Czech Republic will not increase defense spending despite NATO demands, - Babiš
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš confirmed that the Czech Republic does not plan to increase its defense budget.
According to Censor.NET, citing European Truth, he said this during an online interview with the news portal Denik.cz.
Babiš noted that the NATO agreement to gradually increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product is unrealistic. He added that there is no movement toward the basic defense spending target of 3.5% of GDP.
"Our priority is the health of our citizens, so that they can live long lives," Babiš said, according to Reuters.
The Czech Republic's defense spending
The new government budget proposal for 2026 envisages reducing defense spending to 2.1% of GDP, compared to the previous center-right cabinet's plan of 2.35%. Defense Minister Jaromír Zuna said on Wednesday that this would not harm plans to modernize the army.
The previous government sought to gradually increase defense spending to 3% of GDP by 2030. Former Prime Minister Petr Fiala, responding to Babiš's comments on Thursday, said that security should be one of the government's priorities.
