Czech president appeals to Constitutional Court after NATO delegation snub

PRAGUE, June 23 - Czech President Petr Pavel appealed to the Constitutional Court in a dispute over the scope of his authority after the government denied his request to lead the Czech delegation at a NATO summit next month, the presidential office said on Tuesday.

The government, led by Pavel's former rival for presidency Andrej Babis, said on Monday it would not include Pavel, a former senior NATO official, in its delegation to the alliance's summit in July, saying it was up to the government to defend its positions, including low defence spending.

"I consider the decision to exclude the president from the delegation to be an unprecedented and extremely unfortunate step," Pavel said in a separate statement.

He said that presidents had led Czech delegations at 19 out of 20 past NATO summits under various presidents and governments, with the one exception being for health reasons.

The court said it had received the complaint and would consider giving it priority. It was not clear whether the court would rule in time for Pavel to potentially take part in the summit.

Under the Czech constitution, the president has limited powers and foreign policy is defined by the government.

Pavel, a career general who led the Czech army and also served as the head of NATO's Military committee from 2015 to 2018, has insisted that he take part in the July 7 to 8 summit in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

He has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in its defence against Russia, while Babis' cabinet has scaled back support.

Pavel has been in conflict with the government, mainly with the junior eurosceptic Motorists Party, since he refused to appoint one of its officials as foreign minister.

The Czechs are among the last in NATO in terms of defence spending. The country did not meet the minimum 2% of gross domestic product last year and is on course to miss the minimum again this year. REUTERS