.A.
| Here you can find the march of the negotiations so far between theCzechRepublicand theUSAregarding the missile shield project. |
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| 2002 |
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July 2002 – Preliminary bilateral consultations concerning the anti-missile defense issue took place in the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic. It was attended by the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic, the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and the First Assistant Deputy Minister of Defense of the USA. A part of the consultations was the Pentagon representatives’ presentation of the missile defense project. The main outcome of the talks was the American party’s announcement that the Allies’ involvement in the project, especially in its planned European part, is possible.
September 2002 – The anti-missile defense issues were discussed during Minister of Defense Jaroslav Tvrdík’s visit to the USA. The United States presented its reasons for construction of the US MD as well as its plans for implementation of this intention. Minister Tvrdík publicly assumed a positive standpoint on the possibility of the Czech Republic getting involved in the project.
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| 2003 |
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| The American party sent technical requirements regarding different options for constructing a U.S. missile shield base in the Czech Republic to the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic in autumn 2003. |
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| 2004 |
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| 4th February – The Czech government adopted a decision pursuant to which the bilateral technical discussions between the USA and the Czech Republic on cooperation within the missile defense got a legal framework. The government entrusted the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic with a task to carry on exchanging technical information on preliminary technical and organizational issues concerning the missile defense issues. The Government Decree №. 119/2004 was adopted as confidential; it was declassified by the Government Decree №. 866 dated 12th July 2006.
Subsequently, Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic Miroslav Kostelka handed over to the United States preliminary technical information regarding the selected sites on the territory of the Czech Republic. In accordance with the required parameters (above all, the geological aspect and infrastructure), three selected military grounds – Libavá, Brdy, and Boletice – were described in the paper.
November 2004 – Washington saw bilateral talks between delegations of the Ministries of Defense of the Czech Republic and the USA as regards exchanging technical information on the missile defense system. The goal of the talks was to acquire more detailed relevant information in the matter of further advancement in the missile defense issues within the spirit of the government decree. |
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| 2006 |
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From the beginning of 2006, Prague was the scene for technical consultations between representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the American party about the options for deployment of the U.S. missile defense elements on the territory of the Czech Republic.
16th–26th July 2006 – A team of American experts in anti-missile defense visited the Czech Republic in order to examine the selected sites of Libavá and Brdy. The U.S. preliminary evaluation from the point of view of infrastructure and geological and hydrological conditions was positive.
26th July 2006 – Adopting the Decree №. 929 of 26th July 2006, the government acknowledged information submitted by the Minister of Defense regarding the technical and organizational consultations about a potential establishment of the U.S. missile defense elements on the territory of the Czech Republic. Simultaneously, it delegated the Minister of Foreign Affairs to submit a proposal for further moves in co-ordination with the Minister of Defense as a result of evaluating the examination of the selected sites in case the Czech Republic is approached by the American party.
15th–18th August 2006 – Consultations between delegations of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic on the one hand and representatives of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on the other hand took place in Washington. The American party notified the Czech party of the preliminary findings of examination of the sites and presented the U.S. plans for implementation of the European part of the U.S. Missile Defense Project. At the same time, the American party confirmed that the military grounds of Boletice had been eliminated from the selection. |
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| 2007 |
19th January 2007 – The USA officially asked the Czech Republic to get involved in the American Missile Defense System. This was announced to the public by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic at an extraordinary press conference on 20th January 2007.
9th March 2007 – The anti-missile issue was one of the leading topics of President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus’s visit to the United States. On behalf of the American party, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates took part in the talks in Washington while President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tomáš Pojar, First Deputy Minister of Defense Martin Barták and Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Czech Republic Lieutenant-General Vlastimil Picek represented the Czech Republic. A series of information briefings for representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense took place on the premises of the Missile Defense Agency in Washington the same day.
27th March 2007 – Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Eric S. Edelman visited Prague in order to discuss potential location of an American radar base in the Czech Republic above all.
28th March 2007 – The Government of the Czech Republic approved a positive response to the American note according to which the Czech Republic would enter into negotiations with the USA on location of a U.S. radar base in the Czech Republic.
The response of the Czech Republic is a legally not binding document where the Czech Republic recognizes the need for development of the anti-missile system while at the same time it informs the American party that the Czech Republic will endeavour to integrate the radar stations into the future defense missile system architecture of the NATO member countries.
1st–7th April 2007 – A group of American experts carried out a series of measurements necessary for the planned stationing of a U.S. radar base at the Brdy military ground in the Czech Republic.
11th April 2007 – Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek informed the senators about the government’s attitude to the stationing of a U.S. missile defense system radar station on the territory of the Czech Republic as well as the basic framework of negotiation process with the USA in this issue.
14th–20th April 2007 – A delegation of Czech members of Parliament and representatives of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs undertook a journey to the Kwajalein atoll, the Marshall Islands where an X-band radar is positioned as a radar like that should be stationed in the Brdy Mountains in the Czech Republic. The delegation saw how the equipment looked like and how it worked, and discussed with the local inhabitants about the radar’s impact on their lives.
23rd April 2007 – Lieutenant General Henry A. “Trey” Obering III, the Director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), arrived in the Czech Republic. He met the President of the Czech Republic, representatives of the government and ministries as well as the opposition and members of Parliament in order to inform them about technical details of both the planned American radar base in the Czech Republic and the entire missile defense system.
10th–11th May 2007 – The first round of talks between the USA and the Czech Republic about the legal status of the American units on the territory of the Czech Republic. The American team was headed by U.S. State Department special emissary for political and military affairs Robert Loftis while the Czech team was led by Czech Republic’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Tomáš Pojar.
14th–19th May 2007 – A team of American experts from the Missile Defense Agency arrived in the Czech Republic in order to survey the locality at the Brdy military grounds chosen as a possible radar station site. The search focussed especially on hydrological and geological conditions in the area, the quality of local infrastructure and traffic accessibility.
22nd May 2007 – Assistant Secretary of State John C. Rood arrived in the Czech Republic in order to take part in the first round of talks between the USA and the Czech Republic on cooperation in the field of anti-missile defense.
25th May 2007 – The government of the Czech Republic appointed Tomáš Klvaňa as the government communication coordinator of the anti-missile defense programme.
4th–5th June 2007 – U.S. President George W. Bush visited the Czech Republic. Among other things, he discussed the Czech Republic’s involvement in the U.S. missile defense project and the stationing of an American radar on the territory of the Czech Republic.
13th–16th August 2007 – On the spot 718 in the Brdy military grounds, a team of American specialists from the Missile Defense Agency along with experts from the Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic carried out detailed technical measurements and a survey with emphasis on the geological conditions, infrastructure and traffic accessibility in the locality proposed for possible construction of a U.S. missile defense radar station.
17th August 2007 – A preliminary expert report was made public analysing the impacts of the possible radar on the inhabitants’ health. |
