Czech Atlantic Commission
The Czech Atlantic Commission ( Czech: Česká atlantická komise; English Czech Atlantic Commission ) (abbreviated ČAKO or CZACO) is the former national branch of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) in the Czech Republic, founded in 1993 . In the spirit of the umbrella organization, it advocates the established values of NATO and communicates them through its own events and through exchanges with other national societies and other organizations.
The commission was officially installed in the Czech Republic by the Atlantic Treaty Association until November 2003, before the Jagello organization took over this function in 2000. However, this did not affect membership in the ATA.
The headquarters of the Czech Atlantic Commission is Měšice Castle in Tábor . The current president is the lawyer Pavel Bílek.
Development and order
In the context of the upheaval in what was then Czechoslovakia as a result of the Velvet Revolution at the end of 1989 , which ultimately led to the political system change from real socialism to a democracy , the population's desire for military security of the state and anchoring of the newly gained freedom in the sense of Euro-Atlantic values.
Immediately after the formation of the new Czech Republic, the association was founded in 1993, based on the Dutch concept, under the name of the Czech Atlantic Commission in the form of a citizens' association. The founding chairman was the lawyer and university professor Jiří Štěpanovský, who led the association for the first few years.
To this day, the Commission sees itself as a “civil society”. Its members represent, defend and convey the Euro-Atlantic core values and at the same time form a platform for those interested.
When the Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, the company was converted into a legal form comparable to the registered association . At the same time, the organization was renamed the Czech Atlantic Commission and accepted as the national society of the Czech Republic in the Atlantic Treaty Association.
In November 2003 the official ATA representation in the Czech Republic was transferred to the Jagello 2000 organization.
At the present time the Commission, like the other ATA companies, is a non-governmental organization. However, it is one of those that is massively supported by official bodies, especially the Ministry of Defense . While many national societies see themselves more as think tanks , the Czech Atlantic Commission is partly structured militarily and thus forms a middle ground between NATO orientation and the communication of Euro-Atlantic basic values, including the cultural area.
The Czech Ministry of Defense can provide members of the commission, mainly former soldiers or comparable professional groups , with uniforms and military ranks for representative tasks , or they can be authorized to use their previous ranks .
The communication of foreign and security policy and also the exchange with national ATA companies and other organizations are the focus of the activities of the Czech Atlantic Commission today .
For historical reasons, the Commission maintains close links to Germany and Austria , which is why they there also performs with other organizations events and in particular fallen soldiers of Czechoslovakia intends, during the Second World War, units of the Royal Air Force against the forces of the Third Reich supported while perished.
The Czech Atlantic Commission has been a guest at the Remembrance Day celebrations since November 2018 and, since April 2019, on the occasion of ANZAC Day , on the grounds of the British military cemetery in Berlin-Charlottenburg .
In addition, a memorial plaque was unveiled on the building of the former Czechoslovak military mission in Berlin-Zehlendorf in August 2018 at the initiative of the Commission .
As the official representative of the Czech Republic, the organization has been a full member of the Paris- based NATO Memorial Federation ( French : Fédération du Mémorial de l'OTAN) since April 2020 .
Organizational matters
The admission procedure of the Czech Atlantic Commission differs in some regulations from other European forms. a. a unanimous vote of the board is mandatory. Not only Czech nationals can join , but also citizens of other NATO countries that represent Euro-Atlantic values.
The Czech Atlantic Commission is divided into four sections:
- Security and Military Policy
- Education and Public Relations
- Diplomatic cooperation
- organization
The company's organs are the general assembly and the board of directors, which consists of the chairman and his four deputies. He is also responsible for the annual “Atlantic Forum” magazine , which reports on the company's activities in several languages and supplements the additional quarterly information.
A previous President of the Commission was the future Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg .
Due to the close cooperation with German organizations, the Czech Atlantic Commission plans to set up a branch in Berlin in 2020 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Message from the ATA and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs from May 2019
- ^ Organizační Struktura. Board on the website of the Czech Atlantic Commission, accessed on May 3, 2019 (Czech).
- ↑ Pozvánka k zájezdu Berlínské fórum v termínu 17. 08. 2018 - 20. 08. 2018. In: Internet site of the Czech Atlantic Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2019 (Czech).
- ^ Letter of confirmation from the President of the NATO Memorial Federation, Willy Breton
- ↑ history. In: Internet site of the Czech Atlantic Commission. Retrieved May 3, 2019 (Czech).