Czech state budget deficit expected to grow in 2026

The Czech Republic’s state budget deficit could reach up to CZK 280 billion next year, surpassing this year’s planned shortfall of CZK 241 billion, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura told Czech Television, citing increased defense spending as one of the main reasons for the increase. Shadow finance minister Alena Schillerová from the opposition ANO party countered that a deepening deficit merely reflects the present government's poor fiscal policy. This year’s approved deficit stands at CZK 241 billion, with CZK 170.5 billion already reached by the end of May. Last year’s deficit was CZK 271.4 billion — the lowest since the Covid pandemic, yet still the fifth-largest in Czech history.