Pavel says EU should expand for sake of own security

The European Union should expand for the sake of its security, Czech President Petr Pavel said on Tuesday in a speech at the opening of the new academic year at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. He also said Ukraine and the countries of the Western Balkans must not be left to “geopolitical manipulation”.

The patron of the class at the prestigious academic institution is the late former US Secretary of State and Czech-born Madeleine Albright, whom Mr. Pavel praised as a visionary, given her support for the eastward expansion of the EU and NATO. He also quoted former Czech President Václav Havel and expressed his intention to hold a conference in Prague on the resilience of democracies.