Germany to help Czechia renew army, and landlocked CEE countries to access gas

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Germany will help Czechia to modernise its army by replacing military equipment it sent to Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a press conference with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala in Berlin on Thursday evening. 

Scholz said Czechia will receive newer Western weapons in place of the Russian-built, pre-1989 technology it has provided to Ukraine, and with which the Ukrainian military has more experience.

Germany will help EU member states to access liquefied natural gas (LNG) to replace sanctioned Russian fossil fuels, Scholz said, noting that transit is more problematic for landlocked Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) such as Czechia. Fiala noted that piped Russian gas presently covers over 90% of Czechia’s gas consumption.

Earlier in the day Germany had secured four gas storage and conversion units and identified Wilhelmshaven, a German North Sea port, as a delivery hub. 

“The meeting in Berlin today was very successful and delivered concrete results,” Fiala wrote on Facebook after his meeting with Scholz. On the planned modernisation of the Czech army, he said “I’m very glad we found a solution so quickly and we can exploit the potential of both our countries.”

Fiala added that “the second critical topic was energy security and our common intention to get rid of dependence on Russian gas and oil. We talked about the expansion of the (Wilhelmshaven) plant that Germany is using, and we also agreed that we will start talks and create a joint working group that will deal with the use of German LNG terminals.”

The Czech premier – on his inaugural visit to Berlin – also visited the German Council on Foreign Relations DGAP on Thursday, where he discussed his upcoming stint as the rotating president of the EU, which will run through the second half of the year.

Dan Nolan

Recent Posts

Poland tops employment rankings – OECD report

The EU’s employment rate reached a record high of 70.9% in the fourth quarter of…

5 hours ago

Greece plans to repay Eurozone’s bailout loans whole decade in advance

Greece has announced plans to repay its first bailout loans a decade ahead of schedule,…

5 hours ago

CEE economies tougher than you may think – ING

Despite their export-driven economies and strong manufacturing bases, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries may…

5 hours ago

Slovenia mulls French, US bids for nuclear project

Slovenia is at the centre of a strategic struggle between France and the US, as…

6 hours ago

Single market is not single, and it’s costing us all

The EU’s internal market is still falling short of its founding promise. Despite decades of…

4 days ago

Foot-and-mouth sees culls, CEE border closures

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) has prompted mass animal culls and tightened border controls…

1 week ago