Prague Center for
Transatlantic Relations
(PCTR)

Message from the Chairman
of the PCTR Board

By joining NATO In 1999 the Czech Republic gained the best security guarantees in its modern history. It does not mean that we are to sit idlywith our hands folded in the lap and do nothing. Security should not be taken for granted. Its quality always depends on our will to do something for it and make sacrifices. This applies not only to us at home but also to our cooperation with the allies. The world is not a safe place; security threats of today are less predictable and therefore potentially more dangerous. A state which ignores security threats and loses the ability to defend itself is unlikely to have a long-term existence. Therefore, providing and maintaining security must remain an integral part of policy not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Europe. The persistent economic and debt crisis, which has affected all western states in recent years, has taken its toll in the reduction of defense budgets. It is even more important to deepen the rational cooperation of states, which can effectively reinforce national defense and the protection of citizens against current threats such as terrorism or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

For this purpose the Center for Transatlantic Relations CEVRO Institute has organized conferences, seminars, workshops and produced analyses and policy recommendations for professionals. The Center is also going to publish outcomes of its research projects in media and scholarly journals. You can look forward to many new projects aimed to deepen the public debate about security, economic and cultural cooperation, especially between Europe and the United States.

Alexandr Vondra, Chairman of the Board, Prague Center for Transatlantic Relations (PCTR)

Principles

• The preservation and the strengthening of the Transatlantic link represent a key contribution to Czech and European security.
• As the future of transatlantic relations is increasingly questioned, it is desirable that academic institutions in the new NATO member states devote a part of their research capacities to help solve the challenges facing the transatlantic agenda.
• Scepticism toward cooperation with the United States has been on the rise in the Czech Republic and some other Central European countries. It is important to prevent the recent difficulties in US–Central European relations from growing into a refusal of the very idea of transatlantic alliance.
• The concept of transatlantic relations should not be limited to NATO. In fact, transatlantic relations include a much wider range of issues spanning politics, security, economy and culture. In particular, US–EU relations are gaining special prominence.

Goals

• Conduct systematic research in the area of transatlantic relations with a special emphasis on US–Central European relations.
   
• Develop practical solutions to problems in transatlantic relations and produce analyses and policy recommendations that can be used in decision-making processes in the Czech Republic and in other countries of Central Europe.
   
• Join the Czech, European and US debates on the challenges that transatlantic cooperation faces.
   
• Spotlight issues and topics in transatlantic relations that have been neglected in the Czech and in the Central European foreign policy debates.
   
• Cooperate with European and US research institutions and thereby introduce Czech perspectives on transatlantic relations to a wider audience abroad.