Prague, Sept 12 (CTK) – Two Czech soldiers have been assisting in the EUNAVFOR Med operation against people traffickers that the EU launched in late July, and their task is to provide medical support for the operating troops and analyse possible health risks, daily Lidove noviny (LN) wrote Saturday.
For example, the Czechs are assigned to secure prevention against the viruses European soldiers could get infected with while operating in the Mediterranean and along the African coasts.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg clearly said in Prague earlier this week that the current migration crisis requires a reaction of the EU, not of NATO, of which Czech Deputy PM Andrej Babis (ANO) tried to persuade him, LN writes.
The EU has actually been intervening in the Mediterranean since July 28 when Italy’s Cavour aircraft carrier and three allied vessels started operation in the area, supported by four planes and a helicopter.
The mission of the Czech soldiers in EUNAVFOR Med is “in harmony with the [previously Czech] approved mandate for the operation in foreign missions in 2015 and 2016 by Czech contingents with six-month rotation,” the Czech General Staff has announced, LN writes.
The participation in the naval operation by the Czech Republic, which is an inland country, looks “rather exotic,” LN writes.
By the way, the Czech naval fleet consists of a single passenger ship. It is a 60-year-old cruiser Mir (Peace) that is anchored near a recreation centre at the Slapy water reservoir, south of Prague.
The EUNAVFOR mission is to continue until next summer. For the time being, its military vessels have had to focus on rescuing the endangered lives of refugees, which is a priority standing above a crackdown on people traffickers.
