File:Security policy of the Czech Republic in light of the integration into the European Union (IA securitypolicyof109451091).pdf

The Czech Republic was integrated into NATO in 1999, when the process of the enlargement of the Alliance by including Central and Eastern Europe had begun, and the idea of the EU expansion was being seriously considered. These changes and the unfavorable development of the Balkans crisis created a new security environment in the region, and the necessity for a revised European security policy. Membership in the EU became a primary strategic goal of the Czech Republic.s foreign policy. How did the NATO strategy influence the Czech security policy? What was the evolution of the security environment in the Europe-Atlantic region and the NATO-EU relationship? This thesis analyzes this process and examines its experience. The Czech Republic, as one of the candidates for integration into the EU, has created a good position for its entry. This thesis also explores recent international security relations and their strategic continuities for the creation of the new policy. Since the armed forces play an important role in the national security, the work analyzes a new concept of the Czech Republic Armed Forces reform. In the last chapter the thesis tries to define possible presumptions for the new security policy and argues some possible proposals, which is its main objective.