Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová recently signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States in Washington. The agreement sets a legal framework for possible deployment of U.S. troops on Czech territory and their cooperation with the Czech armed forces.
The agreement covers issues such as the jurisdiction over foreign troops, environmental regulations, rules for operating vehicles by US soldiers and their families or the status of US armed forces contractors. It also stipulates that if US soldiers commit a crime in the host country in connection with their service, the sending country retains jurisdiction over them.
The agreement will still need to be approved by both houses of the Czech Parliament. The only party that is vehemently opposed to it is the Freedom and Direct Democracy Party which is also against the country’s membership in the EU and NATO.
The agreement is part of a larger effort to boost trans-Atlantic ties and strengthen the eastern flank of the NATO alliance. It is the 24th such agreement the US has concluded with NATO members.