Petr Pavel

President of Czechia

About Speaker

President Pavel has many years of military experience, ascending from a Special Purpose Airborne Reconnaissance Platoon Leader to the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces. Notably, he chaired the NATO Military Committee from 2015 to 2018, further solidifying his expertise and leadership within the international defence community. Throughout his career, he held various positions, such as the Commander of Special Forces Brigade or the Deputy Military Representative of the Czech Republic to the EU. After retiring from the army, President Pavel continued his dedication to public service, engaging in civil society initiatives and as a freelance lecturer on defence, security, and international relations. In 2023, he won the presidential election as an independent candidate nominated by citizens.

Speaker

Europe in the Intelligent Age

Watch as Czechia's President, Petr Pavel welcomes guests to the GLOBSEC Forum 2026. 

Followed by a 1 on 1 Chat:
Europe is entering a decisive decade in which technological capability will shape sovereignty, security, and its place in an increasingly contested global order. The choices made in the next five years will determine whether Europe acts as a producer of strategic technologies — or remains dependent on the ecosystems of others. The risks and responsibilities of leadership in the intelligent age are becoming more urgent, as Europe navigates rivalry, partnership, and values in a world where technology has become inseparable from geopolitics.

Executive Summary

In a chat with Gen. John Allen, the Czech President argued that AI mastery is now a decisive geopolitical variable., citing the stated ambitions of both Russia and China as evidence that Europe cannot afford complacency, and called for the removal of barriers between Europe, the US, and with technologically capable partners worldwide. On AI governance, he rejected the framing of a US-EU competition between speed and regulation, arguing instead that the two approaches are complementary and that internal democratic rivalry over models risks benefiting China. He pointed to Ukraine's defence innovation cycle as a concrete benchmark: drones designed, produced, tested at the front and iterated within days represent a tempo that European procurement and legislative systems are currently incapable of matching, and which must change. He closed by framing that the defining geopolitical variable of the coming decade will not be territorial size but speed of innovation.

Livestream Link:
  https://youtube.com/live/Ihmif6sAbGQ?feature=share

Keynote Remarks and Chat Global Systemic Transformation
Thursday, 21. 5. 2026
09:15–09:40 CEST
Havel Stage

Behind Closed Doors with Petr Pavel

A candid conversation with Petr Pavel, president of Czechia, on European defense and security, NATO’s role in a changing world, the future of the transatlantic relationship and the foreign policy challenges reshaping Europe.
Chat
Friday, 22. 5. 2026
17:00–17:30 CEST
POLITICO Speakeasy