- After 26 years, President Petr Pavel is the second president to visit BIS. The last time Václav Havel spoke at the headquarters of the secret service was at the end of September 1998.
- It is in the current security situation the essential role of the secret services, Pavel said after visiting BIS. He appreciated that in the Czech Republic they function as befits a democratic country.
- Russia’s aggressive policy is a great threat to democratic countries, including the Czech Republic. We must be ready to face this threat, said the head of BIS Koudelka.
- The risk of Islamic terrorism returning to Europe cannot be underestimated, pointed out Koudelka. But the Secret Service they do not have information about a direct threat to the Czech Republic.
Peter Paul at the BIS headquarters in Prague, he discussed with director Michal Koudelka and wider management. They talked together about various areas of risks that the Czech Republic faces.
Koudelka mentioned the military and intelligence threats posed by Russia to the Czech Republic. He also sees a problem in the threat of the return of Islamic terror to Europe. He added, however, that the BIS currently does not have any information about an immediate threat to the Czech Republic.
“BIS is a member of several international platforms bringing together the world’s strongest intelligence services, and within those platforms there is a daily exchange of information and analysis of various types of risks related to terrorism and conflicts or, or attacks that will occur,” said Koudelka and continued: “And the results of those analyzes are clear, we cannot underestimate the risk of Islamic terrorism in Europe. We should also perceive this in our country, even though, and I emphasize, that at the moment we do not have any specific information about a direct threat to the security of the Czech Republic.”
The Russian threat
According to Koudelka, the current security situation is the most serious since the Second World War. What Russian soldiers are doing in Ukraine or Palestinian terrorists in Israel, they would also do here without mercy, he told journalists after today’s meeting. He emphasized the need to be prepared to face current risks.
Koudelka said that it would be a mistake to consider the conflicts in Ukraine or Gaza as something that concerns us only marginally, or at all. “The situation in Ukraine is serious, the aggressive Russian Federation is a great threat to the democratic countries of Europe and also to the Czech Republic. Those threats take different forms, from military, intelligence and other threats,” said Koudelka. “We have to accept this and we have to be ready to face these threats and defend our security and freedom,” he added.
“Let’s remember that a few years ago the Russian Federation sent officers of GRU unit 2915 to the Czech Republic to cause an explosion of an ammunition warehouse in Vrbětice, an explosion that resulted in billions of dollars worth of damage, but above all the death of two innocent Czech citizens,” Koudelka recalled.
Pavel also stated that he considers it important to have representation in Russia at the ambassadorial level. “The question is whether at this particular time there is a good situation for it, but given that the accreditation selection process takes a long time, there is no reason to work on it now, at least in the preparatory phase, and then implement it when the appropriate situation arises,” the president explained.
Pavel praises the cooperation with BIS
In the current security situation, the role of secret services is crucial, said President Pavel after visiting BIS. He appreciated that in the Czech Republic they function as befits a democratic country. “The outlook for the future is not at all optimistic, on the contrary, it can be expected that the situation will become even more complicated,” the president warned.
Among other things, Pavel met with Koudelka after his election last January. He stated that they discussed setting up relationships and working together. “We have a similar perception of the security risks our country faces. I expect regular meetings and I am pleased that my decisions will be based on quality information,” Pavel wrote on the X network at the time.
Better relations than under Zeman
The current president has significantly better relations with counterintelligence than his predecessor Miloš Zemanwhich has repeatedly criticized the BIS, calling the BIS a “scumbag”.
Last May, Pavel complied with the government’s proposal and He appointed Koudelka brigadier general. Zeman did not comply with a similar cabinet proposal seven times.
After 26 years, Pavel is only the second president to visit BIS. Before him it was Václav Havel in September 1998. “Even though it may seem like an unusual visit from this distance, I consider it to be completely standard. The President is a recipient of information under the Intelligence Services Act,” said the president. “It is also logical because he is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,” added Pavel.
Secret service visits by politicians are not frequent. However, Prime Minister Petr Fiala recently visited all three (ODS). The year before last October, he visited the BIS, and at the beginning of last year he discussed with the leadership of the Military Intelligence (VZ) about the war in Ukraine, cyber defense and disinformation. Fiala then visited the intelligence office of the Office for Foreign Relations and Information (ÚZSI) at the end of March last year.
