Romanian president Nicușor Dan visits Czechia for talks on NATO security

Romanian President Nicușor Dan will visit Czechia on Wednesday for talks with President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and the leaders of both houses of Parliament.

Security on NATO’s eastern flank, defense cooperation and closer Czech-Romanian relations are expected to dominate the meetings. The leaders will also discuss energy policy, European competitiveness and continued support for Ukraine and Moldova.

The visit will mark the first bilateral meeting between Czech and Romanian presidents since 2014, according to the Czech presidential office.

Pavel and First Lady Eva Pavlová will welcome Dan and his partner, Mirabela Grădinaru, at Prague Castle at 10:30 a.m.

The welcoming ceremony will be followed by a private meeting between the two presidential couples and talks involving Czech and Romanian delegations. Pavel and Dan are then expected to address reporters at a joint press conference.

Dan will subsequently meet Senate President Miloš Vystrčil and Chamber of Deputies Speaker Tomio Okamura. His final scheduled meeting will be with Babiš at Kramář Villa, the Czech prime minister’s official residence.

Although Pavel and Dan have briefly met at international events, Wednesday’s talks will be their first full bilateral meeting as heads of state.

Pavel traveled to Romania in May for a summit of the Bucharest Nine, a grouping of Central and Eastern European NATO countries established in response to growing security concerns on the alliance’s eastern border.

The Czech presidential office described Romania as an essential partner in southeastern Europe and a close Czech ally within both NATO and the European Union.

Both countries support strengthening NATO’s eastern flank and maintaining assistance for Ukraine and Moldova. Czechia and Romania also share similar positions on several EU issues, including energy policy, the bloc’s emissions trading system, competitiveness and the functioning of the single market.

Dan, a mathematician and former mayor of Bucharest, became Romania’s president in 2025. His visit comes as NATO members continue to debate defense spending, military preparedness and their response to security threats in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region.