PRAGUE — Czech President Petr Pavel called on Europe to actively defend peace and accelerate military procurement to strengthen Ukraine's defense capacity, speaking at a global security conference in Prague where European state officials gathered to discuss the state of the transatlantic alliance. The retired NATO general warned that bureaucratic obstacles risked leaving Europe behind at a moment requiring urgent action.

"Peace in Europe can no longer be treated as the default state of affairs," Pavel said. "It must once again be actively protected, defended and maintained. The lesson of this moment is not that Europe is alone it is that Europe needs to be strong enough to stand on its own when needed."

He said Europe needs to use all available levers to get itself into the best position, cautioning that delay carried consequences. He also warned that Europe risked losing out due to bureaucratic obstacles, framing the streamlining of procurement procedures as central to bolstering both European defense readiness and support for Ukraine.

"History will simply not wait for Europe to become ready," he said. "We must act swiftly."

Turning to Ukraine's wartime adaptation, Pavel said Kyiv has shown it can develop and test drones within days by accelerating procurement and production cycles. He contrasted that pace with the regulatory environment across the rest of the continent.

"Ukraine has demonstrated not only determination and heroism, but also unbelievable capacity to adjust, to innovate, to change," he said. "It is something that we in Europe have lost through many regulatory measures that are necessary in peacetime, but of course in conflict you have to be flexible and achieve the results in the shortest possible time."