Finance Ministry unveils draft budget for 2026

The Finance Ministry has released details of the proposed draft state budget for 2026. The draft envisages a deficit of 286 billion crowns. The proposal boosts funding for defense and industry, while reducing allocations for health care and transport. Spending on salaries for state employees is set to rise by 4.5 percent.

This year’s budget deficit is projected at 241 billion crowns, compared with 271.4 billion last year. The budget includes a repayable loan of 18.3 billion crowns for the construction of new nuclear units at Dukovany, as well as defense spending exceeding two percent of GDP, amounting to 30.7 billion crowns. Without these extraordinary items, the deficit would stand at 237 billion.

The government can still adjust the draft, but ministers must approve it by the end of September. With parliamentary elections scheduled for early October, the final decision on the budget will rest with the newly elected Chamber of Deputies.

Alena Schillerová (ANO) , a senior member of the opposition ANO party and former finance minister, slammed the proposal, noting that the proposed deficit was ten times higher than before the pandemic. She said the proposed budget is  “leaky as a sieve” and lacks basic data necessary for public oversight and expert debate. In a statement on X,  Schillerová called on Finance Minister Stanjura (Spolu)  to present the full material, including appendices that were part of budget proposals in the past.